Do you know what Focus the Nation is? Are you involved? If not visit focusthenation.org. Chances are, if you are in the United States, there is an event near you January 30th or 31st.

I had trouble deciding wheter this should go in the 'general paddler' or 'off topic' forum, but ultimately decided that there can be no cause more important to paddlers: Our changing climate and industrial 'progress', including its lasting effects on our creeks and rivers.

\"In the next few years, we as a nation will make, or fail to make, critical decisions regarding global warming pollution and clean technology investments. These decisions will have far-reaching and irreversible impacts on the lives of today’s students and the lives of their children. At this moment in time, we owe our young people at least a day of focused discussion about global warming solutions for America.

Focus the Nation is organizing a national teach-in on global warming solutions for America—creating a dialogue at over a thousand colleges, universities, high schools, middle schools, places of worship, civic organizations and businesses, and directly engaging millions of students and citizens with the nation’s decision-makers. Focus the Nation will culminate January 31st, 2008 in simultaneous educational symposia held across the country. Our intent is to move America beyond fatalism to a determination to face up to this civilizational challenge, the challenge of our generation.

Focus the Nation is an educational initiative, but we also promote civic engagement. Each Focus team will invite local, state and federal political leaders and decision-makers to come to campus and participate in a non-partisan, round-table discussion of global warming solutions. US Senators and members of congress, state representatives, mayors and city councilors, all will be receiving dozens of invitations to speak about global warming, from over a thousand institutions nation-wide. Every institution will also vote on their top five national priorities for global warming action, producing a campus and citizen endorsed policy agenda for 2008.

Currently over 1000 institutions, mostly colleges and universities, have signed on to participate, and dozens of college and university Presidents have endorsed the initiative\" (www.focusthenation.org/about.php).

I hope you decide to participate, or at least check out the website. THIS IS YOUR OPPERTUNITY TO VOICE YOUR CONCERNS DIRECTLY TO YOUR GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES! Do not waste it!