Aim for 350

I came across www.350.org today, which apparently just launched.   No, it's not a sequel to 300.

As they put it:

350 is the number leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide--measured in "Parts Per Million" in our atmosphere. 350 PPM--it's the number humanity needs to get back to as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change.

Their goal is to inspire and organize a movement to get that number down across the world (apparently right now it's at 387 ppm.

I'm posting about it for two reasons. One, it's clearly an important issue and I hope it gets traction.

Two, from a professional perspective I think they've done a great job simplifying (maybe even oversimplifying) a very complicated and contentious issue.  Rather than Global Climate Change (which is beyond the grasp of any one person) 350 is something I can wrap my head around.

A cause needs a specific outcome, or else it's just a lot of noise.

They're aiming for it to be a fully open source movement, which I think will be interesting.  My gut tells me that they need to create a few more tools to build greater specificity around just what people can do to help move us along to 350 ppm.  For example, should they partner with a device manufacturer like Oregon Scientific to add CO2 ppm to the weather monitor? The local news? Put up a measuring stick in Times Square so we know where we are? Add it to the New Years Eve Ball Drop across the world? Do they need a manual to get you there?

My (limited) understanding of open source is that the software being developed usually has a relatively understood functionality in mind; the open source community then crowdsources how to achieve that functionality. Here we have a goal that is clear, but not really an understanding (for me, a relative novice) about how to achieve that goal. 

Nice animation, too:

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