Articles by Anna Fahey

An international poll points to a window of opportunity for U.S. leadership.

A new international poll finds worldwide agreement that climate change is a threat. Opinions are split, however on the nuts and bolts -- in particular, whether to act immediately and whether countermeasures are worth the investment. Even so, a window of opportunity seems to have opened that would allow leaders with bold solutions to spark international cooperation and make real strides. The poll included 17 countries, representing more than 55 percent of the world population (though not all the questions were asked in each of the countries). Western European countries and Canada* were not included.

While global opinion trends are encouraging, the United States -- the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases -- has some catching up to do. That is to say, an attitude adjustment is in order:

Chris Jordan makes staggering statistics visually real

Our minds have a limited capacity to comprehend really, really big numbers. At least mine does. A million tons of C02 might as well be a zillion. Twelve and a half million dollars spent every hour on the Iraq war might as well be bazillions.

Sometimes we try to fathom the enormities of raw numbers by visualizing them. How often have you heard that something stacked on end would extend to the moon and back?

But that never helps me. I can't actually comprehend just how many pop cans, or human DNA particles, or safety pins, or Chevy engines or hot dogs would get me to the moon. It's just a heck of a lot.

Luckily for people like me, Seattle artist Chris Jordan has found a way to put big numbers into perspective.

Taking pointers from Schwarzenegger on talking about global warming.

Not only is Schwarzenegger leading California to many firsts in climate policy, he's also leading the way when it comes to talking about global warming.

Any savvy politician knows you can't get policy on the books without first winning over your colleagues and constituents. And Arnie is surely one of the savviest politicos around. Here's how he's doing it:

First, he taps into Californian pride and shared American values, stressing leadership, innovation, and a call to make history:

You’ve got to see this photo

When it comes to effective messages, sometimes picture is worth a thousand books by George Lakoff. I'll give you a perfect case of well-intentioned words getting trounced in the marketplace of ideas. You have to see this.