How many of you remember 350 Day from last October? I do. Quite well. In fact, I spent much time fighting off climate skeptics on this blog. To rewind, around the world, the the climate action day was a success: 181 countries came together for 5,200 events. This was an international event asking leaders to lower the CO2 parts per million to 350 (basically equivalent to 1990 levels, already a Washington state goal) and pass policies that are grounded in the overwhelming science.


Now, organizers have set their sights on October 10th, 2010 for a Global Work Party, "the biggest day of practical action to cut carbon the world has ever seen." They're calling it a "A Day to Celebrate Climate Solutions"-- bringing communities together on projects that can cut carbon, build a clean energy future, and pass strong climate policies. Already, thousands of people around the world have registered their plans like bike repair workshoppers in San Francisco, school insulating teams in London, waste-land-to-veggies-gardeners in  New Zealand, and solar panel installers in Kenya. 

Our region is getting in on the fun as well.


View Actions at 350.org

So far, we have three events registered for Spokane and the Spokane Valley:

Farm Potluck For The Climate.

Organized by Jennifer Hall, a new program focused on local food, The Whole Plate, hosts this farm tour as its debut event, inviting consumers to learn more about food choices and the impacts of our purchases on ourselves, the environment, our economy and the future of food.

Spokane Action

A get together to decide ways to protect and improve our city, and a discussion to make people in the surrounding area more aware of keeping our environment healthy

Plantes Ferry Tree Planting Kickoff

This event will mark the kickoff of the local community's long-term efforts to plant dozens of trees at the popular weekend destination for players and spectators.

After the jump, check the invite from Bill McKibben.

Dear World,

It’s been a tough year: in North America, oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico; in Asia some of the highest temperatures ever recorded; in the Arctic, the fastest melting of sea ice ever seen; in Latin America, record rainfalls washing away whole mountainsides.

So we’re having a party.

Circle 10/10/10 on your calendar. That’s the date. The place is wherever you live. And the point is to do something that will help deal with global warming in your city or community.

We’re calling it a Global Work Party, with emphasis on both 'work' and 'party'. In Auckland, New Zealand, they’re having a giant bike fix-up day, to get every bicycle in the city back on the road. In the Maldives, they’re putting up solar panels on the President’s office. In Kampala, Uganda, they're going to plant thousands of trees, and in Bolivia they’re installing solar stoves for a massive carbon neutral picnic.

Since we've already worked hard to call, email, petition, and protest to get politicians to move, and they haven't moved fast enough, now it's time to show that we really do have the tools we need to get serious about the climate crisis.

On 10/10/10 we'll show that we the people can do this--but we need bold energy policies from our political leaders to do it on a scale that truly matters. The goal of the day is not to solve the climate crisis one project at a time, but to send a pointed political message: if we can get to work, you can get to work too--on the legislation and the treaties that will make all our work easier in the long run.

You can sign up to host a local event at www.350.org/oct10

Or search for an event to join at www.350.org/map

And don’t worry about being alone at this party: there are already over thousands of groups in 150+ countries around the world scheduled to do something great that day. We'll knit all these groups together with a powerful mosaic of photos, videos, and stories from around the world. You wouldn’t want to miss it.

It’s been a tough year—but it can be a beautiful day on the 10th Of October if we work together, and party together. And if we do it right, then we’ll take a big step towards the kind of political solutions we desperately need. Onwards!

Bill McKibben and the 350.org team

P.S.—If you feel a little shy, or wonder if you can really make a party work, check out these pictures from last year’s Global Day of Action. There were 5200 demonstrations in 181 countries, which means an awful lot of folks like you figured out how to get it done!

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