Our Vision

We envision a global community that protects our beautiful planet and supports the flourishing of all living beings.

Our Mission

350 Wisconsin (formerly 350 Madison) mobilizes grassroots power to change hearts and minds, laws and policies, and humanity’s massive systems to make transformational progress toward environmental justice and solving the climate crisis by 2030.

Our Principles for Change

The Time Is Now

The closing window of opportunity and the public’s growing willingness to act gives us the chance to make the urgent change we desperately need. 

We can ensure a livable, sustainable future for all life, now and for generations to come. We can end the climate crisis through these principles for change:

• Grassroots power. The mobilization of people power is key to advancing climate goals and pressuring leadership to take bold action.  
• Centering climate justice. True, meaningful, and durable change is not achieved unless built on a foundation of equity and justice for impacted communities. 
• Collaboration. Working in coalition with allies builds power and trust across diverse groups and networks. 
• Respecting natural systems. Protecting ecosystems and considering impacts on all forms of life is integral to solving the climate crisis. 
• Visionary thinking. Innovation and the willingness to challenge deeply-held beliefs and assumptions are needed to transform existing systems. We must establish a new framework for envisioning deep and durable solutions. 

Our Approach

• Strategic campaigns. To address the root causes of the climate crisis, we work at every level – local to global – to promote sustainable solutions, oppose new fossil fuel infrastructure, and reform financial systems. 
• A climate justice lens. We actively participate in and support racial and social justice organizations led by BIPOC/frontline communities, and we ground all of our actions and goals in climate justice. 
• Volunteer leadership and expertise. Our volunteers guide and carry out our mission. They play an active, central role in all of our activities. 
• Broad engagement. We move people from concern to action, to rapidly reach a social tipping point that demands crisis-appropriate climate action. We provide a spectrum of inclusive ways for diverse participants to take action in a manner that meets their needs. 
• Education and training. We educate participants on how the climate crisis is connected to justice, natural systems, the built environment, and more. We provide training on important tactics and skills such as effective communication, advocacy, policy analysis, and civil disobedience. 
• Creative engagement. We employ art, humor, and satire in our street theater, parades, and large-scale public actions to advocate for change and engage the public.
• A grounding in both science and cultural wisdom. We incorporate rigorous, peer-reviewed science and the knowledge and wisdom of Indigenous communities and other cultures into our work. 

Our Successes

As we celebrate our 10-year anniversary, we have much to celebrate. Here are just a few examples:

• Our Climate Justice Team works with the entire organization to make sure climate justice is centered in everything we do.
• The Community Climate Solutions Team has helped the City of Madison to pass a tougher stormwater ordinance and an electric vehicle readiness ordinance and published reports on green building incentive programs and the potential for a Madison Clean Energy Fund.
• Our Divest & Defund Team has targeted JPMorgan Chase and other banks that prop up the fossil fuel industry through loans, insurance, and investment.
• Our Art Collective has used all manner of creative means, from kite flying to dance and satirical street theater, to bring attention to the climate crisis and inspire people to take action.
• Our Tar Sands Team has mobilized hundreds of supporters to oppose Enbridge’s relentless drive to expand its pipeline network. We’ve collaborated with organizations like 80 Feet Is Enough! and the Wisconsin Safe Energy (WiSE) Alliance to help landowners along Enbridge’s Wisconsin pipeline corridor unite to protect their rights. We’re also active in regional pipeline-fighting coalitions and sent carpools of supporters and supplies to resistance camps fighting Line 3 in Minnesota and the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock.
• Our Monthly Meeting Team has organized dozens of speaking engagements with experts on various climate-related topics to engage and educate our membership.

We’ve accomplished a lot in our first 10 years, but we’re just getting started! Join us as we continue to work to ensure a safe, livable planet for future generations.

Why 350?

The number 350 means climate safety: To preserve a livable planet, scientists tell us that 350 parts per million (ppm) is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere. Unfortunately, the concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere is currently above 420ppm and is rising 2–3ppm every year. This continuing increase risks reaching tipping points and irreversible impacts such as the melting of the Greenland ice sheet and major methane releases from increased permafrost melt.

The Guardian‘s Carbon Countdown Clock gives estimate of how long it will take to exceed the world’s carbon budget.