350, No Kings, and the Climate
The number 350 is significant for all life on Earth—350 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere give us a livable climate. That’s what NASA’s Jim Hansen had calculated as early as the 1980s. At present we are at over 427 ppm, and our climate system is dangerously close to irreversible tipping points while that number keeps rising. Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere play an important role in keeping Earth warm enough for humans. But now we are in uncharted waters, heating the planet with our emissions and causing extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, and wildfires everywhere.
From day one, the Trump administration has declared war on life on Earth by pulling us out of the global Paris Agreement (again)—and by expediting fossil fuel expansion. The damage was compounded by the halting of the Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant climate legislation in our nation’s history.
In fact, for a guy who has been spoofed as a TACO for his inability to get stuff done, this president’s dismantling of climate protection has been nothing if not consistent; it seems to be one of his main obsessions. Impeding our ability to ensure a livable climate and a clean energy future for our children and grandchildren seems to be a priority for this administration. Destroying the bipartisan Inflation Reduction Act and cancelling almost-finished offshore wind and solar farms, telling the EPA not to warn of climate change, and dismantling hurricane warnings and FEMA will have catastrophic consequences for the nation.
After two consecutive hottest years on record in 2023 and 2024, and while we experience one extreme weather event after another in 2025, from the fires in Pacific Palisades to the deadly floods in Texas, we have a president who advocates getting rid of clean, free power sources like solar and wind and exchanging them for dirty ones that keep getting pricier, make people sick, and worsen global warming. And all this has met with hardly a peep of pushback from the people impacted by it. This lack of response urgently needs to change.
Inspired by Jim Hansen’s research, in 2008 author Bill McKibben and students at Middlebury College, Vermont, decided to found a climate movement and call it 350. Today, there are 350 groups all over the world pushing for an end to fossil fuels and focusing on solar and wind. In Massachusetts, 350Mass is working under the umbrella of the Better Future Project, campaigning to Make Polluters Pay and Save Money with Clean Heat (SMOOCH).
At the beginning, the climate movement paid too much attention to the carbon and too little to the disparity between those (the wealthier) most responsible for the emissions and those who have not contributed much to the problem, rather than those who are facing the brunt of its effects, especially in the global South and in vulnerable communities here in the U.S. Since then, the movement has rightly pivoted to a focus on climate justice, and a just transition to a low-carbon society with clean, safe jobs for all.
Vulnerable populations are also the first targeted by immigration restrictions, ICE raids, and attacks on DEI, and they suffer the most from policies that reduce access to healthcare and food assistance while the rich benefit from big tax breaks. But as we fight to protect our democracy and the rule of law, we must not lose sight of that number 350, because there is no democracy on a burning planet. Right now, the administration is even threatening to shut down the very measuring equipment in Hawaii that tells us how much carbon is in the atmosphere. Under Trump’s watch we are literally losing the critical data that tells us how our climate is changing.
Photo via 350Mass Volunteer
I teach undergraduates, and when asked why we need to protect our climate, a student of mine recently quipped, “Some people enjoy nature.” The truth, of course, is that people are part of nature, and that people require a livable climate. Without it, there is no food. With frequent extreme weather, farmers cannot grow crops, and harvests fail. Our oceans, which have been absorbing most of the carbon, are losing oxygen, endangering countless marine species, including those that at least a billion people depend on for food. Droughts also lead to dangerously low levels of drinking water in our freshwater reservoirs. In short, climate change is deadly.
Supposedly, a majority of Americans agree that climate change is a serious problem. But only about half of Americans understand that we are already paying a high price for our government’s climate inaction—for example, rising insurance costs. Although a majority of people are in favor of renewable energy even in so-called “red” states, that has meant exactly nothing since inauguration day, because a much higher number of members of Congress deny the very existence of climate change (23 percent) than the general population (11–12 percent). For many years, lobbyists have done a very effective job of getting their champions elected, by misguiding people about the danger of global warming. The motive for their tactics is obvious: fossil fuel companies have a lot to lose if we move to clean, green energy sources.
To understand how it is possible that millions are misled about a scientific fact such as climate change, it’s helpful to read the book Merchants of Doubt, by Naomi Oreskes and Eric Conway (2010), or watch Robert Kenner’s documentary film of the same title (2014). They explain that climate disinformation is the product of a highly sophisticated, long-term PR campaign, well funded by the fossil fuel industry and their supporters. Many people fall for these campaigns. You may know some. Arguing with them about climate change is relatively pointless. But one thing you can do is talk about what really matters: the children, the grandchildren, the animals, the beautiful places we call home. There is a lot that we all agree is worth protecting, no matter our politics.
So what can people in Massachusetts do about climate change, especially in light of the bill Congress passed in July, which essentially repealed most of the climate subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act? First of all, if you can afford to do so, see what you can still electrify before the federal incentives expire. If you live in the Metrowest area, check out plugIN. Get in touch with 350Mass and help us Make Polluters Pay. There is a lot everyone can do. Most importantly, talk about climate with your families, neighbors, colleagues, and representatives, and help integrate climate and 350 into our pro-democracy movement.
It’s no question that the climate organizing landscape has changed with the Trump regime in office again. Whereas in 2017 the climate movement saw a large influx of new activists who were angered and energized by the election results, the situation is different this time around, because people feel they must first and foremost stand up to protect migrants and the rule of law. Since January 2025, climate advocates have had to shift and help “put out fires” in unexpected places, such as participating in “Tesla TakeDowns” and “Stop the Coup” rallies, because although we want to electrify transportation, we don’t want an unelected billionaire EV-maker messing with our democracy. Climate activists also have been showing up in support of protests at ICE raids and have been fighting private jet expansion at Hanscom Air Force Base; many helped push “Make Polluters Pay” into the Democratic Party Platform in Massachusetts. Now we are asking for movement support.
Thanks, in large part to 50501, we have seen massive protests against executive overreach and the abuse of our migrant neighbors, and in defense of the rule of law. Climate is intricately interwoven with these issues. We need a livable climate. We need “NoKings” for Climate. We need to Cool It, Be Fossil Free, and Keep ICE where it belongs.
This is a guest article from our friends at 350Mass. To learn more about their work and to get involved, visit them at https://350mass.betterfutureproject.org/
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