EMPATHY-DRiVEN iMPACT

A relection on 350, 360° + must-win battles for the decade ahead

A LiGHTHOUSE AS A SYMBOL + SCiENCE

What does a lighthouse represent for you? My father has always been fascinated by them. If I had to guess why, I would say (1) because they are usually found at the coast, and he loves fishing, particularly in the ocean, (2) their purpose is safety, and (3) they offer a unique expression of the same engineering feat evolving since the first undisputed purposefully-built lighthouse, the Pharos of Alexandria around 280 BC, of sending a luminous signal to provide a beacon to sea captains to assist in guiding the ship to safety. They do not hide or cover up rocks or misrepresent the proximity to land. They signal “CAUTiON … the blue ocean is no longer in every direction … and here’s a light to assist in finding safe passage.” One could argue at least in nearly all cases, safe passage is or was possible; however, it would have been up to the captain and his trusted crew members to navigate. Many were unsuccessful and stormy waters would have consumed countless shipwrecks throughout history.

In 2008, 350.org was founded by Bill McKibben and a group of university friends in Vermont to increase awareness of an increasingly concerning issue of increasing carbon levels in the atmosphere and to unite people in solidarity around the globe with a common purpose: trust and follow the science, influence decision-making, elevate education, and inspire positive impact for future generation. Bill and his friends are the "lighthouse" of the metaphor. 

350 refers to the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (350 parts per million) widely supported by science as an upper boundary for maintaining Earth’s energy balance and a stable, mostly predictable climate. Beyond that level, the consequences become devastatingly tragic and costly.

NOAA reported atmospheric CO₂ to be 426 ppm last month at Mauna Loa, Hawaii (November 2025). How many of us already knew the number before reading that?

When 350 ppm was published in The Open Atmospheric Science Journal in 2008, the level had already surpassed 350 ppm. The average level reported that year was 385 ppm. 350.org has a page dedicated to the science here.

THE HUMAN ELEMENT

There is a moment when all of this stops being graphs, tables, and statistics. It stops being debate about credibility, blame, or who is “carrying their weight.” It becomes something far more personal: A family making impossible choices.

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) notes that over 90 million forcibly displaced people are living in areas highly exposed to weather-related hazards like droughts, floods, and extreme heat. This heartbreaking consequence of advancing our economies, technologies, and comforts is one of the primary motivators behind SARi’s commitment: as we grow and deliver products, our success will be tied to real financial support for people living on the front lines.

Not as a marketing opportunity or green washing. As a practiced, structural value.

A PARADOX

The paradox that can make our time feel spiritually disorienting: we are building solutions while still feeding the problem, both at levels that have never been seen before.

What is getting worse, much quicker than seemingly many people realize:

• 2024 was the warmest year on record. NASA estimates it was 1.47°C warmer than the 1850–1900 average, and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported 1.55°C above the 1850–1900 baseline from a consolidated assessment

• CO₂ in the atmosphere continues to climb rapidly due to emissions remaining at their highest levels ever despite massive mitigation efforts: Global Carbon Project   reported 37.4 billion tons of CO₂ in 2024 from fossil-based sources

• Climate change carries enormous and escalating costs, impacting global and national economies through direct damages from extreme weather, reduced productivity, increased public spending, and long-term income losses. Estimates suggest potential annual global damages could reach $38 trillion by 2050

• Climate change is forcing millions to flee homes due to floods, storms, droughts, and heatwaves, creating climate migrants or internally displaced persons (IDPs), with predictions reaching 1.2 billion by 2050. The effects disproportionately affect vulnerable, low-income communities. It is one of the world’s most tragic humanitarian crises increasing in severity each year

What is getting better and genuinely hopeful:

• Advancement and adoption of renewable energy: The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) reports 585 GW of renewable power capacity was added in 2024, representing over 90% of global power expansion that year

• The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports electric car sales exceeded 17 million in 2024, reaching greater than 20% of new car sales worldwide

• Cost reduction of solar: IRENA reports the cost of utility-scale solar PV fell around 90% from 2010 to 2023

• Success of the Montreal Protocol stands as a powerful example of effective IMPACT via universal international cooperation on an atmospheric issue; the protocol, ratified by all 197 UN member states in 1987, phased out ozone-depleting substances like chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s)

• The Paris Agreement in 2015 marked the first time 195 parties (194 UN member nations plus the EU) submitted nationally determined contributions (NDC’s), each country’s own specific, non-binding pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and adopted the   United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Its design, which requires countries to update or strengthen their commitments every 5 years, has fostered an ongoing and unprecendented cycle of increasing ambition and cooperation

The progress is real. And the threat is also real. Both are true and present at the same time.

LAGGING EFFECTS

Even with dramatic emissions cuts, some impacts keep unfolding; not because action is ineffective, but because Earth’s systems carry momentum.

