We now live in a world of veritable science fiction. Last week, scientists reported that our delicate, life-giving global atmosphere has reached a new level of danger: 400 parts per million of carbon dioxide concentration. There hasn’t been this much heat-trapping CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere in at least 3 million years, long before human beings evolved. If there was ever a wake-up-call moment on global warming, a time to become really alarmed, it’s now!

What does 400 ppm mean for us? Imagine a world with 60-80 feet of sea-level rise, where much of downtown Baltimore, the White House, and all the naval facilities in Norfolk, Va. are underwater. That’s where we’re heading unless we act. Imagine a world where we trap heat in the atmosphere equal to the energy of 400,000 Hiroshima bombs exploding every day. That’s where we already are.

Read the New York Times front-page coverage here and watch this Democracy Now! video above.

Also see a great blog post from the Natural Resources Defense Council.

And here’s what you can do right here at home: Help CCAN. Make a donation today to help us promote wind power, fight fracking, and demand climate justice for all. Give now.

Whatever you do, I appeal to you to rededicate yourself to the great task of saving our future. Raise your voice more loudly for clean energy in the Chesapeake region and beyond. Give more of your time to the cause of saving our civilization from climate collapse before it’s too late. You can start by sharing with your friends our mind-blowing Facebook graphic here.

CCAN will be working hard over the next several weeks and months to further publicize this alarming new 400 ppm level of CO2 in the atmosphere. At the same time, we know that with every crisis comes opportunity. In the coming weeks we will be joining prominent state and Congressional leaders in launching inspiring new initiatives to phase carbon out of our economy in favor of dramatic increases in wind, solar, and energy efficiency. Stay tuned.

But right now, please help CCAN keep up the battle to promote wind power, fight dirty energy like fracked gas, and demand climate justice for all. Make a donation today.

You can also take action by signing this petition from our friends at 350.org to stop the climate-wrecking tar sands pipeline proposed from Canada to Texas.

Suicidally, the coal, oil, and natural gas industries are intent on polluting our atmosphere far beyond just 400 ppm, sending us hurtling toward 700 or even 800 ppm. Let’s not let them.

Give to CCAN today and help give the planet a fighting chance.

Onward.