It's the challenge of the century-your century!

Get Organized: Global Warming

The facts:

• Some degree of Greenhouse Effect is necessary for keeping our planet at a cozy temperature, but.
• Humanity is putting out about 30 percent more global warming gases than the planet's trees, seas and soils can absorb, and this is wrapping extra layers of CO2, methane and other gases around the planet-in effect, turning up the heat
• The concentration of global warming gases in the atmosphere is about 1/3 higher than before the Industrial Revolution
• The principle cause of global warming is fossil fuel combustion-primarily coal-fired power plants, industrial energy use and vehicles; food production is also a big contributor to global warming, as is forest destruction
• The consequences of global warming are already being felt-the World Health Organization says 160,000 people are dying every year from its effects: more severe weather events, water sources contaminated by flooding, expanded range of disease-carrying insects. Other living things are feeling the heat also-migratory animals are shifting their patterns, millions of acres of spruce trees in Alaska are being devastated by insects that no longer die out in the winter, polar bears-they likely won't be here by the end of the century

Take Action:

Lead the way in combating global warming with positive actions

• You can be cool! Check out our new Cooling Global Warming action guide!
• Join the Billion Tree Campaign co-sponsored by Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai
• Preserve rainforest-take part in NCP's If a tree falls. campaign ($200 preserves an acre of rainforest-every acre absorbs 1000 pounds of CO2 per year!)
• Sponsor a car-free day-and add up the CO2 saved (every mile driven typically puts a pound of CO2 into the air!)
• Request NCP's Write for Life postcards highlighting the Gwich'in people of Alaska. Send these to Congress with the message that global warming is a human rights issue, as it is already drastically affecting the Arctic ecosystem.
• Organize a compact florescent bulb sales event (one bulb can save 500 pounds of CO2 over 10 years)

Wake up your community or church or campus or club

• Bring in a speaker or put out a booth on Earth Day or do a campus mailing or use NCP's global warming info-blurbs in the campus paper or church newsletter
• Order (or download and print) and distribute Turn Down the Heat, NCP's post-it note with ideas for.well.turning down the heat by simple daily actions
• Print off and hand out Eat, Drink, and Be Wary...? It's our guide to sustainable food choices (cattle production is the leading source of global warming gases!!)

Wake up legislators!

• Get together a letter writing campaign or petition drive telling Congress to raise CAFÉ standards (mpg of US vehicle fleet-we get less mpg's today than we did 20 years ago!) as a national security issue (60% of US petroleum is imported), a public health issue (air pollution kills 70,000 US'ers every year), a public lands issue (upping mileage standards just a little would save much more oil than we'll find under wilderness lands) [House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515; United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510]
• Same idea, but take it local: Are there bike lanes in your area? Is there decent public transit? Does your school, church, or club use compact florescent bulbs? Are they educating about global warming?