Laney Joins Global Action on 350 Day
by Jack Lin - October 21st, 2009.
Students, Faculty and Staff added their faces to show Laney's support for the 350ppm CO2 goal.
On Wednesday, October 21, 65 people at Laney held one of 5200 events in 181 countries for the most widespread day of environmental action in the planet’s history. Students, faculty and staff from Peralta celebrated 350 Day, an international day of grassroots action to show international decision-makers that people in every locale in the planet agree with lowering the human impact on Climate Change.
The number 350 represents the safe upper limit of carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrate: 350 parts per million (ppm). The Earth currently holds 390ppm of CO2 and scientists around the world agree that if we don’t lower it to 350ppm as soon as possible, we may face runaway climate change. The world passed the 300ppm mark during 1990.
Laney Geography Instructor Mark Rauzon, geography student Mai Tran, Media Instructor Marla Leech, activist Tom Kelly of Kyoto USA, and Jack Lin of the Sustainable Peralta program spoke about the problem of Climate Change and current work on the international and local levels.
Organizations talked to students about volunteer opportunities around Oakland
The following day, representatives of several East Bay environmental and education visited Laney during the lunch hour and chatted with students about volunteer opportunities. Urban Releaf, Habitat for Humanity, Oakland Asian Student Services, Bay Worms, East Bay Asian Youth Center and the City of Oakland Public Works department sat with Jack Lin, Sustainable Peralta Organizer in the Laney Quad from 11am to 1pm.
