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The website - a note to German visitors: there's a German version of the website, but it still needs some proofreading (some of which I'm trying to provide, but I don't have much time, really, so it's slow). So, basically, either be tolerant of some odd German, or be patient for the proofread version, or - if you're reading my LJ this shouldn't be a problem, I imagine! *g* - just use the English version.
A guy over at worldchanging explains the motivation and aims of the campaign quite nicely today. The really short version:
Number(s) like 450 send an ambiguous message about slowing down slowly or "stopping in time." It's hard to get excited about that. But 350 says simply, "turn back."
(...)
McKibben says that he's come to the conclusion that symbolic actions are, now, the most practical ones, because they have the potential (to) spark the political actions that will drive large-scale systems change.
I kind of agree. We need large-scale cultural change; large-scale cultural change needs symbols. A number can be such a symbol.
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If you want to start reading up on environmental issues but don't want to trawl half a dozen websites every day, this is the one I currently like best (out of the half dozen that I trawl): Grist, and especially their frequently updated blog.