I live in Portland, OR and have investigated the possibility of installing solar panels in my home, but have found them to be extremely expensive.  Do you have any recommendations for sources that I might contact?

What is your opinion on the contribution of vegetarianism to the environmental movement?

Marylou Noble
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High Ed and everyone else,

some people claim that planting a (or many) tree is a good remedy for flying airplanes. there are even companies that sell trees as part of the airplane tickets.

well, all trees and forest do not behave as carbon sinks, but some do so it might be good thing after all, especially if the site and species are chosen wisely ...

good luck
//Johan

This sounds like a worthy project, and I wish Edward Norton the best with it. I would like to make a comment, however, about the overall tone towards poor communities of color. He may be very much aware of the environmental justice movement in this country and around the world, although from this interview you wouldn't know it. There are two environmental movements we can speak of, one is the middle-class white enviro movement and the other is a very diverse grouping of locally based groups working hard to end the environmental degradation of their communities. A central tenet of this movement is that people have the right to live, play, and work in a healthy and safe environment. Commonly referred to as the EJ movement, this work receives little attention in the press despite its significant accomplishments towards holding corporations as well as governments environmentally accountable, not to mention the white environmental movement which often acts as if humans are parasites. I'm not suggesting this is Norton's opinion, just that his remarks show little knowledge of this large area of activism. If Norton and others would like to learn more about EJ, there are numerous EJ organizations with a wealth of experience. Just a few to mention are the SouthWest Organizing Project in Albuquerque, the Environmental Health Coalition in San Diego, and the Indigenous Environmental Network based in Minnesota.

Creative ways to encourage/enable more folks to sign up for voluntary measures to combat global warming is laudable. I am grateful that celebrities like Edward Norton and others are using their star power to make that kind of positive difference.  BUT, curbing the HUGE problem of global climate change is going to require HUGE action.  We cannot rely on voluntary action alone.  We need to push for legislative action.  Let's pass laws that committ local, state and our federal governments, along with corporations, to reduce global warming causing pollution.  Not much is happening with such legislation at a federal level right now, but many good battles are happening at the state level, with dedicated grassroots organizations pushing to curb pollution.  One such organization is the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.  It is building coalitions in VA,MD and DC to support responsible legislation in these states.  One, of many, campaigns CCAN is building now is to push the Global Warming Solutions Act into law in Maryland.  It would committ MD to reduce global warming pollution to 1990 levels by 2020.  It would be wonderful if Edward Norton could put his influence behind such efforts for legislative change in his own home state.