- by Jamie Henn (350.org), republished with permission

The big day of climate action is right around the corner, so with 9 days left I decided to write up the top 9 reasons why I'm unbelievably excited.

1. October 24th will be the most widespread day of climate action ever

   As I write this, our action counter just ticked past Action #3000--scratch that, 3003! There are events taking place in 158 countries around the world. This. Will. Be. HUGE.

   Visit www.350.org/map to find and RSVP for an action near you. If there isn't one being planned yet, worry not, you can still start one! - www.350.org/Oct24

2. The world will hear our call

   In case you missed the news, 350.org staff just got permission to display your 350 action photos & videos from around the world on the MASSIVE screens in Times Square, in the HEART of New York City. We can't wait to broadcast your 350 action media in such a way that's both worthy of this amazing moment and is sure to reach world leaders: www.350.org/bigscreen

   On the Monday after October 24th, the 350.org crew will be visiting UN headquarters in NYC to hand-deliver the photos to diplomats and delegates from around the world to make sure they know how much you want a global climate deal that meets the science.

3. Partners are pulling out all the stops

   Al Gore invited his millions of email subscribers & 1.75 million Twitter followers to join or start actions around the world @ 350.org. Read more about this exciting announcement here: www.350.org/gore

   Other partners--from environmental groups like Greenpeace and 1Sky, to online powerhouses like Avaaz, to brand new coalitions like TckTckTck--are all coming forward in an unprecedented alliance to create a global climate movement. This movement is only possible because of a network of friends and allies around the world, including major international NGOs and local, grassroots organizations. Please visit our partners page to learn more: www.350.org/friends

4. It's not too late to join the action

   The European team whipped up a "Quick & Easy" Action guide to help new organizers pull off a great 350 action just in time--check out all the great actions you can organize even if you have only a week left before the big day: www.350.org/quick

5. The timing is right

   Today (October 15th, depending on your time zone) is "Blog Action Day"--an annual event when thousands of bloggers all over the world write about a single topic. This year's subject: climate change. Over 7,000 blogs have signed up, reaching 10+ million readers! 350 is thrilled to be a featured partner--today literally hundreds of blogs will feature 350. If you have a blog and want to get involved just click here: www.350.org/bloggers

   And speaking of good timing, it turns out the International Day of Climate Action just happens to take place on the internationally recognized "UN Day", and the UN just happens to be a major target for the outpouring of action the world will see on October 24th. Perfect.

6. 350 has gone mobile

   Keep the movement in your pocket at www.350.org/mobile. We have a brand new iPhone App, plus people in a dozen countries can use their mobile phones to join the world's first grassroots global SMS text messaging campaign.

7. This movement has room for everyone

   October 24th won't be like anything you've ever seen before--not just in terms of scope and scale, but in terms of diversity as well. October 24th events will be of every stripe and color--in addition to the thousands of amazing rallies, educational events, and protests, there will be unique contributions from unlikely places and people:

   - The president of the Maldives, a near-extinct island-nation, will be holding a cabinet meeting underwater, complete with scuba gear and 350 banners.

   - Afghan youth will be creating a giant chalk image of 350 on the side of a mountain in the Hindu Kush.

   - Palestinian, Jordanian and Israeli activists will put aside political differences to push for a fair, ambitious and binding climate treaty. On the beaches of their respective shores of the Dead Sea, they will make a big 3, 5, and 0.

   And that's just just a few...out of 3003.

8. The media is getting very interested...

   350 is gaining momentum in the mainstream media - what politicians use as the barometer of public opinion. The Washington Post, New York Times, BBC, CNN, are but a few sources covering the 350 movement this past week. And this is just a taste of the global & local media headlines we're going to make together on the 24th--and beyond!

9. We've got the most powerful tool on the planet--the internet

   Just a few years ago it would have been laughable to try to pull off a global campaign, in 10+ languages, with events in 150+ countries. Now, a web-powered campaign can harness video (like these animations), social networks (like our pages on Twitter and Facebook), e-mail (like this one), online maps, and more. And now you can help build this buzz online--take 15 seconds emblazon your Twitter avatar or Facebook profile picture with a 350 badge:

   Facebook: --»
   Twitter: --»

That's all for now--we'll be in touch next week for the final push. So much is happening in this final stretch that's it's hard for any one of us to keep track.

