Marking seven seasons on PBS, Roadtrip Nation has embarked on a new journey across America. The show gives youths a chance to learn about the paths they can take by meeting leaders from all walks of life. This time the show begins in Costa Mesa, California and will travel to New York City, while taking on issues from green jobs to overcoming fear. What started as a documentary series with an RV painted green has grown to include an innovative educational curriculum, campus events and multimedia content. Carbonfund.org is an environmental partner of the series, helping Roadtrip Nation reduce its climate impact in support of third-party validated carbon reduction projects. Check out this trailer about the show. To find your local public television station's airtime, click here. Having trouble viewing the video? Try watching it directly.

To know how to reduce your business’ carbon emissions, you need to know what & where you can reduce. Carbon ExpressTrack™ from Carbonfund.org is an easy, affordable way for any business to monitor, track and manage carbon emissions. User-friendly and web-based, Carbon ExpressTrack empowers you to make business decisions that improve your environmental performance and save you time and money. For example, you can enter utility usage securely, include any business vehicles, travel or other business emissions, review emissions trends and view charts or reports. Carbon ExpressTrack is easy to use, including small & mid-size businesses as well as large businesses. Carbonfund.org is offering special introductory pricing, and as a Carbon ExpressTrack Partner of Carbonfund.org, you will receive immediate, customized set-up, expert support as well as a partner logo, partnership page on the Carbonfund.org website and more. View a demo and get started by visiting www.carbonfund.org/cet.

The president called for action toward a clean energy future in his first nationally televised address from the Oval Office, saying, "The tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean energy future is now." While the US consumes more than one-fifth of the world's oil, the nation has less than two percent of the world's oil reserves. This discrepancy is "part of the reason oil companies are drilling a mile beneath the surface of the ocean– because we're running out of places to drill on land and in shallow water." Obama also called upon Congress to move forward on energy and climate legislation. "Last year, the House of Representatives acted on these principles by passing a strong and comprehensive energy and climate bill– a bill that finally makes clean energy the profitable kind of energy for America's businesses." Although there are costs to making the transition, he said, "I say we can't afford not to change how we produce and use energy – because the long-term costs to our economy, our national security, and our environment are far greater." Since 2003, Carbonfund.org has become the leading nonprofit climate change solutions organization, with a mission to help you reduce your climate impact and hasten the transition to a clean energy future. Please take action now, or learn more about the clean, renewable energy projects that Carbonfund.org supports. You can find the full text of the president's address by clicking here. Image Credit: Alex Brandon/AP

Speaking at a Milwaukee-area battery plant, President Obama says he expects the administration's clean energy policies will generate 800,000 jobs by 2012. "That's not just creating work in the short term. That's going to help lay the foundation for lasting economic growth," he said at ZBB Energy Corp. this week in Menomonee Falls, Wis. The company's batteries and fuel cells are used in renewable energy products. Obama noted that the U.S. manufacturing workforce has shrunk by a third and that the recession was the worst since the Great Depression. Among the policies Obama cited are investing in clean energy projects and tax policies that encourage companies to keep and create jobs in the U.S. You can listen to the president's speech in this White House video:

In an email to supporters, President Obama called for a clean energy future and said, "our continued dependence on fossil fuels will jeopardize our national security. It will smother our planet. And it will continue to put our economy and our environment at risk." In addition to reducing the nation's dependence on fossil fuels, he emphasized the need to "make everything -- from our homes and businesses to our cars and trucks -- more energy-efficient." He warned, "But if we refuse to heed the warnings from the disaster in the Gulf -- we will have missed our best chance to seize the clean energy future we know America needs to thrive in the years and decades to come." You can help hasten our transition to a clean energy future by supporting renewable energy and other innovative carbon reduction projects now. Learn more about the renewable energy projects Carbonfund.org supports here. Tonight the president will give his first nationally televised address from the Oval Office at 8pm ET on the oil spill and next steps. You can read the text of his email at this link.

