As we previewed earlier this week, today was International Climate Day of Action, including a synchronized global rally featuring photogenic human chains forming the number 350. I was there. My daughter was there. I brought my roommate too. And it was rainy and miserable and inconvenient.
Those of us who care about the environment would like to see a New America. An America that is eco-conscious, that is galvanized to concerted action. An America that believes that the upper limit that some scientists think is safe for the environment, 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide, is still achievable, even though we passed it (we are now at 387 PPM!). Some say that the “horse is already out of the barn” and it’s too late. A herculean task. Imagine trying to abolish slavery from all 50 states instead of just the South and certain territories. Pretty damn hard, and who would be the ones to lead the charge?
The answer to that question today is you and me. The people from 350.org believe that a New American and global mindset can be created by simplifying the message, and galvanizing around a number, in this case 350. I think they have a point. I brought my 6 year old daughter down on a miserable rainy day to Independence Mall, and when we lined up to form the human 350 as part of the Zero, she said I don’t want to be part of the Zero, I want to be part of the Five! Mission accomplished. With the rain, and the gooey Fall Harvest donut admittedly purchased from Dunkin’ Donuts, and being part of the big human Five, I think she will remember this day for a long time. I brought my roommate too, and she wasn’t so enthusiastic about coming either.
But for me that is the metaphor here. We have to make space in our hearts and souls for the daughters of our daughters to enjoy a safe, 350ppm or whatever the hell the right number is, planet, and this is a little abstract, projecting out into the future. This is a movement that requires one to make sacrifices to help the “theoretical other” — others we may never meet…it is a movement of inconvenience. To quote Creedence Clearwater Revival, “I want to know, have you ever seen the rain, comin down on a sunny day?”
October 25, 2009 at 11:11 am |
Thanks for your post about the event yesterday! We realize that the weather was a challenge for everybody and share your feelings that it is symbolic of the great challenge in front of us – climate change.
I hope that your daughter grows up remembering fondly her experience of such a wonderful rainy day that she spent with her father. She represents the future, the real truth of sustainability. The decisions that we make today lave less to do with us than they do future generations.
Thanks for your support of 350 and 350philly!
Check out some photos at our Flickr group and feel free to upload some of yours: http://www.flickr.com/groups/350philly/
Thanks again!
-Drew
October 26, 2009 at 12:07 pm |
Dear Man with Baby in the “5″
I am so proud to have made your acquaintance on Saturday. My husband and I are on 350Philly’s core organizing committee.We were the “5″ team leaders , and perhaps you were the person I asked situate the stroller in the formation. There were several strollers, so I can’t be sure about that. I AM sure that you are right about what it meant to be there, and I hope you are right that your daughter will long remember the part she played on that rainy day in 2009 when the consciousness of the world was raised.
I have been writing articles and eblasts for the past 6 months in preparation for 10/24. When Woodstock took it’s place in the history books as an action of Peace, We sang “Give Peace a Chance.” Saturday, we urged the world’s citizens and governing bodies to “Give Earth a Chance.” Thank goodness there wasn’t as much mud involved this time!
Please keep in touch with me as we move toward the Copenhagen Conference. We are just at the first step of the process of keeping 350 in the headlines and in the minds of the world.
Thanks for your utube video and comments.
Alise Emig
October 27, 2009 at 10:17 am |
Thanks Drew and Alise for your responses to the post. Drew, you may remember that we met at the Philly Green Fest back in September and I videotaped your description of the movement. Thanks very much for the acknowledgment and I will try to upload my 350 video if possible to the site. No pics
And thanks Alise too, my daughter is now too old for a stroller, but if you look at the “0″ in the pic on your website, she is the small creature in the red coat and bare legs somewhere near 11 o’clock in the formation. But I hope we meet soon. And I look forward to more steps to come leading up to Copenhagen.