Can you believe there are only 9 days until Oct. 24th?

Onwards,
Jamie Henn for the entire 350.org team around the world

P.S. With bad news all around us, good news is worth sharing. Can you pass this list with just two clicks to everyone you know on Facebook and Twitter? Many thanks in advance.

Twitter: --»
Facebook: --»

- An OpEd by Green Groove contributor Mike Bickley

Many of you may already be aware that the State of Idaho (US) is allowing the legal hunting of wolves this fall for the first time in decades, there has been a quota of 220 wolves established. If you lived in Idaho as I do you would have also heard stories of wolves being everywhere, decimating the big game herds, threatening humans and that livestock producers will soon be a relic of the past. Idaho presently has about 1,000 wolves, for a state of 83,557 square miles, that figures out to be about one wolf per 83.5 square miles, it hardly seems like we could be overrun with wolves. The game herds in Idaho are also doing quite well, Idaho Department of Fish & Game states that elk (the primary prey of wolves in Idaho) numbers in Idaho are above the Departments long term management goals. There have been no wolf attacks of humans in Idaho. Human elk hunters in Idaho are doing quite well too, 68,275 hunters killed 10,859 elk in the 2008 season. Livestock losses have been lower than biologists predicted prior to the re-introduction of wolves, in fact losses to coyotes, bears, mountain lion and feral dogs have been greater. Stock growers are also compensated for confirmed wolf predation losses. Will killing 220 wolves in Idaho bring disaster to the recovery project, probably not. Will it placate the vocal opponents of wolves, probably not, they hated wolves when we only had 30. But there appears to be no sound biological reason to kill wolves while on the brink of recovery either, maybe at some future time there will be. So, you may ask, what's the problem?

Ask any Idahoan about wolves and you will most likely hear one of two answers with little middle ground. Wolves are the devil or they are angels, they are either loved or despised. How did we arrive at such divergent views of wolves. Some at least seem based in the livestock culture of the West. Growing up in Idaho you soon learn a values system of sorts as it relates to the worth of wild things and wild places. Animals like elk which can bring an outfitter, rancher or guide $10 to $15 thousand dollars each are revered and are a good thing, a wolf which can kill and eat a $15 thousand dollar elk is a bad thing. Jack rabbits are bad, they have no economic value and they eat livestock food and are generally shot and left where they die. Sage brush is bad, it competes with grass for livestock food. Wilderness itself is bad, you can't mine, log or graze livestock in a designated wilderness. It seems our value of wild things and wild places is solely based on our economic interest.

When the debate to reintroduce wolves to the west began it was argued that the wolf was the missing and key link in the establishment of complete ecosystems as they existed before human intervention. Modern science has established that predator/prey relationship is such that prey numbers ultimately control predator numbers. If predators could wipe out prey populations wouldn't they have done so eons ago before man was evolved? Wolves have had the intended impact on the ecosystems that scientist envisioned and some surprises as well. Researchers in Yellowstone National Park have discovered that elk with no apex predator like the wolf became complacent. They could eat and stay wherever they chose. As a consequence some areas were greatly overgrazed. Riparian areas which should have supported willow, cottonwood and beavers had none. Quaking aspen groves were all old with little regeneration as elk ate the new growth before it could become established. Today in Yellowstone you see new willows and beavers returning to areas they have been absent from for decades. Young aspen are seen growing on the hillsides. Wolves keep the elk wary, elk spread out more and herd into smaller groups. Elk are becoming the wary and magnificent animal they once were. Wolves and elk evolved together, elk are the animal they are because of the wolf not in spite of the wolf. So every thing should be great... right?

Politics... with the Idaho legislature dominated by livestock and agriculture interests. The Governor a rancher and ex employee of an extractive/mining industry. The Idaho Fish & Game Department is at the mercy of the legislature and Governor. They may know the science and how to apply it, but they also know not to as well, especially if you want to keep your job. So we end up with the State policy for wolf management based on 14th century beliefs of wolves as devil and demon killing machines vs. peer reviewed science. Wolves are neither good or bad, neither devil nor angel, They take no pleasure in killing, they suffer no regret, they are simply wolves doing what wolves have done for perhaps millions of years. If we can keep politics at bay maybe they will be able to continue shaping our wild places for many more years to come.

