There Will Be Bells -- the Global Climate Wake-Up Call

There will be a lot of noise around the world on Sept. 21st when people all over the globe -- from New York to Guatemala to Dakar -- join together in a Global Climate Wake Up Call.

Organized by the amazing folks at Avaaz, Oxfam, Greenpeace and 350.org, the Global Wake-Up Call will see people from all walks of life get together in public places to sound the alarm and urge our political leaders to stand up and take bold action at the Copenhagen Climate Treaty Summit scheduled for December of this year.

These will be peaceful, spontaneous "flash mobs" in public places where people will sound the alarms on their mobile phones, flood their governments with phone calls urging climate action, and make a tremendous noise. The images, sounds, and videos will be stitched together overnight for presentation to world leaders at the United Nations the next day.

To say that the Copenhagen Summit is a key moment in our history would be the understatement of the century. At this meeting our government representatives will decide the path we will take for the next decade: Will we continue to allow the unabated burning of dirty fossil fuels like coal and oil? Or will go down a path that starts to reduce this over reliance on fossil fuels and begins to take full advantage of clean, healthy, cheap and unlimited power sources like the sun and the wind?

Actions like the Global Wake-Up Call are important because they give politicians the space they need to make the right decision. If they know that they have the support of their people, they will feel emboldened to be the leaders we need them to be in Copenhagen. People are already stepping up big time, with over 350 events planned in 54 countries -- there's probably one already in the works in your town.

So tweet about it, Facebook it, blog about it, email your friends and ask them in turn to email the Global Wake Up Call along to their friends and most importantly show up.

Here's an interactive map of all the events already planned for September 21st. Wouldn't it be cool to see this entire map blotted out by actions all over the world?

Follow Kevin Grandia on Twitter: www.twitter.com/kgrandia

Comments

[JShep]

If the environmentalists of the 60's & 70's had not been instrumental in the ending of new nuclear power plant construction, we would not have 70% of our power generated by fossil fuels today. I'm all for the elimination of polluting, coal-fired power plants, but there must be a detailed national plan to replace them in a practical way. Just capping CO2 and wishing for new technology to come along to replace it is just as foolhardy as past attempts to clean up our power generation. Thinking we can replace 70% of our power generation plus any additional future needs with wind and solar alone in not being practical. Current wind farms are being located in the most efficient locations and still are only 30% productive at best. Solar doesn't produce at night and is not very efficient on cloudy days. There is no practical way to store electricity on a massive scale. Some of the billions proposed for our energy policy should be spent to develop a national plan to achieve total independence from fossil fuels. We need logical planning, not just wishful thinking.

[vie2012ne]

With all of the traveling to these events, and all of the unnecessary usage of communications technology, this "wake-up" will probably have it's own massive carbon footprint.

[BettyMcDonalds]

vegetarianism is the only solution to this urgent crisis.

[fumes]

with the war on CO2 a success..

plants are suffocating worldwide and golf season is shorter!

[realpolitic]

You have to golf quicker and finish below 100 strokes!

[realpolitic]

Hey fumes, this article applies to your theory that we can not change the natural balance of the earth.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/science/earth/11quake.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

[mikebarden]

There's been plenty of cold days in Indiana, but again, have you seen how big them wind generating plants are. Gee and I try to re-use, not re-cycle.

[dontberadicalized]

They are calling it "the summer that wasn't" here in New England. The climate change religion is dying a painful death.

[SonofLiberty1]

Very few Sunspots either. And a possibility of a cold snow winter...

[realpolitic]

All the climate change deniers here at Huff Post deny climate change faster than the scientists can publish their studies. Of course, all the studies agree with the scientific consensus on climate change, which makes deniers deny even louder!

[vie2012ne]

"all the studies agree" -- BS alert!

[fumes]

yay!!!

a climate wake up call and not a moment too soon!!!

it's phukking freezing here in nj..

[realpolitic]

Have you tried getting a sweater?

[fumes]

yeah but rp..

it's not sweater season yet.