As someone who has clicked YES in the past three years to every “sign this petition” offer regarding climate change regulation, I’m a little confused. There are too many groups, alliances, and coalitions to keep straight, and I’m not sure what they’re all really doing. I’ve signed many an online petition aimed to pressure congress into passing legislation that will create “green collar” jobs and stricter gas mileage standards, but the voice in my head has started to ask, fearfully: Does an online petition with 500,000 signatures even cause a ripple anymore? I still reluctantly open emails and click SIGN if it seems important, but in order to get a grip on how I can be involved online, I figured I’d do a little research about who’s who and what’s what:
350: http://www.350.org/ This group popped up fairly recently and has an interesting marketing strategy. It seems that 350.org’s primary goal is to raise awareness about climate change through the use of a number: 350. This number refers to the upper limit of carbon dioxide parts per million (ppm) in the atmosphere that the earth can handle without causing, in their words, “irreversible damage to the earth.” From what I’ve read, this is a widely-documented scientific assertion. To me, the coolest feature on the website is a slick 90-second video without any text that seeks to explain how we’ve already passed the 350 mark and what we can do to prevent it: http://www.350.org/en/animation
If you’re asking me: It’s a well done site with straightforward information for those who are just learning about climate change. Not the place to go, however, if you’re looking for opportunities to get involved beyond sending postcards and incorporating the number “350″ into your next craft project. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
WE: http://www.wecansolveit.org/ WE can solve it is a coalition that has grown out of Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection. It is an awareness-raising group with an additional focus on pushing U.S. legislation on key climate change issues and using online petitions to pressure, for example, the U.S. media to ask more global warming-related questions to our presidential candidates. Their website is clearly laid out for anyone who wants to learn more about where we should be concentrating our efforts, including personal changes we can make at home.
My two cents: This effort looks to be highly organized and focused. It is a consolidated effort which, given my confusion due to the plethora of such groups, is a good thing. Check it out.
Live Earth: http://www.liveearth.org You probably remember the hype around the 7.7.07 Live Earth concert extravaganza, in which the organizers staged concerts on all seven continents to raise awareness around climate change issues. I was really impressed by the scale of the event…less impressed with cameos from stars like Cameron Diaz, who pointed out that if we all trimmed a minute off of our daily shower times it could really help save the planet (translation: You don’t really have to make lifestyle changes to make a difference). Anyway, the people behind liveearth.org pledged to continue to provide important information about climate change to its subscribers. In truth, the helpful eco-tips emails have ranged from “Mop with vinegar instead of clorox” to “Take a walk with your dad on Father’s Day instead of driving somewhere.” C’mon, folks.
My humble opinion: Lame attempt at seeming relevant. Eh.
Virgin Earth Challenge: http://www.virginearth.com/ This program doesn’t really fit with the others, but I think it’s really cool so I’m including it. Richard Branson, Al Gore, and James Hansen (whom I will write about more in my next post) among others are judging this competition, aimed at attracting “a commercially viable design which results in the removal of anthropogenic, atmospheric greenhouse gases so as to contribute materially to the stability of Earth’s climate.” Whuh? Basically, they want someone to propose a large-scale plan for removing CO2 and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere that will make money at the same time. $25,000,000 to the winning proposal. The best part: my dad recently submitted a proposal! That’s right, my dad is a (not so) mad scientist who wants to use his brains for good. Go dad!