Dear Friends,

Thirty days left to Focus the Nation ! Still time to engage another 500 schools. Thousands of  high schools in the country have an Earth Club. It’s not too late to get them on board for a showing of The 2% Solution, on-line voting on global warming solutions, and critical engagement with political leaders.  PLEASE, pass this e-mail along to every high school teacher, student and principal that you know. Tell them to sign up. Don’t take no for an answer. Time is short.

Between 1960 and 1964, Americans moved from fatalistic acceptance of racial segregation to a solid determination to end Jim Crow. Between now and the end of 2008,  we can move this country from a fatalistic acceptance of business-as-usual global warming. We can end the paralyzing sense that our children must accept from us an impoverished planet. We can embrace a determination to act, and hold global warming to the manageable low end.

Focus the Nation is now the biggest teach-in in history, with more than ten thousand volunteers building events at over 1200 schools, faith and civic organizations and businesses. In the next 30 days, help us bring hundreds of more schools and other institutions to Focus the Nation. Together, we can make 2008 the year that America woke up, the year that we faced up to this civilizational challenge.

Working with three partners, Focus is bringing resources to youth climate leaders. First out of the gate is Face-It  (sponsored by Architecture 2030): $20,000 in prizes for a one-day design contest held on January 30th. Also– watch for details from us later this month about two other amazing opportunities:

*Project Slingshot. Three $10,000 summer scholarships for college climate leaders, designed to propel into action personal projects for innovative global warming solutions. Sponsored by Clif Bar’s  Mojo, there will be grants for artists, outdoor enthusiasts and innovators.  

 

*Poster Contest for High School and Middle School students. What will your community look like in the year 2050? What will people be doing, driving, wearing? Where will their water, energy and food come from? Design the future , and win an outdoor adventure trip. Sponsored by Re:Vision.

Our organizing calls are now weekly. So join us Wednesday, 1/2—12 noon, eastern. Call in to 1-218-339-7800, passcode 1312008. Please, in these final thirty day, help build a national voice loud enough to change the future. Thanks for the work you are doing.

Eban Goodstein, Project Director

Chungin Chung, Communications Director

*Re:Vision the world! Share your passion for sustainable design. How can local businesses thrive, along with families, neighborhoods and communities? How can we share our gifts and talents to meet our everyday needs? Re:Store is looking for ideas to make transactions as good for the soul as they are for the wallet. How can all trade be fair trade? How can we find healthier ways to make exchanges in urban settings? More than just rethinking how we buy, Re:Store is about rethinking what we’ve bought into about commerce. It’s time that ideas were the true currency. Re:Store is your chance to make change. Learn More!

 

FOCUS PHONE-IN Join us for the next half-an-hour conference call to share information and respond to questions. Wednesday, January 2nd, at noon Eastern, 9 Pacific Time. Calls will be every Wednesday at that time, so mark your calendars! Call in to 1-218-339-7800, passcode 1312008.

Focus News:

*Pre-Focus– $20,000 Design Prize at “Face-it”! One-day competition on 1/30.

*NCSE Global Warming: Science and Solutions. Washington DC, January 16-18.

*HS Teachers—need lesson plans on global warming? Visit ClimateChangeEducation.org.

*Green Mountain Coffee Roaster joins Focus as a Sponsor! We are glad to welcome Green Mountain, a pioneer in producing sustainable, fair trade coffee.

*National Campus Energy Challenge. Join schools across the country and see what you can save in February!

* Forty Percent of Car Trips are within two miles of your home: Take Clif Bar’s Two-Mile Challenge and ride or walk instead! Check it out.

*Donate to Focus—Stop Your Junk Mail! Sign up with 41 Pounds, and a portion of the income is donated directly to us here at Focus the Nation.

*The President’s Climate Commitment: Has your University or College President signed on?

New Books on Fighting Global Warming

On video: Jon Isham and Eban Goodstein talk about their recent books on building the global warming solutions movement–  Fighting for Love in the Century of Extinction, and Ignition.  Other recent books of note: Gary Braasch’s Earth Under Fire; Laurie David’s Down to Earth Guide (for elementary school); and  Fight Global Warming Now from Step it Up.

 

Focus Update is the e-bulletin of Focus the Nation. If would prefer not to receive this update, please reply to this message with UNSUBSCRIBE in the header.

Eban Goodstein
Project Director
Focus the Nation
info@focusthenation.org
www.focusthenation.org
503-342-6863