This Is Your Train on Drugs

Environmental Defense and Ad Council debut edgy new climate ads

You know what would really inspire us to turn off our thermostats, sell our cars, and fight global warming with all that we've got? Seeing a little girl almost get hit by a train. Or so seems to be the thinking of Environmental Defense and the Ad Council, as they kick off a new campaign with two public-service TV ads featuring cute children hell-bent on scaring the pee out of us. In one, kids tick down (literally) environmental catastrophes; in another, a precious blonde girl may not escape the climate-change train if you don't head straight to fightglobalwarming.com. Says Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense, "When you think about so many other major challenges we face, there comes a moment when we move from fear to action. We're at that moment now on global warming."