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Aotearoa - New Zealand |
Activists depicted "350" signs on October 24th in more than 180 different countries during more than 5000 events in what’s considered to be the biggest environmental event ever done.
"350" was written in plants, on rocks, in deserts, and in forests. It was written using groups posing to form the numbers, on signs that roamed the streets, and on flags that were raised over mountains.
That’s because Saturday was the International Day of Climate Action, and activists from around the world had been preparing to mark the day with as much exposure to the cause against climate change as they could.
What Is 350?
According to campaigners, 350 ppm (parts per million) is considered to be the safe upper limit for CO2 atmospheric concentration. It's that limit above which ice melts and lives are endangered.
Our current CO2 atmospheric concentration is 390 ppm which is causing ice to melt at an alarming rate.
According to a recent study, it’s claimed that if climate change continued at such a rate, the Arctic Ocean will be totally ice-free during the summer in only 20 years.
If you want to know more about Climate Change, please visit our Special Folder: The Truth About Climate Change.
The Moves
Participants in the campaign hoped that the action on Saturday would turn the attention of political leaders around the world and respond to the dangers of climate change.
As quoted by a huge sign on sand in New Brighton – Australia: "There's No Planet B."
IslamOnline.net (IOL) talked to Ayman El-Sayed, a communication engineer and the leading participant in one of Egypt's events "350 Run For Cure."
"350 Run For Cure" was a joint event that aimed at both raising the awareness about breast cancer (October is Breast Cancer Awareness month) as well as the problem of climate change.
The marathon organized by BCFE (Breast Cancer Foundation of Egypt) took place at the Giza Pyramids area and had two stages: a run for a distance of one and a half km, followed by a walk for 2 km.
Participants shared in the marathon in the form of teams, with each participant wearing a t-shirt with the 350 logo printed on it.
El-Sayed says that on the 350 website, one can register for an event then send its photos to be published there. He said that there were 9 other events registered in Egypt.
The photos of the biggest events from the different countries were put on a big display in New York's Times Square on that day, according to an email El-Sayed received from 350.
Encouraged by his experience, El-Sayed is planning on expanding his efforts to thwart climate change by expanding his call-for-biking campaign.
His efforts have started on a small scale involving his coworkers, encouraging 60 people to get a bike and participate in the campaign, one third of which are females.
"Biking is healthy, and environmentally friendly," El-Sayed says, "We aim at making more people use their bikes to go to their work or just hangout. We are trying to make biking more comfortable to people, as unfortunately in many areas in Egypt people consider biking an awkward scene."
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