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Counting on ‘350’ to save the planet
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| Wyatt Jenec, 15, places a pine tree in a hole, freshly dug by Dylan Withers, 16, on Congress Avenue in Bath on Monday. The pair of Morse High School sophomores were taking part in a program to plant 350 trees around the city. (Troy R. Bennett / The Times Record) |
By Seth Koenig, Times Record Staff
BATH — By the time the sun sets Saturday, Karen Wainberg hopes people will know what she’s talking about when she says: “350.”
Wainberg and many other local organizers have launched a multifaceted array of events centered around that number, with the goal of educating neighbors about global warming and reducing humanity’s reliance on fossil fuels.
Green signs have been posted throughout Bath with “350” and references to the Web site “www.350.org” prominently displayed. Publicity events have already begun leading into Saturday, which has been deemed the International Day of Climate Action. The local events are part of a worldwide effort that involves more than 3,000 events in more than 160 countries.
Despite the global buzz about “350,” Wainberg said she still spends a lot of time explaining the cause and the significance of the number.
“There isn’t so much awareness in the general public, and it’s hard to explain it in a sign, because it’s complicated,” she said. “But we hope by the end of this (series of events), people will have an awareness of ‘350’ and why it’s important.”
So, what’s the significance of “350”?
Scientists believe 350 parts per million is the optimum amount of carbon dioxide that should be in our atmosphere. Bath City Arborist Tom Hoerth said, currently, there’s approximately 390 parts per million.
“So for every million parts of matter in the atmosphere, 390 of those parts are (carbon dioxide),” said Hoerth, who was leading a group of high school students working toward a goal of planting 350 trees Monday. “It traps too much heat. The Ice Age (had a carbon dioxide count of) something like 200 parts per million — that let too much heat out. Scientists have decided on 350 as the ideal.”
In a nutshell, increased amounts of carbon dioxide can build up a dense shield between the Earth and space, which traps heat from the sun in the air near the planet’s surface. Many experts believe this increased heat has triggered — among other things — the decline of the natural habitat for plants and animals that rely on colder climates, as well as the slow melting of the polar ice caps, which adds water to the oceans and increases sea levels.
That latter effect will be the focus of a Saturday morning event, from 9 a.m. to noon, staged by the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust. Land trust outreach coordinator Alicia Heyburn said the group plans to illustrate how much of Bath would be covered by water if global warming goes unchecked and the Kennebec River rises by the amounts scientists estimate over the next 50 or 100 years.
“We have permission from the city of Bath to stake out where a one-meter rise would reach in Waterfront Park,” Heyburn said. “Then we’re going to string flagging across there and put in an information table. It’ll be held during the farmers market, so we should have a good crowd. It’s pretty visual: (the flagging) will cut right through the center of the park. We’ll also post signs along Centre Street, sort of along the lines of ‘If you lived here, you’d be under water now (in 100 years).’”
Heyburn said the land trust relied on studies released by the Natural Resources Council of Maine to determine where the water mark would be — a one-meter rise in the next 50 years and a six-meter rise after 100 years.
The message, of course, is that those catastrophic water lines can be avoided if people focus on lowering atmospheric carbon dioxide levels to that magical number of 350 parts per million.
The events planned leading into Saturday are aimed to get that 350 parts per million goal under everybody’s noses before the signs and flagging go up. On Monday morning, Hoerth was joined along a stretch of Congress Avenue by nearly 20 Morse High School students, working to plant 45 trees — red pines, white pines and Norway spruces.
That 45-tree total contributes to a grand planting of 350 trees throughout the city during nearly a week, a project that has involved students from the private Bath-based Hyde School in addition to Morse. The trees being planted were donated by Central Maine Power Co., as part of its reforestation program.
Wainberg said she particularly liked the tree-planting events because, in addition to drawing attention to the number “350,” the trees naturally consume carbon dioxide, therefore also helping contribute to the goal of lowering the parts per million.
In addition to the tree plantings, Bath’s youth community joined the “350” movement through several other functions. The Morse cross country team offered to collectively run 350 miles, and youngsters from the Maritime Apartments and Hyde Park neighborhoods designed and painted a banner with the traveling ArtVan staff to stretch across Front Street.
