McKibben calls us to action. Push 350!

Bill McKibben, one of the world's leading experts on climate change, recently paid a visit to Traverse City to galvanize action to reduce carbon emissions. He encouraged us to join communities worldwide to take on creative projects that push the number 350, so that collectively we can influence international climate change talks. Picture a farmer planting 350 trees outside a Cameroon village, 350 bicyclists circling in Salt Lake City, or church bells ringing 350 times in a Massachusetts town. Those are just some of the examples of everyday people around the world catalyzed by his message.

So what's up with the number 350? That's the number leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, measured in parts per million. And we are currently over that number. McKibben's global movement 350.org aims to make 350 ppm the benchmark for success for national and international climate agreements so we can avoid runaway climate change.

McKibben's humble, informed delivery of alarming news was surprisingly full of hope and humor. He shared his vision of what the world would look like after we get past our dependency on cheap fossil fuels, and it looked pretty darn attractive. Not only would this world be more energy efficient, he noted, it would change the very way in which we relate to one another.

"Cheap fossil fuel has made Americans the first people on Earth who have no need for their neighbors," McKibben said. Three fourths of Americans don't know their next-door neighbors. "As we make those changes," he said, "we'll find that the world works better."

Think about a commodity like food, a subject near and dear to Up North Foodies.

"It's terrific that there are so many local farmers here," McKibben said. "Because the way that we usually eat in this country – which seems sort of normal to us – is in fact borderline crazy. The average bite of food we eat has traveled 2,000 miles to reach our lips. That means it arrives at your lips marinated in crude oil, and it also, in passing, is unlikely to taste like much."

McKibben cited a study that compared the shopping experience of people at a supermarket versus those at a farmers' market, and found that shoppers at the farmers' market had on average ten times more conversations per visit. "They were busy rebuilding that community together," he noted, "rediscovering each other."

You can listen to McKibben's speech, which the Michigan Land Use Institute recently put online. It's well worth the time.

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