Our climate-change numbers

e.e. cummings answered one question: "The snow doesn’t give a soft white damn whom it touches." What's unanswered is, whether those of us who are alive give enough of a damn about being "touched" by Global Warming, which lays down its "touches" in the form of extreme weather.

I inserted no pics today. It's all about numbers and begins with a simple one. 350. The best scientific estimate about preserving a planet livable for our species, and many others. 350 parts of carbon dioxide per 1,000,000 parts of gases in the atmosphere, or p.p.m. More than that is not livable, another way of saying--extinction for homo sapiens. Currently, the number hovers around 400. For maybe the 1st time in the last 3,000,000 years.

We're not living on borrowed time; that point (350ppm) was passed in the late 1980s. Over 20 years ago. I checked today's numbers; they are at 397ppm. And will rise this year, next year, every year, the way our species and our country are headed. Unless we change the number, stop it, reverse it, permanently.

The climate is a tolerant, superior phenomenon that doesn't give a soft white damn whether it falls on Anglos, blacks, Chicanos, Hispanics, L.A., Denver or Tokyo. Even the 1% have resources to survive only a little longer than the rest of us.

Here are more numbers:

The 21st of September coming up in 8 days. The date of the People's Climate March in New York City.

50 - the number of states that will be represented at the march

http://peoplesclimate.org/march/?r=350

374 - buses and trains listed for travel to NYC for the march.

26 - city blocks the NYPD has reserved for assembling before the march

1100+ - community, labor, environmental justice, faith and progressive groups that endorsed the march [More join every day.]

28 - different religious faiths and denominations that will be represented

20 - the minimum number of marching bands expected

300+ - college campuses where students are mobilizing to go to NYC

1500 - actions planned worldwide that weekend in

130 - countries

40,000 - people at last year's Forward on Climate march in DC, the largest US climate march to date

401 parts per million - the peak concentration of carbon in the atmosphere measured by the world's leading scientists this spring

0 - the amount of progress made if everyone stayed home

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ – the number of us that will take a stand in NY and other cities.

The climate's numbers will continue rising.

More vacations will be ruined from more, severe hurricanes or snowstorms or disrupted airline flights.

More of our lawns will bake brown.

Or more trees die from excessive rainfall.

Or homes float away from flooding.

Or burn from drought and firestorms.

Obviously, all of that is less important than the number of us, our children and grandchildren who will be around to survive climate change catastrophes created by our species. A number that could go to

0.

Before that, head to NYC for the march.

If you can't get there, then to Denver.

Or to one of 2 in the L.A. area. Or find one nearest you.  

Even if you're in another country where snow never falls.

You can also send funds if you're unable to send yourself.

Es todo, hoy, except where the snow doesn't give a soft white….

RudyG, a.k.a. Rudy Ch. Garcia - 1 who plans on marching and more