New Bedford, a coastal city with a strong nautical heritage, is home to a growing and creative movement for social equality, green jobs, and environmental justice. On Saturday, hundreds of concerned individuals surrounded a sailboat placed curiously in the middle of an intersection of downtown New Bedford, with a sail that boldly read: “350.org”. The people there were joining thousands of others across the globe as part of the largest environmental action in history. The message: The world is ready for an international climate treaty that is ambitious, fair, and binding, and that follows what science is telling us.
350 may be the most important number in the world. Science tells us that it’s the highest level of atmospheric CO2 that we can maintain if we wish to “maintain a planet like that on which civilization developed.” (We’re currently at 390 and climbing.) I found the sailboat to be an incredibly powerful way to accent the nautical heritage of New Bedford and to highlight its vulnerability to sea level rise. Perhaps most importantly, it symbolizes the importance of community resilience and adaptation in the face of this emerging climate crisis.
When I first heard that Bioneers by the Bay: Connecting for Change was happening the same weekend as the 350 event, I was excited at the possibilities of how these unique and powerful initiatives would combine forces in the city of New Bedford. Bioneers is an inspirational gathering of individuals sharing “visionary and practical solutions for restoring the Earth and its inhabitants.” What a perfect context in which to punctuate the global message of 350.org! We have the solutions to avert climate disaster and sustainable communities. We must simply realize that we’re all in the same boat, and make up our minds to act as one.
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