Editor's Note: Bill McKibben, renowned author of books and essays on the environment, is the founder of the climate campaign 350.org.

What I Learned from the Biggest Day of Political Action in the Planet’s History

By Bill McKibben

On October 24, the International Day of Climate Action, we failed to solve global warming. However, the event did show a number of interesting things about the planet on which we live, and the possibilities for mobilizing citizens to demand change. By day’s end, 5,200 rallies and demonstrations had taken place in 181 countries, which are pretty much all the countries there are. CNN called it “the most widespread day of political action in the planet’s history.” As we watched photos stream in from around the world (there are about 25,000 on our Flickr account), several things struck me.

First, the idea that environmentalism is something for rich white people is nonsense. The biggest and most impassioned demonstrations happened in places crowded with non-rich non-white people—15,000 people on the streets in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 300 demonstrations across India and another 300 in China; big crowds in Bangladesh, in Quito, in Bujumbura, in pretty much all the places you wouldn’t expect to find them.

We’ve become used to the idea that environmentalism is somehow a luxury. In the poorest places in the world, it’s the first absolute necessity. If you derive your daily bread from the physical stability of the Earth; if you live near the ocean in a place where you know the government can’t afford to build a sea wall; if the river that waters your life is connected to a glacier that’s disappearing—well, climate change is one of the most important things on Earth....

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