International Climate Action Day Storms into San Francisco

Saturday marked a day of unprecedented international climate actions by activists in 181 countries who are building momentum to inspire political leaders to take substantial steps towards climate reform at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December.

In the Bay Area of California, cyclists from as far away as Arcadia descended upon Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco in the culmination of the kickoff. In a speech by San Francisco City Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who initiated the plastic bag ban in this country, urged people to push their municipal and state legislatures to take aggressive action to reform climate regulation, regardless of what the international community does (or does not) do. He is a consistent advocate for local control for attaining a green agenda.

The international day was spearheaded by the group 350.org and supported by numerous environmental activist groups, including GreenPeace. The number 350 represents the parts per million of carbon dioxide emissions that the atmosphere can bear if we want to avoid runaway global warming.