International Day of Climate Action set for Saturday

This Saturday, Oct. 24 marks the International Day of Climate Action, a grassroots effort to draw attention to solutions to the climate crisis.



The event is being billed as the largest day of political action in the planet's history, with more than 4,600 events planned in 177 countries. Many of the actions will focus on the number 350, as scientists have identified 350 parts per million as the safe upper limit of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The current concentration is 387 ppm.

Some of the events planned for the U.S. South:

* In Austin, people will gather for a workday at the Guadalupe Neighborhood Development Corp.'s affordable and net-zero-energy subdivision planned for a former brownfield property.

* There will be a march through the streets of Raleigh, N.C. calling on Gov. Beverly Perdue to cancel construction of Duke Energy's new Cliffside coal-burning power plant, with some of the protesters planning to commit nonviolent civil disobedience.

* In New Orleans, 350 musicians will gather at historic Congo Square on Sunday, Oct. 25 to play "When the Saints Go Marching In."

Elsewhere, there will be rallies at global landmarks including the Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu and the Great BarrierReef; 350 scuba divers will hold an underwater protest in the Maldives and 350 Masaii children will host atraditional dance on their parched fields in Kenya.

To find an event near you, click here.

(Photo of climate activists gathered in front of Buffalo Mountain in Floyd, Va. by Doug Thompson courtesy of 350.org.)