'Save the Earth Celebration' to Feature Speeches, Parade Across Campus

PLATTSBURGH, NY (10/13/2009)(readMedia)-- SUNY Plattsburgh will host a "Save the Earth Celebration" at noon on Tuesday, Oct. 20, with a rain date of Oct. 22.

The celebration is intended to mobilize members of the community and raise awareness about what they can do to save our planet, according to event organizers.

It takes place a few days in advance of 350.org's International Day of Climate Action - a day that 350.org organizers anticipate will be the largest day of climate change activism ever. They expect participants in more than 2,000 communities and 150 countries to take part in such activities.

The SUNY Plattsburgh event, sponsored by the college's Sustainability Task Force, will begin on the lawn in front of Champlain Valley Hall on Rugar Street with an interactive presentation and a parade. The parade will wind through Angell Courtyard, cross Broad Street in front of Yokum Hall and end by Hawkins Pond, where a rally will take place.

Beginning at around 12:30, the rally will include speeches and music. Attendees will be asked to make pledges to reduce carbon emissions and to encourage public officials to do likewise. They will ask officials to focus on the number 350, because scientists have indicated that 350 parts per million is the most carbon dioxide that can be safely sustained in the planet's atmosphere. The current CO2 concentration is 390 parts per million.

"That's why glaciers and sea ice are melting, drought is spreading, and flooding is on the increase," said Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org and author of the first major book on climate change. "And it's why we need a huge worldwide movement to give us the momentum to make real political change."

Additional 350 events are planned for the Plattsburgh area. They can be found using a searchable map located on the 350.org Web site.

For more information on this event, contact Michelle Ouellette at 518-564-3095 or Keith Tait at 518-564-3290.

About SUNY Plattsburgh's Sustainability Task Force

SUNY Plattsburgh's Sustainability Task Force was developed in response to the college's most recent strategic plan. This plan identified ways of going green by conserving energy and resources, while promoting a campus culture of sustainability as the one of the college's top priorities. The Sustainability Task Force recommendations are currently being integrated with the Facilities Master Planning process, which is ongoing and expected to serve as a long range vision for the campus and community.

In addition, students, faculty and staff participate in the Campus Committee for Environmental Responsibility which is responsible for student "green grant" projects, such as the community garden and production of biodiesel.

About 350.org

Founded by author and environmentalist McKibben, 350.org is the first large-scale grassroots global campaign against climate change. Its supporters include leading scientists, the governments of 92 countries, and a huge variety of environmental, health, development and religious NGOs. All agree that current atmospheric levels of CO2390 parts per millionare causing damage to the planet and to its most vulnerable people, and that government action at the Copenhagen climate conference is required to bring the earth's carbon level swiftly down to 350 ppm.

350.org is member of TckTckTck - a global alliance of faith groups, non-governmental organizations, trade unions and over a million individuals calling for a fair, ambitious, and binding international climate change treaty.

For more information, visit www.350.org.