July 1st has special significance for me. Not only is it my own birthday, but it's also the birthday of David Brower, a pioneering spirit in American envioronmentalism and a personal hero of mine.
It also happens to be the exact mid-point of the year, so we thought it would be appropriate to put together a bit of a round-up of campaigns, news, and accomplishments, six months into 2011.
Without further ado, here's some highlights of what the 350 movement has been doing in the first half of the year:
Preparing To Move the Planet Beyond Fossil Fuels In hundreds of places around the world, organizers are preparing for this year's big global day of action: Moving Planet, a day to move the planet away from fossil fuels and towards a sustainable future. We're aiming for 15-20 Mega-Big rallies in key cities around the world, as well as thousands more smaller community-focused events. Is Sep 24th booked on your calendar? |
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Going Viral By Connecting the Dots 350.org founder Bill McKibben's editorial in the Washington Post on tornadoes and global warming was shared on Facebook over 17,000 times and republished in hundreds of blogs and newspapers across the country. One 350.org supporter was so inspired by it that he made a powerful video mash-up that went viral on social networks, garnering over 100K views in just a few days. Watch the Video. |
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Training For Change We're ready to take this movement to the next level, and are in the midst of a new wave of organizer trainings. Just a couple of weeks ago, over 20 people joined an exciting 350.org workshop in Egypt. Our new Egyptian organizer, Sarah Rifaat, reported from Cairo, "Though this workshop is over, much like those exciting 18-days in Egypt, the real work now begins for these young revolutionaries – to rebuild a country and to push for a movement that will protect their future and the future of all generations to come." As you read this, 50 youth from more than a dozen island nations across the Pacific are being trained in Fiji, young organizers are gathering in the Baltic region, and a wave of grassroots workshops are being planned across Africa and the US. |
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Local Campaigns Around the World 350.org goes far beyond big days of action, and supporters across the planet are proving it. Just a few examples; in Singapore, over 7,000 people joined a "Run 350" foot-race this April to raise money for environmental causes. In Malaysia, 350.org partners celebrated the defeat of a coal fired power plant that was slated to be built in the Borneo rain forest. In the Maldives, the government released official "350 stamps" with photos from our actions there. And in Topeka, Kansas hundreds of school children formed a giant Eagle to support 350.org's call for leadership on climate. |
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Building Power for a Powerful Idea: A Tiny Tax on Banks to Tackle Climate Change. Just last week, organizers across Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific took action together to support a tiny tax on Big Banks that would generate billions of dollars to tackle climate change and poverty. 350.org's Arts Ambassador, Kevin Buckland, put together a gorgeous video to explain the tax. Check it out. |
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Hitting Hard on Dirty Money This spring, 350.org launched the first chapter of a new campaign, "Which Side Are You On?" to push politicians in the US to stand with their constituents and not big polluters. Our first ad was banned in Boston's subways so we're going to tow it around on bikes throughout the city. Have you seen the banned 350 ad? We're also ramping up our work against the US Chamber of Commerce – a Goliath front group for big corporations that's blocking every attempt at climate progress. Since launching the "US Chamber Doesn't Speak for Me" earlier this year, over six thousand businesses have signed up across the country! |
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Going Solar in DC? Last year, the 350 movement spearheaded a successful campaign to push Obama to pledge putting up solar panels up on the White House by "Spring 2011." Frustratingly, the White House missed it's own deadline, but more than 140,000 people amped up the pressure, and the word from the White House is that the panels will go up soon. We can't wait to see those panels go up – and will be escalating our actions and our tactics in DC and around the world in the weeks and months ahead. |
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Rallying the United Nations As local campaigns heat up around the world, 350.org is working hard to concentrate that pressure on the global stage of the United Nations. As we approach the UN Climate Summit in South Africa this November, 350.org representatives are attending preparatory meetings to lobby for strong targets, and are working closely with all of our allies, from island countries to climate justice groups in Durban, to make the conference a key turning point in the movement for bold global climate action. |
We hope you get the idea: everywhere on this planet, everyday people are rising up to build an extraordinary movement. You're a big part of this, and we can't thank you enough for pushing us forward.
And don't miss out on what's next – join us on Facebook (and Twitter, too).