The WMO emphasizes that sea level rise and ocean warming are irreversible for hundreds of years.  The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)  is blunt that beyond 2100, global mean sea level will continue rising for centuries due to deep-ocean heat uptake and continued ice-sheet mass loss.

Mitigation changes the slope of the future. Adaptation is now unavoidable.

And the measure of this decade will be how effectively we protect people now, and for years to come.

“It’s too late to be a pessimist.”

The closing sequence of the 2009 film HOME (link below) repeats a mantra that refuses surrender: “It’s too late to be a pessimist.”

That line doesn’t deny the danger. It rejects the idea that despair is wisdom.

And it frames the way I want to hold the full story: the fight is real, and humanity is capable of the incredibly massive change required to live harmoniously on the planet. The paradox and paradigm we must overcome is tipping the scale to a net-positive IMPACT, collectively.

On one side: breathtaking progress including clean energy scaling, cost reductions, and the acceleration of electrification.

On the other: relentless pressure, insatiable demand for carbon-intensive energy and materials driving exhaustive extraction of resources from Earth.

The decade ahead isn’t a “vibe.” It’s a series of must-win battles.

If we hope to get serious about bending the curve, here is the priority stack:

(1) Clean electricity + grids (renewables, clean, reliable transmission, interconnection)

• Clean energy enables everything else. It is painful to realize how long some proven solutions have sat on a shelf. If you are unaware of this, I encourage you to please have a look at the technology development timeline(s) at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) in Golden, CO. They have had solutions ready to deploy for decades.

(2) Efficiency (buildings, appliances, industry)

• The quickest “new supply” is the energy we never have to use

(3) Electrify end uses (EVs, heat pumps, industrial electrification where feasible)

(4) Cut methane fast (energy systems, waste, agriculture)

• Near-term leverage while CO₂ decarbonization scales

(5) Protect and restore ecosystems

• Carbon, biodiversity, water security, resilience

(6) Adaptation as infrastructure

• Sea level and ocean heat carry long-lived momentum

Where SARi fits

SARi’s lane is materials à choosing substrates that help rebalance carbon instead of deepening the imbalance. I’m drawn to that work because it’s tangible: it’s what we make, sell, ship, use, and how we LIVE.

That being said, we must also be honest: if sustainable materials were the only solution, the scale required would be staggering, if not impossible. That is not a reason to minimize materials, although it seems reasonable to me to treat them as one vitally important front in a wider campaign that also includes clean power, clean transport, ecosystem protection, policy, and education.

Here’s a commitment I encourage each of you to normalize and invite others to as well:

As SARi’s operating budget grows, we can pledge a percentage to organizations working tirelessly on the front lines, especially those supporting displaced people and communities hit first and worst.

Even a small percentage, repeated consistently as revenue grows, becomes a river.

With a clear science-based target of 350 ppm, 360° is the posture we need now: full-circle responsibility, systems thinking, intelligent design, and coordinated action. Because it will take everyone on the planet to build the momentum needed to enable us to look future generations in the eye and say:

“We are not proud of how it was left for us. But we are proud of how we responded. How we learned, overcame differences, prioritized education and innovation over divisiveness and walls, and created bridges to a brighter future.”

EDUCATiON is non-negotiable. If we can teach children the water cycle, we can teachn them the carbon cycle, not to instill fear, but to deliver agency. Because life is beautiful and precious, and worth restoring.

Harmony isn’t a fantasy. It’s a practice.

It’s too late to be a pessimist, y’all.

Organizations contributing in profound ways through RELiEF, SYSTEMS CHANGE + EDUCATiON

RELiEF / People on the front lines

• UNHCR – refugees and displacement response
• International Organization for Migration (IOM)  – migration support and coordination
• Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)  – humanitarian aid + displacement services
• Refugees International – advocacy + field reporting
• All Hands and Hearts – disaster relief + rebuilding
• Habitat for Humanity Global Village – building HOMES, rebuilding communities + resilience

SYSTEMS CHANGE / Policy, standards, momentum

• 350.org – organization around climate change, awareness + advocacy
• Climate Refugees – climate displacement policy + awareness
• 1% for the planet – providing framework for businesses & individuals
• B Lab – standards + accountability (“Certified B” corporations)

EDUCATiON

• North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE).
• Foundation for Environmental Education.
• Climate Program Office (CPO) of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA).
• Citizens Climate Education.
• Take Action Global Climate Action Schools.
• Association for the Advancement of Sustainability Higher Education (AASHE).
• This is Planet Ed.
• The Climate Initiative.
• National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF).
• Zinn Education Project.

350.org organized the world’s first planetary art exhibition called 350 eARTh on November 2010 before the Cancun Climate Conference

Award-winning photographerYann Arthus-Bertrand directs this breathtaking ode to planet EARTH, an aerial voyage that captures the interdependence of all its inhabitants