Building greater public awareness is a key part of our strategy. We want people to learn that global warming threatens their future and that it is important to find balanced solutions that will work well in developing nations like China. Getting young people involved would be especially valuable.

As our first specific initiative, we are collaborating with the Science Education and Public Outreach Office of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and The Leatherback Trust to create a Chinese version of the “Great Turtle Race 2: The Olympiad”. The 2007 Race was a successful Internet conservation awareness campaign that reached more than 28 million people in North America and more than 90 million people internationally. The 2008 Race is designed to repeat this success with an added emphasis on the threat posed by global warming.

Bringing the Great Turtle Race to China will help us reach out effectively to a large new audience. We will use the Internet creatively and link it to a broader outreach and science education program. By telling the story of the endangered leatherback turtle, the “Panda of the Pacific”, we give people insight into the broader need for biodiversity protection. Once we capture their interest and imagination, we will expand the number of people willing to help.

Specific initiatives like our plan for the Great Turtle Race in 2008 offer an effective way to educate the public about the problem of global warming. By working closely with our partners in China, we make our message clearer and more effective. We also make it easier to involve the Chinese people in our efforts. If we can unleash their energy and creativity, we greatly improve our chances for success.