A Boston branch of the state branch of the environmental activist organization 350.org is making a home in Jamaica Plain.
Following an introductory meeting on March 28 at the Nate Smith House at 155 Lamartine St., the Cambridge-based 350 Massachusetts has decided to expand to a second branch in Jamaica Plain.
“It would be a great opportunity for more people to get involved,” organizer Loie Hayes told the Gazette. “It’s an accessible second point on the T and JP has so many people concerned about climate change.”
Hayes is involved with the Boston Climate Action Network, a local environmental activist organization.
JP has other organizations on the group that could invite their members and organize, she said. It also has enough residents that have “the luxury of being able to make time for longer-range concerns instead of just the immediate needs of their families,” Hayes said.
Over 50 people came to the first meeting, Hayes said, and many said they were interested in attending monthly meetings.
Hayes said she expected to get to know new members better and to start discussing ideas for local action.
“The wonderful thing about 350.org is that it creates a structure for people to act locally and link up [with other 350 groups] to discuss global issues,” she said. “We can come together as neighbors in Boston to talk about how our actions here and city policy shaping our lives impacts and is impacted by these global issues.”
The 350.org organization is a world-wide network of smaller, localized groups working to prevent and decrease climate change. According to its website, the name 350.org refers to a proposed limit of carbon concentration in the atmosphere of 350 parts per million (ppm), a decrease from the current 392 ppm.
The 350.org organization was founded by Bill McKibben, author of several books on climate change and leading climate change journalist. He spoke in JP about climate change last October.
The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for Thurs., May 2. For more information, contact [email protected] or visit 350ma.org.