An Truthful house party

Saturday night Mr. T and I had twelve people over to our house to view An Inconvenient Truth. There were almost 2,000 of these house parties all over the country tonight. Our parties on the West Coast began with a conference call with Mr. Gore, and proceeded to a viewing of the film.

I have a post percolating about the dynamics of individual action in the face of seemingly overwhelming obstacles, but that will probably get written in front of the fireplace in Montana over the Christmas holiday. But for now, let me assure you that there are concrete actions you can take, right now, to alleviate this problem.

First, if you haven't already, watch An Inconvenient Truth. Pop over to the video store and grab a copy, come home, put some popcorn on, and kick your feet up. Despite Mr. Gore's (unmerited, in my opinion) reputation for woodenness, this is an interesting film. The directors weave a good bit of biographical detail into the global warming narrative, to good effect.

Second -- and you can do this right now -- go here and sign a postcard that Mr. Gore will personally deliver it to Congress next year. It bears repeating that Congresscritters won't get on this issue until they start hearing from their constituents. Add your name now.

Third, peruse the list of links to the right under the caption "Era of Consequences." There is a wealth of information there. Global Warming: Early Warning Signs has a map plotted with clickable spots all over the globe that represent localized effects of global warming. It's fascinating, but sobering. Slate's Green Challenge is an eight-week plan to reduce your carbon footprint. There's something unique at each site, and I encourage you to visit them all.

Wondering what real, live climate scientists thought of An Inconvenient Truth? Go here for a review by one. From the same site, read this excellent discussion of carbon offset programs.

Finally, let me know if I'm missing any links. I'm still collecting links and information about global warming, and if you have one I'm missing, drop me a line or a comment and let me know.

Is individual action enough? Absolutely not. But it's absolutely necessary to get anything done beyond that. So I cannot stress enough the importance of these small yet concrete steps to get a handle on this issue.