Meet Laurie David, author, producer and global warming activist

Laurie David, is best known for her efforts to stop global warming, through her Stop Global Warming Virtual March. Her famous fellow marchers include Senator John McCain and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. She was also the producer for the Academy Award-winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, starring former Vice President Al Gore. David talks to TFK about her mission and her upcoming book for kids, The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming.

TFK:
Tell us what you do.

David:
I consider myself a full-time global warming activist. I am involved with a lot of organizations because it is going to take all of us working together to solve this problem. I am proud to be a trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) a very important environmental organization. One of the things I tell students to do is to join a local or national environmental group because when their numbers grow, they represent your voice in Washington, D.C.

TFK:
Why are you so passionate about the environment? What opened your eyes and led you to take action personally?

David:
I am passionate about the environment because it's the only planet we have and we now know that we are messing it up. It's not called Mother Earth for nothing. She is sick right now - just like when you are sick with the flu and you go from night chills to hot sweats -- that is what is happening on the planet. We are seeing extreme weathers in both directions, not just warm weather but severe cold and ice storms too, and it's our responsibility to make her better.

TFK:
Your organization, stopglobalwarming.org has some great suggestions about what kids can do to get involved and help save the planet. What are the most important things kids can do on a daily basis?

David:
The exciting thing about this problem is that there is so much everyone can do. We need big changes but we need small changes too. For example, changing a light bulb. That is something everyone can do. There is now a new CFL light bulb that is 75% more energy efficient which means less carbon dioxide, CO2, in the atmosphere. That's just one simple thing every student can do today.

Here's another one - every student can unplug their iPod, cell phone and digital camera from the wall. Leaving a charger in the wall continues to waste energy that you aren't even using.

Also, students can make their concern heard by joining the Virtual March at stopglobalwarming.org. That's a simple way to be an activist and it only requires an email address. (Be sure to check with your parents first).

TFK:
A lot of the global warming news seems really scary. What does it all mean? And should we be frightened?

David:
It is so important that kids face the truth about what is happening and know that we can solve it if we start acting now. There is an urgency to this problem but there are solutions everywhere you look. The only thing missing is the will of ALL of us to face it.

TFK:
You quote Albert Einstein who said, "We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive." How do we get to that new manner of thinking?

David:
We start with personal changes and then we change as families, schools and ultimately as a country. Every single one of us is part of the problem and so we all need to be a part of the solution. We don't have to do everything, but we all have to do something. If we all did something, we would be well on our way to solving this problem.

TFK:
Tell us about your new kid's book with co-author Cambria Gordon, "The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming?" coming out in September.

David:
I wrote this book with a close girlfriend of mine, Cami Gordon. We are both moms with kids in school and it was important to both of us that kids hear the facts about this problem and understand that they can be part of the solution. I love this book because not only are the graphics cool, but also because it clearly states the facts and presents the problem and what everyone can do about it.

TFK:
You were the producer for the Academy Award-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Do you think the film is responsible for the recent focus on environmental issues? Do you have plans for a kid's version of the film, or maybe a cartoon that addresses the same subject?

David:
Yes, I think the important thing about An Inconvenient Truth is that it has now been seen by millions of people and it is my hope that it will one day be shown in every school in the United States. One great result is that it is already required viewing in schools in Scotland, Norway, Sweden and England. At the TFK:
Tell us about the "Stop Global Warming College Tour" you are on with Sheryl Crow. What is your goal with the tour?

David:
Sheryl Crow and I are crossing the Southeast on a rock-n-roll tour bus fueled by biodiesel. We are visiting college campuses to help ignite the movement to stop global warming. This movement has to become the biggest movement this country has ever seen, and in order for that to happen, we need to hear the voices of our college kids -- and students of all ages.

TFK:
You have two children in our TFK readership. How can kids motivate their parents to become more involved?

David:
This is such a great point because one of the reasons you kids are so powerful is because you do influence your parents. So tonight at dinner get the conversation going. Come up with ONE thing your family can do to slow global warming down (you can get a list of suggestions at stopglobalwarming.org).

TFK:
From your experience, are schools interested in doing their part to educate kids on the global warming issues? Are there school fund-raisers or programs that kids can encourage school administrators to include at their schools?

David:
Schools need to do more. Students should ask their school principals for a meeting to talk about how to go carbon neutral. Or, as I heard someone say recently "carbon responsible." Get every student in your school to join the Virtual March! Become a global warming activist!!

Angelique LeDoux
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