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350.org is an international campaign whose aim is to bring pressure to bear on world leaders to make effective decisions based on good science at the Copenhagen Conference in December.
Its plan is to do this through actions and events starting today, October 24th.
The principle is simple: If enough people make themselves heard, politicians will be more likely to take note and act accordingly.
The particular focus of 350.org is to spotlight the need to bring the number of parts of carbon dioxide (CO2) per million in the atmosphere down to 350.
That’s the amount of CO2 that most scientists believe is the maximum the planet can stand before it turns rotten. We are above that level now at 390 parts per million and the trend is upwards.
Scientific evidence suggests that we are near the tipping point – the point beyond which the combined effects of climate change brought on by increased levels of CO2 cause a chain reaction we cannot stop.
The following is a scenario that has been described by mainstream science: Trees in the Amazon Basin are choked by CO2 levels. Once dead, the forests cannot be regenerated because the top soil is too thin.
The decaying trees release huge amounts of CO2 that take the Earth beyond the point of recovery.
Support for The International Day of Climate Action
To show my support for this international day of climate action, I thought I would photograph the discarded plastic I found in 350 seconds on a city street in the center of Leeds.
The process of making plastic adds to CO2 levels. Carelessly discarding high-grade plastic is a crime.
Everyone complains about high-grade plastic being used as packaging, but worldwide we use more of it every year. The fact that there are not sufficient controls on what can be used as packaging is symptomatic of the lack of political will to deal with the problems causing climate change.
350 Seconds
This is a photograph of what I collected in 350 seconds – less than six minutes.
350 Parts per Million?
I found this stuff in the gutter in the parking bays at the side of a street in the center of Leeds and I didn’t have to walk far to find it – just 75 yards of so. In case it is not clear from the photograph – the plastic bottles have all been crushed flat under the wheels of cars.
My first thought was to wonder how I had missed seeing all this stuff when I have walked along this street.
In fact I do see it, and feel bad about it. But I don’t see most of it. I simply avoid looking at it. I don’t want to look at the discarded stuff that is on the ground so I blot it out from my vision.
The attitude that politicians must take to the Copenhagen Conference in December is that of looking at the situation, and acting accordingly.
Failing that, 390 parts per million of CO2 – and rising – will take the decisions out of our hands.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ll have to admit only recently I became aware of just how much plastic is out there . I saw skeletons of baby birds with all the plastic they had consume in their young lives .All the plastic that was visable I had seen in my own trash can at one time or another .
Hi David,
Litter in general is such a big problem, and so unattractive.
Discarded plastic of course also contributes to ecological problems. There is such a contrast with the beauty of the natural scenes in your photos and the picture of the discarded litter that you found.
Yes, it is strange that we strive for beauty and leave ugliness.
Very effective photo and I like the idea of the 350-second hunt. Maybe schoolchildren should be required to go on a similar hunt too.
Good idea.
I think that children take to a sense of social responsibility very easily. But they also see the chasm between what people preach and the fact that there is all this stuff to pick up in the first place.