Global warming. You should be all too familiar with those words by now. There’s always some hype about a catastrophic end of the world with glaciers melting, polar bears dying, and whatnot. Whether you believe it’s real or just a huge hoax, people around the world are taking action.

5,200 events took place in 181 countries around the world on Saturday, October 24, 2009, the International Day of Climate Action. The purpose of these events was to advocate to world leaders about putting an end to global warming. Most events incorporated mass amounts of people, commonly forming the number 350. These symbolic events were organized by 350.org, using the numbers to represent the safe number of parts-per-million of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Currently, we are at 387ppm (parts-per-million.) That’s 37ppm too much.

In efforts to attain the favorable 350ppm, people participated in demonstrations, protests, and made their voices heard on this day. In our own Bay Area, schools and organizations united and set out for Mount Diablo, in the Contra Costa County, contributing to a total of about 300 people.

Caroline Sandifer, an EarthTeam activist, went from school to school, promoting the cause. Along with organizations such as Save Mt. Diablo, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, and various nonprofits, Bay Area schools including Oakland Tech, Oakland School of the Arts, Albany High, and Skyline High participated in the International Day of Climate Action. Students, parents, and teachers single-filed onto the mountain’s summit, fusing into a human “necklace,” each person acting as a bead connected by bright floral-printed cloth. Fellow Skyline student Anya McInroy described her experience: “It makes you feel like you’re doing something to better your world.” Some students only felt obliged to take part in deciding the future of their planet. Skyline student Linda Ma stated that she wanted “to live in the near future, to provide a safer environment for my generation, and the many generations to come.”

An aerial photographer took snapshots of the Mount Diablo demonstration, which was named “Tell It on the Mountain.” These photos can be seen from 350.org, including a vast collection of demonstrations from countries all over the world. The photos, videos, and collected media are then going to be sent to President Barack Obama. In December 2009, our world's leaders are going to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark to establish a treaty, which will address the environmental crisis.
Together, with all the nations united under one cause, our global unity under one cause will change the future of our planet, for the better.

Click here to see photos from the event!