On Oct. 10, a Global Work Party is occurring around the world with more than 5,000 events in 176 countries to celebrate climate solutions and citizen actions. The goal of the day is to send a clear, positive message to policy makers around the world: if we can get to work, you can too — on the energy legislation and the climate treaties that will make all our work easier in the long run.

This amazing Global Work Party has been coordinated by 350.org, an organization set up to raise awareness about climate issues. 350 is the most important number in the world — it’s what scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide, parts per million, in the atmosphere. Current atmospheric CO2 is somewhere near 390 ppm and rising, so we have some important work to do together.

On Mercer Island, we’ve set up a series of fun work party events co-sponsored by IslandVision and the Mercer Island Green Ribbon Commission because we’re deeply committed to this issue.

IslandVision is a Mercer Island-based nonprofit with a mission of educating people about and promoting sustainable practices within our community. We helped start the Mercer Island Farmers Market, we organize the annual Leap for Green Earth Day/Sustainability Fair and we helped our city government develop new sustainability language for our City Comprehensive Plan. The Mercer Island Green Ribbon Commission is a partnership between the city, organizations and citizens focused on calculating and then reducing our individual and collective carbon footprints here on Mercer Island.

We will kick off Oct. 10 with a set of morning events, scheduled from 8-10 a.m., including working at the garden at Lakeridge Elementary school, clearing blackberries at West Mercer Elementary school, and an ivy-pulling endeavor at Pioneer Park with Mayor Pearman and the Boy Scouts. Following that we will be active at the Mercer Island Farmers Market, promoting both bicycle safety and tune-up information, as well as providing information about 350.org and encouraging people to pledge to cut their carbon emissions by 10 percent next year. The day concludes with a celebration of our day’s accomplishments while socializing about green issues at Mercer Island’s inaugural “Green Drinks.” Specific details about these and other activities associated with 10/10/10 can be found at www.islandvision.org.

All of the events on Mercer Island are You-Powered, meaning that we invite people to walk or bike. While the impact of only one day of less driving on atmospheric CO2 is only a small step, the goal is to provide a positive experience to encourage further walking and biking beyond the events themselves.

Please join us at one or more of our activities and learn more about our efforts; log on to www.350.org and find another one you’re interested in around the area, or start your own project, big or small. Maybe you’ve been considering solar panels for your roof. Maybe you’ve been considering cleaning up invasives and planting native plants in your own yard. Whatever it is, why not spend some time this weekend getting started?

Your friends and neighbors are getting to work — what about you?

Bert Loosmore is on the IslandVision board of directors.