April 14 Day of Action on Global Warming Will Demand Mandatory Cuts in Carbon Emissions

Interview with Bill McKibben, author and environmentalist, conducted by Between the Lines' Melinda Tuhus

While there was significant buzz before President Bush's 2007 State of the Union speech that he would make some breakthrough announcements regarding his administration's plans to address global warming, the reality of his proposals were underwhelming. He mainly called for a large increase in ethanol production to power motor vehicles, which carries its own set of problems, environmental and otherwise.

In order to bring the issue of climate change significantly more into the consciousness of politicians and citizens alike, writer and activist Bill McKibben has come up with a project called, "Step It Up '07." Working with six graduate students at Middlebury College in Vermont where he teaches, McKibben is promoting a national day of climate action on April 14. On that day, protesters across the U.S. will demand that Congress enact immediate cuts in carbon emissions and pledge an 80 percent reduction by 2050.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with McKibben just before he took off on a trip to Antarctica -- where effects of global warming are alarmingly more advanced than in the continental U.S. He explains what he hopes "Step It Up '07" will accomplish and how millions of people can get involved.

Bill McKibben is author of The End of Nature, the first book on climate change written for a popular audience, published in 1989. Visit McKibben's Step It Up campaign website at www.stepitup07.org, where, in less than a month, almost 500 events have been scheduled in 45 states.

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BUSH : "ISLAM IS RESPONSIBLE FOR GLOBAL WARMING. THEY'RE SITTING ON TOP OF ALL THAT OIL AND OIL IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DEPLETING THE OZONE LAYER. SO IT IS MY DUTY TO BOMB THEM AND STEAL THEIR OIL TO SAVE THE EVIORNMENT. MAKES SENSE TO ME."