When I woke up on Saturday morning the fall sky was thick with rain clouds and a quick thought crossed my mind that the rally might be canceled. Then I remembered that with countries around the world participating there would be no rain date for this event. World leaders were to meet in Copenhagen to discuss a new global treaty on cutting emissions and a group calling themselves 350.org had rallied earth citizens to send a message of concern. I put on my heaviest raincoat, missed my lost umbrella, mistakenly wore my sneakers and drove out to send a message with my presence.

By now, it’s old news, the way news spreads on the internet; but for the uninitiated, the level of CO2 in earths atmosphere is running at 387 parts per million (ppm). If allowed to continue to increase scientists say we can expect decades of rising sea levels, drought, famine, and disrupted weather patterns. Scientists have identified as a safe upper limit of at least 350ppm for carbon dioxide levels, which existed in the earths atmosphere two decades ago. According to the creators of 350.org their “mission is to inspire the world to rise to the challenge of the climate crisis-to create a new sense of urgency and of possibility for our planet.”

And on Saturday, October 24, they did just that. Through the internet my friends were able to contact me, keeping me in the loop as they assembled, met, discussed, made signs, arranged permits with the town of Newton, NJ, decorated T-shirts, strung banners and showed up in the pouring rain to stand under umbrellas decorated with the number 350. I arrived a little after noon, and enjoyed the company of old friends, made new ones, each knowing we were connected to thousands of other people taking the same action in other parts of the world. As the young hula hoopers slowed down traffic, flyers and pamphlets were handed out to curious drivers wondering what all the fuss was about.

The passersby had no idea that they could actually make an impression on the leaders negotiating climate change. Many of them did not think it would be a serious issue in their lifetime. As mentioned in a post on care2.com this past week the latest Pew poll on global warming revealed Americans belief in rising global temperatures, dropped from 71 percent down to 57 percent in only 18 months. The evidence stares us in the face and yet we refuse to see.

At the end of the day I logged on to the 350.org website and there were the pictures, sent in from all over the world, in large and small groups, believing enough in the coming crisis to take a moment out of their lives and send a message to those in Copenhagen. In one picture there are 6 climbers perched at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro holding up a 350 sign. The caption reads that this is not how the summit should look and at first glance you wonder what is missing from the grey stone of the mountain; and then you realize there is no snow, the glacier has melted and as it continues to recede it will soon to be gone forever.

Delia Quigley is the Director of StillPoint Schoolhouse, where she teaches a holistic lifestyle designed to achieve optimal health and well being, based on her 28 years of study, experience and practice. She is the creator of the Body Rejuvenation Cleanse, Cooking the Basics videos and classes, and Broken Bodies Yoga. Delia’s credentials include holistic nutritional counselor, natural foods chef, yoga instructor, energy therapist and public speaker.

Quigley is the author of seven books on health and nutrition, including:The Body Rejuvenation Cleanse, The Complete Idiots Guide to Detoxing Your Body, The Everything SuperFoods Book, and Empowering Your Life With Meditation, available on Amazon.com. To view her website go to: www.deliaquigley.com