350: A Number to Hang a Carbon Cap On

A team of scientists, led by NASA climatologist Dr. James Hansen, has determined that 350 parts per million (ppm) is the safe level of heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO2) which we must get below in order to preserve climates similar to which life on Earth is adapted. The level now is 387 ppm, and is increasing at least by 2 ppm per year. We need to start now and reduce the level of CO2 below 350 ppm.

Scientists studying Antarctic ice cores that include more than 650,000 years of past climate history have never found CO2 levels even close to those of the present ones. Pre-Industrial Revolution levels, i.e., before the extensive burning of fossil fuels, were at 275 ppm, far below the current level of 387 ppm.

The CO2 level recorded prior to industrial fossil-fuel burning is that which trapped enough heat to maintain global temperatures to which life on Earth adapted. At the current elevated level of heat-trapping CO2, the Earth is showing signs of a planetary "fever".

Arctic sea is melting, sea levels are rising, and climate patterns around the globe are changing. Glaciers, the source of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people, are melting and disappearing. Disease-carrying mosquitoes that thrive in a warmer world are spreading to new places including south Texas. Drought is becoming more common, making food crops harder to grow in many regions.

Environmentalist and author, Bill McKibben, thinks that 350 is the most important number on Earth. In fact, he founded an international movement called simply 350, aiming to inform people around the world that 350 ppm is the level scientists have identified as the safe upper limit for CO2 in our atmosphere. Hopefully, this will help move international climate negotiations closer to science than they’ve been in the past.

McKibben aims to create a world-wide grassroots movement connected by the internet and to hold decision-makers accountable to producing a climate treaty that is strong, equitable, and grounded in the latest science, the science of 350. On October 24, 350.org is holding a Global Day of Climate Action to do just this. “We hope it represents a climactic moment in the climate movement to show that people around the world are watching the outcome in Copenhagen,” says May Boeve, an international 350 coordinator. “We need a strong treaty to get us to a safe level. We are ultimately building toward that point.”

So how do we reduce the CO2 level below 350?

• No more new coal plants, because although the world still has immense amounts of coal, it's immensely dirty.

• A cap on the amount of carbon the country can produce, with permits paid for by the upstream producer who mines, imports, or sells the fossil fuel .

• An international agreement, including China and India, to do the same thing around the world.

If the global 350 movement succeeds, McKibben has hope that we can get the world back to climate safety. It won't be easy, because the planet is already developing a fever, and prompt action is necessary. Visit 350.org to learn more about how you can help.

This weekend there were two conferences focused on that single number, 350. "Getting to 350" was held at Middlebury College in Vermont, and "The 350 Climate Conference" was held at Columbia University in New York. James Hansen spoke at Columbia and via video conference at Middlebury. Bill McKibben spoke at Middlebury via video conference from the other side of the planet in New Zealand, where he is spreading the word about the most important number on Earth.

Burning Coal Sparks DC Protest Plans

A coal-fired steam-generating plant, the Capitol Power Plant, sits right in the heart of our nation's capitol, unbeknown to most in Washington DC. On March 2, the Capitol Power Plant will become more visible because it will be the site of a mass protest against the continued and seemingly unending practice of polluting our planet by burning coal. The Capitol Power Plant will be exposed as a dark symbol of all that is wrong about burning coal, and all that is wrong with politics as usual in Washington.

On March 2, concerned citizens will demand change on burning coal, calling for a complete transformation in our national energy policies and priorities. In protest of the Federal Government's inaction on these issues, a number of prominent people will gather at the Capitol Power Plant and engage in acts of non-violent civil disobedience, in the tradition of Ghandi and the Civil Rights Movement. Two authors who want to protect and preserve the environment, Bill McKibben from Vermont and Wendell Berry of Kentucky, have made it known that they plan to cross the legal boundary of the power plant and expect to get arrested. Below is a video featuring Bill McKibben in an interview about 'clean coal' and global climate change.



Why is McKibben willing to go to jail in protest of burning coal? To find out, Click Here. Actress Susan Sarandon narrated a video asking others to join the March 2nd protest, called the Capitol Climate Action. NASA climatologist, Dr. James Hansen, is also soliciting participation in the protest to stop global warming pollution in a video presentation at CapitolClimateAction.org. A long list of individuals and organizations endorsing the Capitol Climate Action is shown here. The protest follows PowerShift 2009, a separate event that will draw thousands of students and young people to Washington for the purpose of holding elected officials accountable for rebuilding the economy through bold climate and clean energy policies that help create new jobs.

UPDATE, Feb.26: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid released a letter asking the Capitol Architect to switch the Capitol Power Plant from coal to 100 percent natural gas by the end of 2009. The call comes just three days before more than 2,500 people will converge at the power plant for the biggest civil disobedience on climate issues in U.S. history. The Capitol Climate Action will still go forward on March 2nd. Read more here.

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EARTH to PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES: STOP BURNING COAL !

An earlier blog entry highlighted John Edwards' call for a moratorium on building new-coal-fired power plants in the absence of technology to remove CO2, and the contrary stance of Clinton, Obama as well as the Republican candidates to keep the coal fires burning based on the industry myth of "clean coal". Edwards stands solidly on facts, while Big Coal stands on greed and lobbying, and their political benefactors stand on campaign contributions and elections. Fortunately, students and conservationists with the intelligence to see through the "clean coal" myth are rising up at the South Carolina primary and fighting against the Big Coal lobby. Click here for a report from the front lines.
It is crucial that we elect leaders who have the intelligence and political will to oppose the "clean coal" myth, and who aim to lead the world in stopping global warming pollution. According to NASA climate scientist, Dr. James Hansen, "Coal will determine whether we continue to increase climate change or slow the human impact. Increased fossil fuel CO2 in the air today, compared to the pre-industrial atmosphere, is due 50% to coal, 35% to oil, and 15% to gas. As oil resources peak, coal will determine future CO2 levels." Memo to presidential primary candidates: re-think your position on so-called "clean coal", and give clean energy alternatives and the planet a chance.