While the NWF has been VERY busy protecting wildlife, saving habitat and connecting people with nature-- some of us have also been working hard to make our website, www.nwf.org more user friendly and engaging.

We would love your input and are looking for web-using volunteers!
(Plus you get to see sneak peek designs for the new homepage)

Please if you have a few minutes today- take this survey and be honest!

In springtime, countless parents, teachers and home school instructors look for fun, educational science projects to perform with their kids. Whether it is a one-time only exercise or a large-scale seasonal project, why not use National Wildlife Federation's Wildlife Watch to help?
 

Wildlife Watch is a perfect launching point for science projects, because the program is built around teaching basic observation and inquiry skills. Wildlife Watch simply wants to know what wildlife can be found in your community. Volunteers look for plant, animal and natural phenomena in their neighborhood and then report back on their findings. The same data that students submit to Wildlife Watch can be used to study wildlife population density, seasonal change and animal tracking.
 

Here are some potential Wildlife Watch inspired science projects:
 

1. Compare the number of trees, wildflowers, birds and/or mammals found in a cement schoolyard versus a park. Why do they think there is more wildlife in one area over the other?

2. Choose a pond where frogs have been known to call in the spring. Compare the number of frogs heard on warm days versus cold days.

3. During one of the spring meteor showers, compare the number of meteors seen in an area with light pollution against one without ambient light.
 

The opportunities are endless.

Take a look at the Wildlife Watch website, www.nwf.org/wildlifewatch, for more science project inspiration. The website has resources for different types of learners, including a webpage for uploading photos taken by students and a Tell My Story page. Tell My Story is perfect for students who prefer to write a short story or journal entry about their experiences in nature.

Ever since President Obama called on Congress to pass a carbon cap, we've been getting questions about how a cap-and-trade system would work. Here's a short video explaining it, take a look:

That was how President Obama introduced his roadmap for economic recovery last night in his first address to Congress (read the text or watch the video).

The President knows we can’t silo our economic, energy, and climate crises –- and luckily for America, the same solutions that protect our climate for future generations will also repower our economy. That’s why President Obama made a clarion call to Congress: “send me legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in America.”

Carbon is a greenhouse gas and one of the main drivers of global warming. Legislation that caps carbon will also drive renewable energy in America, turning investment away from dirty fossil fuels and towards clean energy like wind and solar power.

By making renewable energy profitable, a cap on carbon pollution will transform our energy future. It will create new jobs and new industries in a new, clean energy economy today while building long-term solutions to the threats of climate change.

President Obama cited the example of Greensburg, Kansas rising from the rubble of a tornado and rebuilding a cleaner energy future. In the same manner, America can rebound from our economic crisis by investing in renewable energy and energy efficient technologies. Our new reliance on clean energy will revitalize our economy, our security, and the future of our planet.

“The agenda is set," National Wildlife Federation President & CEO Larry Schweiger said late last night. "In 2009, we’ll turn vision into action and enact a cap on carbon pollution that repowers America with clean energy and meets our responsibility to protect America's natural resources."

Visit the National Wildlife Federation's Climate Action Center to learn more about how you can support President Obama's call for a carbon cap. Repower America's economy, protect our natural resources, and preserve our planet for our children and grandchildren? Yes, we can!

President Obama will be on national television tonight at 9pm eastern. He'll deliver his first presidential  address to Congress, laying out his plans for the year ahead.

It's a remarkable moment. In the economic recovery package, President Obama and his allies in Congress have just delivered the largest investment in clean energy in America’s history. Contrary to Washington’s conventional wisdom, the public has rewarded them with approval ratings as high as ever.

A November poll from Zogby International showed three in five voters say elected officials should make combating global warming “a high priority.” Additionally, three in four voters agreed that investing in clean energy is important to revitalizing America’s economy.

As President Obama prepares a new push for comprehensive climate and energy legislation with a cap on global warming pollution, he has broad support from Americans behind him. Delay is not an option. It's time for Congress to get on board.

How are the Great Lakes, raw sewage, new jobs and you related? Well, this week, National Wildlife Federation supporters like you are in our Capitol asking our leaders to restore the Great Lakes.

That means saving them from every lake's worst nightmare:

Raw Sewage. That's right. Every year billions of gallons of raw sewage flow into the Great Lakes. Why do these magnificent lakes, the second largest source of surface freshwater in the world, receive a such degrading treatment?

Well, America's infrastructure is failing, and raw sewage is one of the grosser things we have to show for it. The American Society of Engineers recently gave the United States a "D-" on our wastewater systems, because of the huge quantity of untreated waste water -- 850 billion gallons -- that are spewed into lakes, rivers and streams every year.

The good news?

New jobs to fix the problem. We have a lot of building and fixing to do if the Great Lakes are going to be free of raw sewage onslaughts. Fixing wastewater systems in the Great Lakes region is expected to require at least 50 thousand new jobs, and is the foundation of our strategy to restore the Lakes.

Luckily, the Stimulus bill will provide 1.45 billion for fixing wastewater infrastructure in the Great Lakes basin through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. That means less raw sewage.

But, "less raw sewage" is still too much. The Great Lakes give us drinking water and important habitat for wildlife. We can do more to protect such important water.

That's where you come in. You can boost the efforts of the volunteers who are in D.C. this week by sending messages to our legislators and President Obama letting them know how important it is to commit to funding Great Lakes restoration priorities in the months and years ahead.

Take Action!

