The best way to solve the climate crisis?
By 350.org
Dear friends,
A friend recently asked me: "What's the single best way to solve the climate crisis?"
The question made me stop and think. I've been getting so many amazing updates about the climate solutions people are working on for the 10/10/10 Global Work Party, it's nearly impossible to pick just one.
The truth is, there is no silver bullet to stopping the climate crisis, no single technological solution that can fix everything at once. We don't just need solar power, or wind power, or efficiency. We need all of these things and more. What we need, in a word, is diversity.
I feel the same way about building the climate movement. We can't rely on just one campaign, one event, one organization, one country, or one strategy-to build a powerful climate movement we need a bit of everything.
This is why we have such a diverse campaign plan-and such a broad alliance--at 350.org. For those of you wondering what we've been up to and how all the pieces fit together, here's a quick round-up of the latest news from our various campaigns:
10/10/10-and Grants to Support Local Climate Action!
You probably already know all about our plans for 10/10/10, "The Global Work Party." (If not, check out the invitation here ) It's less than 3 months away, and people's plans are really starting to take shape: teams insulating schools in London, a bike-caravan of lighting retrofitters in Mombasa, and hundreds and hundreds more. With events in 116 countries and counting, it will be massive.
One new development here: we now have a small pool of MONEY to support your local climate solutions projects for 10/10/10. Submit your 10/10/10 plan by August 7th, get enough people to vote on it, and you could receive a grant of $1,000 USD to make it happen. Check out www.350.org/funds to learn more
The Great Power Race: NEW VIDEO
Next up is the The Great Power Race , a clean energy competition between students in India, China, and the United States. Starting this September, students will get to work making their campuses models of sustainability and spur our nations to create whole new industries-and win great prizes while doing so. The race doesn't officially start for more than a month, but the registration drive is underway. India already has over 200 campuses signed up. Can China and the USA keep up? As the young founders of the Great Power Race are saying:
"Our parents raced for the Moon. Our generation will race for the Earth."
We also have brand new video to get people fired up about the Great Power Race--check it out: www.greatpowerrace.org/video
Put Solar On It!
Just two weeks ago we launched the "Put Solar On It" campaign, and it's making big waves from Washington DC to Delhi. We're calling for world leaders to go solar on 10/10/10-and to couple this symbolic effort with a real commitment to pass policies that can unleash the clean energy economy we need. We've partnered with Sungevity, a solar provider who has agreed to donate the panels to any world leader who will go solar on 10/10/10. President Nasheed from the Maldives has already committed to going solar on that day-will other leaders follow suit? Only if we build our numbers, so get all your friends to sign on today: www.PutSolarOn.It
US Campaigning
It's nearly impossible to make global progress on climate change without getting the US to act, which is why we've been working hard to kickstart climate action in Washington DC and beyond. We've turned up the heat on Senators to make sure they didn't settle for a weak and watered-down climate and energy bill and we helped organize hundreds of rallies against offshore drilling .
***THIS JUST IN***
Senate democrats have decided that definitely there will not be a climate portion of a bill in the coming weeks. This is bad news--and further evidence that we have to keep working on the ground to shift the political climate as fast as humanly possible.
There's lots more brewing at 350.org, but that gives you a good overview. If you've read this far, thank you.
Looking over the list of campaigns above, it becomes clear: there actually is one silver bullet to solving the climate crisis, and it's not solar power. It's people power.
We can't do this without you. Let's keep building this movement.
Onwards,
Kelly and the 350.org team
