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Editor’s note: The Mountain Stewards environmental group offers suggestions for people to make eco-friendly choices in their daily routines. Look for more columns and tips from the Mountain Stewards in future issues.
On Oct. 24, a dozen women in Melbourne, Australia posed with a quilt boldly decorated with colorful squares forming the number 350. In Cebu, Philippines a group of school children positioned themselves on their school playing field to form the number 350. In a Mongolian desert men rode on horseback through the desert carrying banners that simply read, “350.”
On that day in October 181 countries held over 5,200 events to call attention to the number 350. What was it all about?
The one-day event was the brainchild of Bill McKibben, the Harvard-educated environmentalist, author, and lecturer who wants everyone to be reminded that scientists have identified 350 parts per million (ppm) as the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.
But most importantly, he wants everyone in the world to know that the atmosphere is already at 390 ppm.
McKibben recommends that the world take immediate action on all fronts to shift totally from an oil- and coal-based energy grid to wind and solar and to create a more human-scale economy where local farms and industries can thrive. Sounds daunting, doesn’t it? It needn’t be if people work together to do their part.
Here are ideas:
• Recycle!
• Plant a garden (Bachman rents community plots).
• Buy locally produced food and other products whenever possible. Many grocery stores offer some local produce now. Ask for more!
• Join a CSA (community supported agriculture) program.
• Join/start a carpool to work or school (or ride the school bus)
• Wear sweaters in the house in winter and t-shirts in the summer.
• Ride a bike or walk to your destination when you can.
• Write your elected officials and tell them how to vote on pending environmental legislation.
• Join an environmental group — the Mountain Stewards would love to have you!
From Melbourne to Mongolia to Cibu to Signal Mountain, as countries, as groups and as individuals we all have to do more. For more information visit the 350 Web site.
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