TAKE ACTION to connect the dots on climate change

Across the globe we are seeing more extreme weather events. Mongolia is suffering drought, Thailand flooding and bush fires are becoming a more and more common sight across Australia. Climate Change group 350.org is organising the ‘Connect the Dots' campaign, highlighting the link between extreme weather and climate change, and they need your help to create a truly global climate event.

On 5th May campaigners around the world will be holding up a dot, a dot printed on a banner or a t-shirt, a dot made of fabric, or creating a dot of people where the effects of climate change are already being felt. 350.org will then share the photos worldwide to put a human face to the ravages of climate change.

Not all of us live in areas as yet deeply affected by climate change as those in Mongolia and Thailand, but you can still get take part, either by organising an event exposing the likely effects of climate change on the local area, or calling for more widespread reporting by the media. Alternatively you can attend an event local to you, a list of which can be found on the campaign's website.

Jamie Henn, from 350.org, told the Ecologist there is no limit to the ways people can get involved, and people's creativity is shining through, ‘We hope that on May 5 people will host a creative event in their community that highlights a local climate impact, such as an extreme weather event, and connect it to the larger climate crisis. People are doing everything from diving underwater with "dot" banners to draw attention to bleached coral reefs to hosting presentations at their school.'

350.org was set up in 2008 and has been seeking to creatively campaign in the US and beyond, drawing attention to the scientific community's call for a reduction of carbon particulates in the atmosphere to below 350 parts per million. Currently the levels are over 391 ppm. Their first campaign organised rallies at 2,000 iconic locations involving all 50 states in the US. In October 2009 they organised what CNN called the ‘most widespread day of political action in the planet's history' coordinating 5,200 simultaneous rallies in 181 countries.

‘It's always hard to tell how many people take part in these global efforts, but there are already hundreds upon hundreds of events planned around the world (for 5th May). This should be a big day and a great way to kick off an ongoing campaign to connect the dots between extreme weather and climate change,' said Henn.

‘I think "Connect the Dots" will help shift the public's understanding of climate change from a problem somewhere in the distant future to a clear and present danger. A new poll just came out here in the US that suggests Americans are increasingly concerned about climate change. Our goal is to channel that concern into a clear demand for our political leaders to take action.'

TAKE ACTION: Create your own event, or find one already planned by visiting the Climate Dots campaign website

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