Environmentalists pushing for curb to global warming at local events today as part of the 350 campaign

Environment-oriented people are gathering around Southern California and throughout the state today to press for tough federal legislation and an international treaty to curb global warning.

The participants are part of "an international day of action," with about 4,000 events in 170 countries at places including the Taj Mahal and the Eiffel Tower, according to 350.org, a group started by environmentalist Bill McKibben.

Members of 30 Santa Barbara and Los Angeles-area environmental groups and their supporters will gather at 3 p.m. on the Manhattan Beach Pier for the "Amazing Waving Human Tide Line" to highlight the sea rise expected from climate change. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted last month to endorse the International Day of Climate Action. (Click here to download a description of the South Bay 350 Climate Action Group.)

In Orange County, the Irvine Ranch Outdoor Education Center will feature an International Day of Climate Action Festival from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., highlighted by an aerial photo of attendees gathered to form the number 350 on a field. Other activities will include a nature hike, a 5K walk, tree planting and talks by Orange County environmental and religious leaders. The United Methodist Church in Costa Mesa will host a lecture on "creation care," a movement to protect the Earth from climate-related threats.

This morning, a group was planning to meet at 6284 Mulholland Highway in Los Angeles to pose with a giant "350"  banner beneath the Hollywood sign. 

The group 350.org advocates reducing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million from the current 390 parts. Before the Industrial Revolution, the atmosphere contained about 280 parts per million, but the concentration is rapidly heading toward more than 500 parts as a result of the burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of rain forests.

The group, which seeks to spur grass-roots consciousness of climate-change dangers, has its work cut out for it. Polls show that Americans are growing less, not more, concerned about global warming -- despite warnings from scientists that warmer temperatures, drought, melting glaciers, water shortages, species extinctions and sea rise will result from the buildup of carbon dioxide.

-- Margot Roosevelt and Jeff Gottlieb

Comments

[Ken]

Enough already. What are we going to do about the sun? I'm sure it is a just a coincidence that the most ardent calls for "fighting global warming" come from the same groups who were already trying to control our lives and redistribute wealth from Americans to others. Until all of these people go live in caves, shunning manufactured goods and electricity, I can't take them seriously.

[Tim]

This environmentalism is way over kill.....I hope they fail

[Gordon Potik]

The problem with the Cap and Trade legislation isn’t the underlying reason but the approach.

We are basing this legislation on a concept that is arguably affecting our Earth … Global Warming. Even though we have seen a Noble Prize, and an Oscar about Global Warming, that does mean we need CAP and Trade legislation to stop this impending dome day’s situation. Global warming for some is still a debatable item. In fact in an Editorial in the Los Angeles Time dated 8-26-09 we can read that the US Chamber of Commerce is seeking a “Scopes monkey trial for the 21st century” appointing a judge to hear evidence on the question of does global warming endangers Americans’ health. Since then we have seen numerous editorials about Global Warming and Cap and Trade legislation needed because of Global Warming.

How do I feel about Global Warming and its affects? Don’t give a damn. It is all hot air and goes against the real truth. The real truth is as follows …

I believe the approach should be similar to the way we might handle our own home environment. That is to say … we would not want our kids to play in a filthy toxic back yard, drink dirty water, breathe polluted air, swim in toxic or dirty water, and plant a garden in toxic soil … would we? I think not. Hence we need appropriate legislation to prevent the pollution of our air, land and seas. This is similar in fact to our military that protects us on land, on seas, and in the air.

In fact, if we can secure ourselves militarily in the air, on the land and on the seas and rivers, then why can’t we secure ourselves environmentally in the air, on the land, on the seas, rivers and lakes?

The Global Warming discussion and influence disappears when we have as a goal to remove the toxic influence in the three major environments that are Global in nature ... Air, Land, sea, rivers and lakes?

[Richard Deight]

After years of circling the drain under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, voters finally have a choice. Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has pledged to suspend AB 32, California's quixotic Global Warming Solutions Act
.
"Global warming" and "saving the planet" at any price is shaping up to be the final nail in the coffin of what was once a free society and the envy of the rest of the world.

We've become just like the rest of the world's dictatorships. The only difference is that we maintain the illusion of democracy by cloaking totalitarian dictates in such "new-think" terms as "climate change," "carbon footprint," "sustainability," and "cap-and-trade."

As government intrusion and faceless bureaucracies trample over individual rights and freedom, we have all but forgotten that the American Revolution was a rebellion against just this sort of tyranny.

The agenda-based policies and political bias of global warming will bring this great nation to economic ruin. George Orwell would be proud. We may be 25 years late, but we've finally made it to "1984."

[Moon54]

The science is out there for anyone to see. Ice core data shows we have been going through the same warming and cooling trends for the last 240,000 years. The earth also had strong global warming between 1918 and 1940. Then there was a long cooling period from 1940 to 1965. The current warming started 50 years before cars and industries began spewing consequential amounts of CO2. Then the planet cooled for 35 years just after the CO2 levels really began to surge. In fact, there doesn’t seem to be much correlation between temperatures and man-made CO2 at all. The latest scientific data show that the Martian polar ice caps have been decreasing over the last 3 years just as they have on earth. If you look at the actual data this means that solar cycles are the main cause of climate change on earth. Unless Al Gore can explain how our CO2 is affecting warming on Mars then I'm not going to buy into it.

[The Hana Kids]

Interesting multi-trillion dollar global warming scam. Especially, since we are in our 11th year of global cooling; and are heading for an Ice Age.

Just keep thinking those warm thoughts. The facts show it ain't gettin warmer.

Just keep drinking that Gore kool-aide folks. Remember from your science 101 class: Carbon Dioxide (CO2) the stuff Al Gore puts out during his speeches is what our green plants thrive on to produce oxygen, for us to breathe.

And, even though we have had an increase in CO2 the planet is still cooling. Go figure.........

[Marcelle]

For over 30 years scientists have been warning about the effects of global warming, and presently within the scientific community (both here and overseas) there are no credible voices of dissent on this topic. Top experts are telling us that ice caps are melting, that floods and droughts on a massive scale are coming, bringing with them famine, disease, and the possibility of another ice age.

On one hand it's baffling, and thoroughly depressing, that people would ignore the warnings and be more concerned about the short term economy and politics. We are talking about not just the destruction of our environment, but the deaths of billions of people, and in fact, the survival of the human species. On the other hand, I think it's simply too much for most people to comprehend, or too overwhelming to accept.

A large part of the blame I would place on our government, which for decades has been too short-sighted and concerned with personal gain to address this issue. What is needed from them now is real leadership backed by massive public awareness campaigns. The current strategy of gently urging people to recycle is getting us nowhere. Our massive population is not going to spontaneously make significant changes in the way they live their lives based on a single film and sporadic news coverage on the subject.

The sad fact is that the changes we need to make are not all that drastic on a personal level: conserving water, sharing a ride to work, turning out the lights when you leave a room. We don't all need to go live in caves to make this work. And on a national level, switching from buying our fuel from overseas to making our own fuel here from solar and wind will create jobs and stimulate the economy. Even asking corporations to cut back on energy will stimulate the economy - those solar panels aren't going to instal themselves.

Unfortunately, the current administration has to weigh it's action on the environment against our efforts in Afghanistan and the recession. Still, I think they are doing a much better job of legislating change than any other administration, including the one in which Gore was the vice president. However, I believe that no real change can come unless all of us as individuals accept what's happening and start taking action.

[Bugs]

Hellooooo! "Global warming" ended ten years ago.