We challenged filmmakers and concerned citizens to explain in 30 seconds how capping global warming pollution could help solve our oil addiction. We're selecting our favorite video, and it's time for you to choose yours, too! http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=34766&redirect=climatevideos Watch them, vote for your favorite, and share them with your friends. The video with the most votes will receive our Climate Activist’s Choice Award, with a prize of $1000. Vote today! Voting ends Monday, February 2, 2009.

This post is by Miriam Horn, a writer at Environmental Defense Fund and co-author of the New York Times bestseller, Earth: The Sequel.

Who would have thought that algae (a.k.a. pond scum) - the microscopic plants whose "blooms" choke off life in lakes and estuaries - would emerge as the hottest new energy crop?

But sure enough, dozens of start-ups, backed by millions of dollars in venture capital, are racing to find the best way to turn algae into fuel, with exciting results.

Read more at Environmental Defense Fund's blog, Climate411!

A new Environmental Defense Fund report, Are We Ready? Preparing for the Public Health Challenges of Climate Change [PDF], reveals critical gaps in our public health system's ability to respond to growing health threats from climate change.

Alarmingly, funding for general public health preparedness has been steadily declining in recent years, with a 25 percent cut proposed in President Bush’s 2008 budget.

Read more here.

Earth: The Sequel (www.EarthTheSequel.com) tells the story of an exciting race that is just beginning - the race to develop low-carbon energy in time to turn our greatest environmental crisis into our greatest economic opportunity.

Many people have expressed surprise that I’d write a book like this about a problem so serious. And global warming is serious. With each passing year, scientists get more and more alarmed at the increase and extent of disturbing impacts. But this book is not about the doom and gloom of global warming. In fact, it’s just the opposite.


Earth: The Sequel is about hope, invention, ingenuity, entrepreneurialism, capital markets, commerce, and profit. These are words that most people don’t think of when they hear the term "global warming", and they especially don’t expect to hear them coming from me. After all, I’m an environmental lawyer running one of the country’s most respected and influential environmental groups, advocating for good environmental policy.

I wrote this book because, after 20 years of studying global warming and trying to craft solutions to stop it, I know that government policy alone is not the answer. Enacting a hard cap on carbon will play a key supporting role, but the starring role belongs to American commerce.

The stars are the ingenious inventors and risk-taking entrepreneurs who are creating flying windmills, artificial carbon-eating trees, and breakthroughs in solar and biomass technologies. The book explores how we will reinvent everything from cars to concrete, and replace the old, dumb, centralized electrical grid with a smart, multidirectional energy network.

The vibrancy of our future lives largely depends on our winning this race - a race both to stop global warming, and to win the upside of new opportunities if we do. We can win and win big, or we could lose and lose big. It’s both the scariest and most exciting race of my lifetime.

I wrote Earth: The Sequel to describe the race and change the conversation about global warming. I want others to know about the real people doing the real work that will change our lives, and I want to inspire people to embrace a new and different future, rather than be afraid of it.

Earth: The Sequel is available in stores now, so I hope you’ll take a look. Please let me know what you think.

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0393066908?tag=environdefens-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0393066908&adid=1C1BGW3FK430T2A4A5MQ&


(This Climate411.org post is by Fred Krupp, President of the Environmental Defense Fund.)

Are you wondering why Environmental Defense is working so hard on getting the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act passed in Congress this year? Then check out these posts on our Climate411 blog that explain the need for action NOW!

Why a Bill in 2008: Good versus Perfect

Why a Bill in 2008: Price of Waiting

This is your last chance to help Environmental Defense win $1,000 to fight global warming! From 3:00 pm ET (noon PT) today through the same time tomorrow, we're in the running for a $1,000 prize. To win, our Facebook cause has to get more donors than any other on the site. To be counted, our donors must give $10 or more and be giving to our cause for the first time. You have to have a Facebook account in order to give, and there's no better time to start one! Not only can you help our cause win, you can also join our Environmental Defense and Eco-Friendly Seafood Selector groups!

To donate, go to Facebook cause, “Join and Help Raise $50,000 to Fight Global Warming” (http://apps.facebook.com/causes/view_cause/47628?recruiter_id=11691081)