As we've been writing on the Carbonfund.org blog, there's a growing view that action, and strong action, need to be taken on global warming- perhaps the greatest environmental challenge facing the world today. Although countries remain split on how best to arrive at an international agreement on climate change at the upcoming COP15/Copenhagen climate talks, upcoming events such as the UN General Assembly meeting this week give diplomats and national leaders the chance to iron out differences. Jim Tankersley of the Los Angeles Times writes that President Obama and the Administration are expected to refocus on climate change. This could mean, for example, balancing the current healthcare discussions in Congress, with discussions on climate change. Among the challenges are time, given that the climate talks are slated for December. Tankersley notes,

If the US Senate fails to pass a climate bill before Copenhagen, 'it would open the United States to the charge that it does not take its international commitments seriously, and that these commitments will always take second place to domestic politics,' Ambassador John Bruton, head of the European Commission Delegation to the United States, warned last week.

Obama is expected to give a speech at the United Nations General Assembly tomorrow addressing, among other topics, global warming. Separately, Reuters reported that the President will stress at the COP15 climate talks that climate change is a shared problem and every nation must respond, according to US Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice.

Newsweek released its 2009 Green Rankings of America's largest companies, and Carbonfund.org partners including Dell, Staples and Motorola came out among the leading companies! Dell was recognized for its renewable energy use as well as having its operations carbon neutral through carbon offsets. In addition, Newsweek recognized the company for its product take-back and recycling programs. Carbonfund.org has worked with Dell on its Plant a Tree for Me campaign. You can learn more about it and donate here. We've also worked with Staples on in-store/point-of-purchase and other efforts of the company. In addition, the company has increased the use of recycled content in the paper it sells and energy efficiency at its stores. Motorola, which also purchases renewable energy, launched the world's first carbon neutral mobile phone after working with Carbonfund.org to certify the MOTO W233 Renew phone carbon neutral, earning the CarbonFree^® Certified label-- the first label in the US for carbon neutral products. Motorola will soon be launching a carbon neutral mobile phone certified by Carbonfund.org in Latin America as well. We applaud our partners for earning the Newsweek honors and look forward to continue working with our partners in helping them achieve their environmental & climate goals. Congratulations!! Learn more about Carbonfund.org's business programs, for small and large businesses.

[caption id="attachment_4862" align="alignright" width="232" caption="sampling of travel planning options at Tripbase"][/caption] Called the "Match.com of travel planning" by the LA Times, Tripbase is a unique travel site that lets you select or input what interests you in taking a trip, and the site will generate suggested destinations and itineraries. Tripbase can base its recommendations from a pool of over 22 million traveler reviews, including nature trips such as national parks in the US or abroad. A Carbonfund.org partner, Tripbase has also taken initiative to reduce its business climate impact by using more energy-efficient office equipment and environmentally-friendly purchasing, as well as other practical solutions such as keeping windows shutters closed when possible to keep energy use for cooling low. Tripbase also offsets its business carbon footprint in support of Carbonfund.org's innovative carbon reduction projects. Tripbase recently launched free downloads of its Travel Secrets eBooks, featuring many popular travel bloggers including Peter Greenberg, who has appeared on CBS, in Forbes and blogs regularly. For each ebook downloaded, Tripbase is making donations to help supply clean water in developing countries. You can download your free ebook here or by checking out www.tripbase.com.

If you've still got names on your gift list to check off, giving Carbonfund.org E-Certificates is fast, meaningful and affordable! You can help someone reduce their carbon footprint, from as little as $10 or a custom donation amount, and within minutes- even seconds- receive a framable e-certificate made out in your recipient's name. The e-certificate recognizes their support for renewable energy, energy efficiency or reforestation projects that are fighting global warming. Be sure to take advantage of Carbonfund.org's bonus offers this year! Carbonfund.org will plant a tree in your honor for every $20 donated. You can also get a reusable Carbonfund.org Chico Bag to carry your shopping or groceries for every $50 donated while supplies last. So what are you waiting for? Click here to shop now!

"In many states across the country, the weather and landscapes could be nearly unrecognizable in 100 years," he added. By 2100, states such as Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota could see average temperature increases of more than 10 degrees. Some impacts Midwesterners could see by 2100 include significant declines in the dairy industry because dairy cow productivity decreases above 77°F.  Also, the US' $200 billion agriculture industry would face drier soil and shifting crop production patterns.