350 target, which was good; except that they were 117 poor and vulnerable na- tions, not the richest and most addicted to fossil fuels. So, we fight on. This October, we’re holding a 10/10/10 Global Work Party. It’s set to spread around the world, too, with people in thousands of communities doing something practical: putting solar panels on local schools, harvest- ing community gardens and planting mangroves along rising shorelines. In Auckland, New Zealand, they aim to repair every bicycle in every garage. The intention will be twofold. Point one is that bikes are good. Ditto solar panels. We need both in our com- munities. Point two acknowledges that we know we can’t solve climate change one bike path at a time. So we’re also intent on sending a strong political message to our leaders: If we can get to work, so can you. Right now. If I can climb up on the roof of the school to hammer in a solar panel, you can climb to the floor of the Senate and hammer out some helpful legislation. It’s time to shame our government and corporate leaders a little, and maybe inspire them, too. This is far from the only people’s
campaign swelling around the world. They range from the small and specific (e.g., Project Laundry List, which advo- cates for right-to-dry laws that would let all Americans hang their laundry on clotheslines) to the far-ranging Green for All, which works for clean energy jobs across the country. This year, the Great Power Race, between campuses in the United States, China and India, will make news via a friendly competi- tion to see who can come up with the most creative sustainability ideas. Then there’s
PutSolarOnIt.com, pushing the U.S. president and other world lead- ers to at least do the symbolic work of sticking panels on the roof of the White House and all of its equivalent build- ings around the world. The list goes on. We all need to get to work ad- dressing climate change right where we live, in our communities. We need to build towns and cities that make sense and create jobs for families. We also need to build a world that works, because the best organic gardener on Earth won’t be able to cope with 30
We the People Can Help Mother Earth
Organizing a local action for 10/10/10 doesn’t need to be large or complicated; these acts are about community and solutions and sending a message to the world. Find ideas at
350.org, search People or nearby work parties. We understand that 10/10/10 is one important day of many in a long, universal (and beautiful) fight for a workable planet. Other groups doing great work include:
Center for Biological Diversity (
BiologicalDiversity.org)
Energy Action Coalition (
EnergyActionCoalition.org)
Friends of the Earth (
foe.org)
Interfaith Power and Light (
InterfaithPowerAndLight.org)
straight days of rain, or a month with no rain at all, without helpful policies. That means resorting to politics, which is another way of saying that we must work together as people for better solu- tions to climate change than what we have now. It can be beautiful. If you don’t believe me, check out the pictures at
350.org.
I dare you.
Bill McKibben is the author, most recently, of the bestselling Eaarth: Mak- ing a Life on a Tough New Planet. He’s the founder of
350.org, and a scholar in residence at Middlebury College in Vermont. The Boston Globe this year described him as “…probably the country’s leading environmentalist,” and Time called him “…the planet’s best green journalist.”
natural awakenings October 2010 23
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