People may have noticed signs in yards and along roadsides displaying the enigmatic message “350.” What’s it all about?
It’s about climate change.
Observations that the arctic ice is melting at an alarming rate have led scientists to conclude that climate change is happening faster than predicted.
A team of American scientists led by James Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, has determined that a 350-parts-per-million (ppm) concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is the upper limit that Earth can sustain over time without incurring catastrophic consequences, such as melting of the polar ice sheets, dramatic sea level rise, increasingly stronger and more frequent weather events, spreading drought, and, perhaps most importantly, global feedback mechanisms that could lead to runaway global warming.
Atmospheric CO2, the most predominant of the greenhouse gases, has been measured at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii since the 1950s. According to the observatory’s website, www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/, there are small seasonal fluctuations in atmospheric CO2, but the overall trend is a continuing annual increase that parallels the increasing use of fossil fuels. Prior to the industrial revolution and throughout most of human history the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere has been less than 270 ppm. Current measurements show a concentration of 388 ppm, and show that the concentration is rising about 2 percent per year.
That’s the bad news.
The good news is that 350 ppm gives us a target and a means of measuring where the atmospheric level of CO2 needs to be. Like a 98.6° F body temperature or 120/70 blood pressure measurement, 350 ppm is a health indicator for Earth. And we know what we need to do—reduce carbon dioxide emissions by reducing our use of fossil fuels, primarily coal. We can do this through conservation and renewable energy, but it will take international action and cooperation. We can’t get there one light bulb at a time. We can get there through collective change.
For anyone looking for more information about the science behind climate change, www.skepticalscience.com addresses many questions. For those who believe that man is not contributing to it, the book Climate Cover-Up: The Crusade to Deny Global Warming, by James Hoggan, describes the 15-year disinformation and obfuscation campaign by lobbyist and public relations firms, largely funded by fossil fuel companies and special interest groups in order to delay and derail action.
350.org is an international grassroots campaign that calls attention to the crisis of climate change and urges leaders to take meaningful action now. Because Earth does not have its own special interest lobbies, we citizens must advocate for her and give our leaders the political will to act. With a focus on the world climate summit in Copenhagen this December, 350.org is asking people around the world to show their collective support for strong climate protection by gathering in their communities on Oct. 24 for a historic rally. People will send photographs of their gatherings to 350.org, which will send them to the United Nations and present them at the 350.org website and on New York City’s giant outdoor displays—messages that we care about Earth protection.
350 is powerful. Its power comes from asking and answering the question, “Will this get us to 350?”.
Without the bad news that climate change is the overwhelming challenge facing humanity, would we be motivated to act? Without the good news that we know what we need to do, would we have the hope to act?
350 is a number we can live with.
Sydney Blackwell is a resident of Willow Road.
