Don’t wait until we’re toast!
by Franke James
10.24.09 – International Day of Climate Action – Toronto, ON + Victoria, BC
CO2 Toaster Widget is a collaborative project by Michael McGee, CO2Now.org, Franke James, FrankeJames.com, and William James, The James Gang.
CO2 Toaster Widget
by Franke James
A chicken in every pot?
Nope — a toaster. For 350.org’s International Day of Climate Action we’re giving everyone in the world a toaster. Because we think that’s the best way to deliver this message:
Don’t wait until we’re toast!
Cut your CO2 Now!
Use the CO2 Toaster Widget To Track CO2
Today, in more than 181 countries, over 5200 climate actions are taking place, showing us why “350 is the most important number on the planet.”
“350 is a very tough number. We’re already well past it—the atmosphere holds 390 ppm today, which is why the Arctic is melting and the ocean steadily acidifying. To get back to the safe level we need a very rapid halt to the use of coal, gas and oil so that forests and oceans can absorb some of that carbon.”
Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org
350 is top-of-mind today, but what about next month?
So, awareness of 350 is high today thanks to Bill McKibben, and the International Day of Climate Action. But months down the road, how many people will know whether we’re any closer to our goal of reaching 350ppm? Will you be able to say what the current CO2 level is?
Plug the CO2 Toaster in!
That’s where the CO2 Toaster comes in. Just plug this toaster into your website or blog, and you can keep track of CO2 from now on. (You can also see what the CO2 level was for that same month, twenty years ago.) The widget pulls data for atmospheric CO2 from the Mauna Loa Observatory (and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) in the United States. It’s THE authoritative source for CO2 emissions and has been tracking them since 1959. Data is updated once a month.
Widget Installation
Co2 Toaster Widget: 200 x 280 pixels
1. Copy the HTML code below.
2. Paste it into the source code at your website or blog.
Co2 Toaster Widget: 160 x 224 pixels
Making the CO2 Toaster:
The CO2 Toaster Widget came about because Michael McGee, creator of CO2Now.org, admired the original toaster drawing I’d done for my book launch. He said, “You know that would make a really handsome little widget…”
And I agreed. With a little bit of data intelligence from Michael, plus technical wizardry from my husband and design partner, Bill, the CO2 Toaster was born. Proving that right-brain metaphors and left-brain data can mix and produce lively offspring. How many toasters get replicated around the world is up to you.
Michael’s verdict, “CO2 prefers to keep quiet and out of site. The CO2 Toaster widget yanks away the invisibility cloak and reveals CO2 for the culprit that it is. This widget grabs attention and shares important information about our planet. Not only does it say what CO2 is right now, it shows what CO2 has been, and what it should be. Great job Franke and Bill! Great climate action.”
Plugging in the CO2 Toaster is easy and fun.
It’s going to help me track our progress towards the 350 goal.
Because if we don’t take action now — we really will be toast.
CO2 Toaster widget © 2009 Franke James, MFA
CO2 Now Widget Resources
Examples of websites with a CO2 widget
The data speaks for itself
Widget help centre
October 24th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
VIA Twitter
@pausetothink RT @frankejames: My @350 climate action The CO2 Toaster Widget w/ help from @co2now & NOAA http://bit.ly/2OtvYY Don’t wait until we’re toast
October 24th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
VIA Twitter
@earthontherun @frankejames Fantastic widget. Sharing it on my blogs! Will write a post about your work and send u a link.
VIA Twitter
@earthontherun @frankejames Done! It looks amazing! http://bit.ly/DtCk5
October 24th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
VIA Twitter
@CDEgger Cool colorful engaging current & educational #350ppm toaster widget!! From the inimitable @frankejames, @co2now, NOAA http://bit.ly/2OtvYY
October 24th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
VIA Twitter
@josephdee Awesome! RT @CDEgger: #350ppm toaster widget!! From the inimitable @frankejames, @co2now, NOAA http://bit.ly/2OtvYY
October 24th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
VIA Twitter
@RayBeckerman Get your CO2 Toaster Widget from @frankejames http://bit.ly/2OtvYY #climatechange #350 #350ppm
October 24th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
VIA Twitter
@Sparklehouse RT greenbeandreams RT @RayBeckerman Get your CO2 Toaster Widget from @frankejames http://bit.ly/2OtvYY #climatechange #350 #350ppm
October 25th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
nicely done franke — it’s on my sidebar!
October 26th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Karen,
Thanks for plugging in the Toaster! It looks spiffy!
Loved your 350 cookies — and the photo.
Cookies And 350 International Day Of Climate Change
Franke
October 26th, 2009 at 10:40 am
I… can’t…. stop…. scrolling….. over the toaster. Great message and a great visual!
October 26th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Thanks Ben! I think it’s a fun way to keep CO2 levels top-of-mind.
Franke
October 27th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Brilliant widget! I’ve added it to my blog at http://cluttercut.blogspot.com
I never thought a carbon cutting reminder could be so cute!
October 27th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Daharja,
Thanks! I visited your site and it — and all your other content — looks super!
Franke
October 30th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Hello, Franke!
I just met your blog and I must admit, it’s just brilliant!!! Congrats! I love your artwork.
Adam
November 11th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Shame on me, I hadn’t check out your website for some time now.
I love your toaster widget !
Keep up the good work Franke !
November 11th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
I love your site and artwork. Great message.
Liz
November 12th, 2009 at 3:12 am
Thank you very much for your great work! Your CO2 Toaster Widget is extremely good. I use it on my blog, too. I also love your visual essey Green Winter. Finland has also been the country of snow and ice hockey. Now we have lot of snow in Lapland, Northern Finland, but much less in Southern Finland. Kindest regards from Finland!
November 14th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
As usual, a great piece of work… It made me smile AND think! Best regards from Hamburg, Germany
November 15th, 2009 at 9:02 am
Hi Franke, it’s on my little blog too now – great widget!
Thanks.
November 26th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Michael’s doing great work at CO2Now.org, Franke, and your toaster rocks. I would, however, like to throw a different number out there. That number is ZERO.
We need to get our carbon emissions to ZERO. We need to leave the Burning Age behind and usher in the Golden Era of Renewable and Perpetual Energy.
Knowing the parts per million of carbon dioxide in the air is vital so that we can track the decrease to pre-industrial levels. 350 ppm might still be too high! So the most important number in the world right now is ZERO.
Perhaps you could take the ZERO CARBON message with you to Copenhagen, Franke. Have a fascinating trip, and should you run across Mogens Holm (a Danish exchange student I fell in love with when I was 16!), please say hello.
Julie
June 22nd, 2010 at 6:09 pm
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