Sunday marks a calendrical coincidence sure to catch the eye of numerologists and anyone fond of binary code. But Oct. 10, 2010, or 10-10-10, also has taken on ecological significance as a stage for global events centered around climate change.
Author Bill McKibben's 350.org (named for what scientists say is the safe level, in parts per million, of carbon in the atmosphere) has thrown its weight behind a Global Work Party, while Creative Visions Foundation is urging people worldwide to chronicle a day in the life of Earth for a geo-coded online video and photo montage.
Billed as a day of practical action to cut greenhouse gases that are warming Earth and provoking climate change, Global Work Party encourages local groups to sponsor events:
Since we've already worked hard to call, e-mail, 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.
Creative Visions has teamed up with The World Wildlife Fund, American Red Cross, Oxfam, the United Nations Development Program and a host of non-governmental groups in creating an online video time capsule of 24 hours on the planet, called One Day on Earth:
With thousands of participants, ranging from teenagers to award-winning filmmakers, One Day on Earth is being represented by every country in the world. The unprecedented scope of video captured on 10.10.10 will be viewable through an online archive system, as well as a feature-length documentary that explores our planet’s identity, slated for 2011.
Following the landmark event, the One Day on Earth archive –- searchable by topic, popularity and location –- will be available for anyone in the general public to navigate and learn about important issues facing our global community. Participants will also have access to download all One Day on Earth footage for non-commercial purposes, offering an additional opportunity to produce their own interpretations of global life.
A video explanation of the project is available on vimeo.
No word yet whether motivator-maven Suzy Welch, author of "10-10-10: A life-transforming idea" has anything to say about the use of her favored numbers, nor whether the promoters ever considered the Roman numeral version: XXX
Did you really just click on XXX?
-- Geoff Mohan
Photo: Los Angeles 350.org activists gather in the foreground of the Hollywood sign. Credit: 350.org
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source: LATIMES
