San Francisco City Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who initiated the plastic bag ban in this country, can't stand patiently and watch leaders decide if they are going to take action. Instead, he urges activists to push their municipal and state legislatures to take aggressive action to reform climate regulation, regardless of what the international community does (or does not) do. He is a consistent advocate for local control in attaining a green agenda.
The international day was spearheaded by the group 350.org and supported by numerous environmental activist groups, including GreenPeace. The number 350 represents the parts per million of carbon dioxide emissions that the atmosphere can bear if we want to avoid runaway global warming.