So, you ask, why am I preaching to you in Chicago, New york or Nashville? Idaho is approximately 70% federally owned land, United States Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land owned not just by Idahoans but by all U.S. citizens... even Texans. On private lands there is a mechanism in place to handle wolf related problems. Wildlife Services, a division U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, will and does control issues at the request of land owners. Wildlife Services has killed approximately 150 wolves this year on private land. You as a U.S. citizen have right to a voice in this issue just as legitimate as any Idaho resident if you choose to do so and I hope you will. Call or email our Senators, Representatives and Governor and let them know how you feel about Idaho's management of wolves on YOUR land.

Watch this funny interview with Bill McKibben, and then go to 350.org to sign on to particpate on October 24th in a local action to raise awareness about global climate change.

A guest post by Christina Crowe – Salad Sticks

After leaving the supermarket carrying a few plastic bags packed with groceries and heading over to the car, most people don’t stop to think about where these bags come from or what happens to the bags once they’re thrown away. I most certainly didn’t think about such matters when I would walk into grocery stores, accept my purchases, and leave while clutching several bags as I do so. This, of course, was until I learned that plastic and paper bags aren’t as great as they seem.

The truth is, plastic and paper bags are destroying the environment. What do you usually do when you’re done with shopping? You throw the grocery bags away don’t you? And then where do they go?

Most plastic bags roam the streets, get caught up in sea turtle bellies, strangle innocent birds, or just sit in landfills for hundreds of years while slowly releasing toxic chemicals into the ground until they decompose. Because sea animals mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, the bags usually get eaten, causing internal infections, blockages, starvation, and even death. If that isn’t bad enough, plastic bags also waste massive amounts of oil, looking at how many of them are manufactured each year. What’s even sadder is that some stores pass out these deadly choking devices like they’re nothing at all, bagging purchases with two or more bags when one bag would have sufficed, just because the bags are so insanely cheap.

Paper bags aren’t that much of a difference. It takes way more energy to manufacture a paper bag than a plastic one, since paper bags are heavier. Paper bags are also the reason why billions of trees have to die each year. If the bags aren’t recycled, they then take up more space than they should in landfills.

Buying a few reusable shopping bags will not only help the environment, but it will make your shopping so much easier in the process. I’m beginning to use reusable bags, and I bring them with me when I go shopping. All I have to do, really, is leave the empty bags in the trunk of my car, fill the bags up with the items in my carriage after leaving the store, and drive on home. I find that reusable bags are so much easier to manage, and I don’t have to deal with as much clutter as I normally do with plastic or paper bags. Reusable shopping bags can even be washed. They’re also sturdy and can withstand more weight than a normal shopping bag can.

Overall, I feel great that I’m helping the environment, and, at the same time, I don’t have to worry about piles of food tearing from bags and landing on the porch floor at my feet while I attempt to unlock the house door after a long day of shopping. It’s a wonderful feeling. It truly is.

You can visit Christina Crowe at Salad Sticks or contact her via email (salad_sticks@yahoo.com).

Going against their own 2008 pledge to cut funds to groups which "divert attention" to progressive energy sources, ExxonMobile continues to shell out the dollars.

Lobbying groups The National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) and The Heritage Foundation received more than $125,000 in 2008. Policy and communications director for the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, Bob Ward, claim the two lobbying groups have both published "misleading and inaccurate information about climate change."

In a web memo published in December by the Heritage Foundation they claim, "Growing scientific evidence casts doubt on whether global warming constitutes a threat, including the fact that 2008 is about to go into the books as a cooler year than 2007". Scientists unassociated with Exxon, believe the changes are due to natural changes, having nothing to do with the long term global warming trends.

The NCPA web site states, "NCPA scholars believe that while the causes and consequences of the earth's current warming trend is [sic] still unknown, the cost of actions to substantially reduce CO2 emissions would be quite high and result in economic decline, accelerated environmental destruction, and do little or nothing to prevent global warming regardless of its cause."

No wonder gas is so expensive. Big oil has to shell out big bucks to manipulate the public about the facts. Just remember, every time you fill your tank, you're practically financing the lobbyist.