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CO2 Next by Pro Oxygen

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Pitch

Make atmospheric CO2 readings ubiquitous and widely understood as a stepping stone to atmospheric stabilization and biospheric habitability.


Description

Summary

Civilization's excess CO2 is pooling in the atmosphere.  The continuous rise in atmospheric concentration is reported in near-real time.  But in the US, "very few (6-7%) correctly understand that there were roughly 290 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in 1850, compared to 390 parts per million today" (Leiserowitz, Smith and Marlon, 2010, p. 9).  If a society as advanced as the United States is missing this basic piece of information, it suggests that humanity collectively does not know what it takes to keep the Earth a habitable place for people and the greater community of life. 

In 2008, I launched CO2Now.org to make atmospheric CO2 visible far and wide.  With the help of a few individuals, the site keeps growing.  But it largely remains a one-person show -- with much appreciate support from a few individuals such as my wife, Traci, and friend, Bill Davidson (who does the heaving lifting on the CO2Now FB page).  Despite some notable achievements, the vision that drives work at CO2Now.org is far from realized. 

'CO2Next' picks up at a point where CO2Now.org can go no further, at least not in its present form.  CO2Next is the name of a project that will do the following: 

1. Transition CO2Now.org from an individual-run show to an organization that is led by a skilled, committed and professional community. 

2. Redesign and rebuild CO2Now.org so it gives people access to an understandable story about atmospheric CO2 as an easy-to-get benchmark on global progress with climate stabilization.

What does the CO2 story include?  It includes the CO2 levels in the past, at present and what they are projected to be.  It includes quantified assessments of what CO2 should be and what emissions level can get there.  The new CO2Now.org will lead the telling of this story in a way that makes sense to ordinary people and which enables a constructive response.  This story lies at the heart of what the re-launched CO2Now.org will be about.


Category of the action

Changing public perceptions on climate change


What actions do you propose?

The CO2Next Project will:

  • Transition CO2Now.org from an individual-run show to a community-led enterprise
  • Give this new community a space at CO2Next.org for working together and developing over time
  • Redesign and rebuild CO2Now.org by combining lessons learned from the first five years with the skills and expertise of a diverse community of scientists, educators, communicators, artists and more. 
  • Wrap appropriate related projects (including social media) around the CO2Now site and brand to extend its reach and usage

 

CO2Next community members will be invited from the few thousand individuals who are already connected or assoicated with the CO2Now.org network.  Invitations will be extended to other networks such as the Climate Access Network, the Climate Literacy Network and Climate CoLab. 

A rebuilt CO2Now.org will:

  • Tell the CO2 story so the global public can make sense of the CO2 readings and respond constructively
  • Raise the profile of the CO2Now call to action to put atmospheric CO2 on display in myriad ways – from high profile (in legislatures) to the personal (adding a widget to an individual blog) and to get atmospheric CO2 into the centre of climate-related discussions and decisions, as it should be.  Much of this will be done with a ‘Show the Numbers’ campaign that is reinforced at the CO2Now.org website.    
  • Develop an active community that musters ideas and energy for distributing the call to action
  • Provide support and tools that people need when they ask others to show the numbers, when others want to know why they are showing the numbers, and when people want to know for themselves what the numbers mean.   
  • Upgrade the CO2Now.org technology so it reaches more non-English speaking people and so it is accessed easily from mobile devices.


Who will take these actions?

The initial work will be done by Michael McGee, creator of CO2Now.org.  Early-stage participation of close CO2Now supportors and advisors is being arranged to kickstart the development of a community led-organization.   Michael McGee will continue to guide the process throughout and after the transition process.  


Where will these actions be taken?

Face-to-face actions will be focussed in Victoria, Canada, where Michael McGee lives.

Telephone and skype will be used to connect with CO2Next community members.  Further, an invitation-only planning forum is being set up at CO2Next.org.   The locus of discussion, planning and work will shift from myself and Bill to groups within the CO2Next community.  Most participants will reside in English-speaking countries.  This is based on historical usage of CO2Now.org. (The CO2 Next project is expected to include the translation of site contet; thus the focus on English-speaking peopes and countries is seen as tempory.)

CO2Next.org is being set up as a private forum for CO2Next community members to make connections and work together.  The work will include preparations that build a broader community of leaders and participants where the CO2Now tools and resources are used to make CO2 readings ubiquitous and the CO2 story widely understood.


How much will emissions be reduced or sequestered vs. business as usual levels?


What are other key benefits?

Making atmospheric CO2 readings ubiquitous and widely understood has the potential to change the context in which climate discourse and responses unfold.  It provides a common entry point for an informed public to make and expect choices that make reasonable and timely progress in turning the atmospheric CO2 from accelerating up to stabilization at a safe level.  It expands potential for many people to get on the same page in responding to a shared challenge with moral and existential consequences. It relieves institutions like the UN from bearing a disproportionate share of responsibility for solutions. It gives ordinary people the capacity to understand what is happening while there is still an opportunity to respond and make biosphere-saving changes.

CO2Next and CO2Now.org aim to make a spark big enough to help a lot more people start to see, think, talk and act differently on climate-related matters -- and to make decisions that contribute to timely reductions in atmospheric CO2.


What are the proposal’s costs?

CO2Next is a project that with potential to leverage significant and rapid change with relatively few resources.   The economic costs for societies to use CO2Next information and learning products is low.   This is communications and education work that may, it is hoped, cause many people to reconsider and even adjust their world view.  However, advancing comprehension of the atmospheric CO2 trend and what is required for stabilizing the CO2 level and Earth’s climate system inevitably leads to a conclusion that fossil fuel usage needs to end soon.  [See "IPCC AR4 FAQ 10.3" for background reading.]  The high-leverage CO2Next project will face huge systemic resistance because implied changes have economic (and other) consequences for many.  


Time line

September 29, 2007:

Conception

December 17, 2007 - August 31, 2008: 

Created themostimportantnumber.org (prototype)

September 1, 2008 - Present:

Developed and maintained 'CO2Now.org 1.0' and expanded the world’s first atmospheric CO2 website widgets which are used on many hundreds of websites to display atmospheric CO2 readings (proof of concept)

Accumulate global connections, feedback and insights related to atmospheric CO2 communication, education and responses. (growing capacity) 

September 2013:

Conference of a dozen CO2Now champions to:

(1) kickstart the transition from an individual-run website to a global community-run organization (an inevitable step)

(2) reinvent CO2Now.org

(3) open a CO2Next.org forum for registered community members working on CO2Now-related activities

October - December 2013

(1) CO2Next community development

(2) Rebuild CO2Now.org from scratch

January 2014

Relaunch CO2Now.org with credit to the CO2Next community that built it.


Related proposals

Any proposed climate solution and climate-relevant decision is related to atmospheric CO2 readings.  It is surely impossible to end global warming, stabilize climate or end ocean acidification while the level of CO2 continues to rise in the atmosphere.  The stabilization of atmospheric CO2 seems highly unlikely as long as atmospheric CO2 readings are seen rarely and understood even less. 

The followig proposals are examples of more directly-related to CO2Next:

Climate Access Network serves as an engine for thought leadership and networking which put me in touch with a scientist who is interested helping on the CO2Now.org rebuild. 

The Talking Earth Systems proposal is intriguing. It is important to take a systems approach to understanding the physical perturbations of biospheric Earth systems. Also, we must heed information signals between Earth (e.g. atmospheric CO2) and human systems (e.g CO2 awareness and understanding). Personification of Earth-systems communications can help.


References

References will be provided in the next round.

This proposal was posted by M McGee