• Listen to this segment

A government report released yesterday urged the White House to develop a national strategic plan to prepare for the effects of global warming. Citing a lack of cohesion, the Government Accountability Office suggested that federal agencies begin working in tandem with Congress, state and local governments to address potential flooding and other natural disasters resulting from a warming of the Earth’s climate. The recommendations of the report come as an increasing number of Americans in the US are dismissing the severity of the climate crisis. A new Pew Research Center poll released yesterday shows that only 36% of respondents believed the global warming was a serious problem. Only 57% of those surveyed said the phenomenon was backed by solid scientific evidence down 20% percent from two years ago. In spite of the recent poll findings and ahead of December’s United Nations climate talks in Copenhagen, activists around the world will be taking action this Saturday to highlight the urgency of the crisis. More than 4,000 events will occur in nearly 200 countries from China to Kenya to here locally in Los Angeles. The global effort, organized by the grassroots campaign 350.org, is focused around a unified message: lower carbon dioxide below 350 parts per million or risk potential catastrophe.

GUEST: Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org, Joe Gallini, LA-based activist with 350.org

For more information and to find an event near you, visit www.350.org.