Bill McKibben and the 350.org “Do the Math Tour” bio-diesel bus recently made a stop in Boulder, Colorado spreading awareness of the math behind climate change, asking those who signed the banner below to remember three numbers:
1) 2 degrees Celsius: The agreed upon change in temperature that we must stay below, at least in the Copenhagen Accord, 2009 in which 167 countries responsible for 87 percent of the world’s carbon signed. Where representatives signing the Accord agreed that, “deep cuts in global emission are required…so as to hold the increase in global temperatures below two degrees Celsius.”
2) 565 Gigatons: The computer simulated amount of carbon our atmosphere can assimilate and still have a “reasonable hope” to stay below 2 degrees Celsius.
3) 2,795 Gigatons: The amount of fossil fuel we are currently planning to burn.
If you missed it, read Bill McKibben’s recent article in the Rolling Stone magazine here.
