Climate change activists hope for a worldwide focus on the number 350 on Saturday, the International Day of Climate Action.
What’s the significance of the number? Steve Bazan is a UW faculty member who’s organized an event in Madison. “Three fifty is the level of parts per million of carbon dioxide, which most scientists believe is a sustainable level of CO2 in the atmosphere,” explains Bazan. Global carbon dioxide levels are already above 350 parts per billion – the number represents an achievable target for reductions.
Bazan says the timing of the Saturday’s worldwide events is not a coincidence: it’s designed to send a clear message to leaders meeting at the global climate conference in Copenhagen. Around the globe, more than 4800 actions have been planned in 179 countries.