“One of our thoughts was to involve kids,” Wainberg said. “We hope all the kids will get an awareness of climate change through this.”
news@timesrecord.com
Wainberg and many other local organizers have launched a multifaceted array of events centered around that number, with the goal of educating neighbors about global warming and reducing humanity’s reliance on fossil fuels.
Green signs have been posted throughout Bath with “350” and references to the Web site “www.350.org” prominently displayed. Publicity events have already begun leading into Saturday, which has been deemed the International Day of Climate Action. The local events are part of a worldwide effort that involves more than 3,000 events in more than 160 countries.
Despite the global buzz about “350,” Wainberg said she still spends a lot of time explaining the cause and the significance of the number.
“There isn’t so much awareness in the general public, and it’s hard to explain it in a sign, because it’s complicated,” she said. “But we hope by the end of this (series of events), people will have an awareness of ‘350’ and why it’s important.”
So, what’s the significance of “350”?
Scientists believe 350 parts per million is the optimum amount of carbon dioxide that should be in our atmosphere. Bath City Arborist Tom Hoerth said, currently, there’s approximately 390 parts per million.
“So for every million parts of matter in the atmosphere, 390 of those parts are (carbon dioxide),” said Hoerth, who was leading a group of high school students working toward a goal of planting 350 trees Monday. “It traps too much heat. The Ice Age (had a carbon dioxide count of) something like 200 parts per million — that let too much heat out. Scientists have decided on 350 as the ideal.”
In a nutshell, increased amounts of carbon dioxide can build up a dense shield between the Earth and space, which traps heat from the sun in the air near the planet’s surface. Many experts believe this increased heat has triggered — among other things — the decline of the natural habitat for plants and animals that rely on colder climates, as well as the slow melting of the polar ice caps, which adds water to the oceans and increases sea levels.
That latter effect will be the focus of a Saturday morning event, from 9 a.m. to noon, staged by the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust. Land trust outreach coordinator Alicia Heyburn said the group plans to illustrate how much of Bath would be covered by water if global warming goes unchecked and the Kennebec River rises by the amounts scientists estimate over the next 50 or 100 years.
“We have permission from the city of Bath to stake out where a one-meter rise would reach in Waterfront Park,” Heyburn said. “Then we’re going to string flagging across there and put in an information table. It’ll be held during the farmers market, so we should have a good crowd. It’s pretty visual: (the flagging) will cut right through the center of the park. We’ll also post signs along Centre Street, sort of along the lines of ‘If you lived here, you’d be under water now (in 100 years).’”
Heyburn said the land trust relied on studies released by the Natural Resources Council of Maine to determine where the water mark would be — a one-meter rise in the next 50 years and a six-meter rise after 100 years.
The message, of course, is that those catastrophic water lines can be avoided if people focus on lowering atmospheric carbon dioxide levels to that magical number of 350 parts per million.
The events planned leading into Saturday are aimed to get that 350 parts per million goal under everybody’s noses before the signs and flagging go up. On Monday morning, Hoerth was joined along a stretch of Congress Avenue by nearly 20 Morse High School students, working to plant 45 trees — red pines, white pines and Norway spruces.
That 45-tree total contributes to a grand planting of 350 trees throughout the city during nearly a week, a project that has involved students from the private Bath-based Hyde School in addition to Morse. The trees being planted were donated by Central Maine Power Co., as part of its reforestation program.
Wainberg said she particularly liked the tree-planting events because, in addition to drawing attention to the number “350,” the trees naturally consume carbon dioxide, therefore also helping contribute to the goal of lowering the parts per million.
In addition to the tree plantings, Bath’s youth community joined the “350” movement through several other functions. The Morse cross country team offered to collectively run 350 miles, and youngsters from the Maritime Apartments and Hyde Park neighborhoods designed and painted a banner with the traveling ArtVan staff to stretch across Front Street.
“One of our thoughts was to involve kids,” Wainberg said. “We hope all the kids will get an awareness of climate change through this.”
news@timesrecord.com
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