For those of us who have been fighting for global warming action for so many years, it is very exciting to know that our next president believes global warming is a dire threat and that we are running out of time.

"Few challenges facing America—and the world—are more urgent than combating climate change," President-elect Obama said recently. And he's putting policy behind the rhetoric, calling for a national cap on global warming pollution to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050.

President Obama will need all the help he can get on this critical issue. And he has selected a strong environmental team to help him.

This week, Steven Chu and Lisa Jackson will appear before congressional confirmation hearings for the Secretary of Energy and EPA Administrator posts respectively. Both are expected to be confirmed without difficulty and we look forward to working with them and the rest of the Obama team to finally win global warming action.

For its part, the 111th Congress has been reshaped as well. Climate action advocates Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) have assumed new roles on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee. They have pledged to make global warming a top legislative priority. And, this week Rep. Waxman will convene an important hearing on global warming solutions.

Make no mistake. In spite of some very positive political headlines, no climate proposal will pass without a fight. Special interests will do everything they can to mislead Americans with the twin lies that the science isn't settled and that, even if it is, climate policy is too expensive.

With your help, we will show up in force this year to counter their efforts. It is time, at long last, for Americans to come together and demand action on the most urgent environmental threat facing the planet today.

It is time for Americans to stand and help our political leaders deliver real action on this critical issue.

The message was simple: Climate Action = Economic Opportunity.

Here are some highlights:

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One thing is clear: Obama's team has its work cut out to provide the global warming leadership the world seeks.

The U.S. has less than a year to show substantial progress on action to dramatically cut our global warming emissions before the next round of international climate talks begin in Copenhagen, Denmark.

What are your thoughts on the international climate negotiations and President-elect Obama's environmental team?

"We can lift ourselves out of this economic crisis through investing in clean energy solutions that solve global warming" — From Transition to Green [pdf], a set of environmental recommendations for President-elect Obama issued jointly by EDF and 28 other leading environmental groups.

"This [economic] crisis puts the nail in the coffin for climate change." — Bill Kovacs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce's vice president for environmental and regulatory affairs.

What's your view? Is the economic crisis an opportunity or obstacle in our efforts to take action to stop global warming?

1) The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems by Van Jones.

2) Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution–and How It Can Renew America by Tom Friedman.

3) Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization by Lester Brown.

4) Dreaming Green: Eco-Fabulous Homes Designed to Inspire by Lisa Sharkey.

5) Earth: The Sequel — The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming by Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn. 

If you have other suggestions for books on the threat of global warming, the need to act and/or the opportunity to grow the economy through green energy innovation, please share them by commenting below.

Thanks and happy holidays!

Jackie Roberts, EDF Director of Sustainable Technologies, describes how climate solutions will grow the economy and create jobs.

The full report Manufacturing Climate Solutions is available through Duke University's Center on Global Governance and Competitiveness at http://www.cggc.duke.edu/environment/climatesolutions/

What do you think? 

But, we haven't won anything yet. We need both the House and Senate to move legislation early next year to seize this historic opportunity to fight global warming and unleash our clean energy future.

What do you think? Share your thoughts below.

What do you think of our poll results [pdf]? Do you think economic progress and environmental protection go hand in hand, or are they at odds?  Comment below to let us know!