To talk to your kids about climate change, you need to educate yourself about what is happening to our planet. Here are some excerpts from A Hot Planet Needs Cool Kids to get you started. (Image courtesy of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.)

Earth hasn't been this warm for at least 420,000 years. And if climate change continues at its current rate, it will be hotter by the end of this century than it has been for two million years.

It might sound good to have warmer weather, like more time to be outside and grow things in the garden. But having our climate, or normal weather conditions, shift suddenly is dangerous for all living things, including people.

There are always some species extinctions happening on Earth. The normal rate is one species dying off about every four years. Today, however, at least 30,000 species are going extinct each year. Some scientists predict that unless we work immediately to reduce our world-wide carbon emissions, approximately 40 percent of species on Earth could be extinct in the next forty years.

Scientists can measure how much carbon dioxide is in Earth's atmosphere and compare the amounts at different times in Earth's history. They predict that if we continue releasing carbon dioxide at the rate we have been in the last fifty years, it will be about double (500 parts per million) what it was before the Industrial Revolution about two hundred years ago. This could raise the world's average temperature by about 5 to 8 degrees by 2050. This increase in global temperature may not sound like a lot, but it has huge consequences for ecosystems everywhere.

Use these ideas to get your kids involved in responding to climate change. Their participation in such activities will empower them and reduce their feelings of helplessness and concern. They will also put them in touch with other like-minded young people so they won't feel so alone. (Image of compost bins by Tobin Fricke, CC license.)

1. Start your own environmental magazine, online journal, or blog.
2. Organize an Earth Day event in your neighborhood: pick up garbage, plant trees, restore a stream, remove ivy or other damaging plants, or start a community garden.
3. Volunteer at an animal shelter or environmental organization.
4. Start a repair business to help fix things for people so they don't throw them away.
5. Organize a clean up day at a local park or beach.
6. Start a recycling program at school or in your community.
7. Organize a carpool or create a walk-to-school or ride-to-school group.
8. Start a climate change education campaign to teach people about climate change problems and solutions in your school or community.
9. Invent an alternative form of energy for the world.

"What's so dangerous about global warming is that it leaves many people feeling hopeless, as if nothing they could do would matter. This fine book makes it clear that that's not the case-and from changing lightbulbs to changing laws, it shows young people how they are able to help."

-Bill McKibben, author of End of Nature and Deep Economy

To talk to your kids about climate change, you might need some help. This new book--due out in September 2007, written by Julie Hall, and published by Green Goat Books--uses clear, accessible writing and abundant, engaging illustrations to teach kids the basic science and social issues of climate change while offering practical suggestions and inspiration for action. Kids, parents, and teachers will find the very latest information about the causes and effects of climate change, societal changes that can reduce climate change, current climate change action movements, and ways kids and their families and schools can join the fight.

A Hot Planet Needs Cool Kids teaches and inspires through hands-on activities, cool and hot facts, eco-hero features, and a hopeful and empowering message to get kids involved in helping the environment, reducing further climate change, and reconnecting with their best selves through such work.

A Hot Planet Needs Cool Kidsis suitable for home and classroom use. The book meets national science and social studies curriculum standards. Teachers will find resources in the Teacher Tools section of the Green Goat Books website.

Age: 9-14 years

ISBN: 978-0-615-15585-2

Format: Full-color, paperback

Retail Price: $15.99

To order A Hot Planet Needs Cool Kids, visit http://www.progressivekid.com.