- By Jennifer Janssen, Regional Outreach Coordinator
Great Lakes Regional Center

In a little over a week, I will become a Congresswoman. Actually, I'll just be pretending for a day in a mock lobbying session to help train the thousands of college students descending onto Washington for Power Shift 2009.

After learning the lingo of the Hill, students from around the country will deliver a big awakening to Congress, lobbying their decision makers to confront global warming and invest in the clean energies that will work for their future and that of our natural world.

For many of today's youth, shifting from "dirty" to clean fuels is no abstract concept. As one example, just take a moment to hear from Marisol--who lives near a power plant and sees the impacts on the health of her neighbors and community everyday:



The message is becoming clearer and clearer to a broader audience of Americans: greening our economy helps everyone. And that's the essential message students will deliver to Congress next week for Power Shift 2009. They'll also get to do a lot more – attending workshops on wildlife habitats and green jobs or hearing from luminaries such as Nancy Pelosi and Van Jones.

All this excitement in Washington is only a few more days away. And the best news is--it's not too late to register!

Even if you can't make it, you can help us reach our goal of bringing 10,000 students to Washington on this historic day by spreading the word to all the students and young people you know!

This penguin may not be at the Oscars tonight, but director Werner Herzog will be there for his film: Encounters at the End of the World

If you're watching the Academy Awards tonight, be sure to look out for the filmmakers who have directed their cameras towards wildlife and nature.  These Oscar-nominated documentaries each take on different subjects-- from Antarctic wildlife, to urban vegetable gardens-- but all draw some focus to the power of our natural world, and the need for us to protect it.

Encounters at the End of the World:

Werner Herzog's film isn't so much about Antarctica's natural beauty as it is about the people who make their home at the bottom of the world. But Herzog, on assignment from the National Science Foundation, does collect some absolutely stunning footage from underneath the Antarctic ice shelf.  Seriously, go out and rent this one: the underwater shots of Antarctica's underwater ecosystems are incredible. And there are plenty of penguins too. Herzog pretends that he's not interested in penguins-- he doesn't sound like he's a fan of March of the Penguins-- but he can't resist comparing a penguin who doesn't follow the crowd as a metaphor for the scientists who study the Antarctic wilderness.

The Garden:

LA might be known for it's smog and traffic jams, but it's also known for a 14-acre community garden. The Garden tells the story of a group of Los Angeles residents who fight to save their garden from developers.  For most of us, it's still a bit too cold to be thinking about our own gardens yet, but The Garden is just the kind of film to inspire some early spring planting, and getting a bit more involved in your own neighborhood community.

Trouble the Water:

It's been three years since Hurricane Katrina (can you believe it's already been more three years?) and we have yet to halt the global warming pollution that is causing disastrous weather patterns around the world. Trouble the Water takes us back to the Ninth Ward in August 2005, as aspiring hip hop artist Kimberly River Roberts and her husband videotape their neighborhood going underwater. Three years later, this film reminds us that it's time to stop global warming for good, and restore our balance with nature.

So when you're watching stars walk down the red carpet tonight, keep an eye out for these films that celebrate and promote respect for our natural world. 

At first glance, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act might not appear to have much to do with our natural world. It includes money to get Americans back to work, to help homeowners manage their mortgages and many other great provisions to fix our floundering economy.

But what the economic stimulus package does-- beyond the immediate emergency response-- is invest almost $80 billion in clean technologies for the first time in our history. We're talking more than just a nod to the thousands of National Wildlife Federation supporters who sent messages and made phone calls to Congress over the past couple of months to speak up for a wildlife-friendly stimulus package. Congress heard you loud and clear, and this time they're acting. We're talking serious investment in a future that promotes economic prosperity and preserves our natural world for generations to come!

Several years ago, when The West Wing was still on TV, Aaron Sorkin poked fun at a fictional group of wildlife advocates who were asking White House staffers to protect wolves from the loss of their natural habitat. They asked for a program to spend $900 million on a wolves-only roadway-- and everyone laughed at the waste of money. "How would wolves know to follow roadsigns?" one character joked.

In the past, the attitude was that if you were speaking up for wildlife, you were doing so at the expense of America's wellbeing. Saving a wolf meant taking a dollar away from schools, defense, infrastructure. But every elected official who voted for the green stimulus package, became a wildlife advocate this week regardless of their intentions. The stimulus package showed a commitment to rebuilding the economy by restoring our natural world-- showing that what's good for wildlife can be good for people too.

So, what's next? Now that our leadership has taken the first steps, we need to come together to ensure strong and comprehensive climate legislation gets passed in 2009 . Now's the time to speak up for a bill that caps global warming pollution and sparks investment in clean energy technologies that continue to rebuild our economy and restore our natural world.

2009 is the year we make it happen. For wolves and humans alike, stay tuned to the Climate Action Center for ways you can stay involved.

P.S. For those of you who were wondering, the West Wing episode is called "The Crackpots and These Women." And despite being written off as 'crackpots,' the wildlife advocates did convince one White House staffer to speak up for wolves.

Robins in Winter?

American robins are found throughout North America and are a symbol of winter’s end. The first appearance of a robin is a sure sign that spring has sprung. But did you know that in most of the lower 48 states you can find robins throughout the winter? Some are migrants from further north but some are resident birds that stay year-round. These winter-resident robins usually flock up and spend their time in wooded areas rather than lawns, so people don't tend to notice them until they start pairing off and singing their courtship songs in spring. 

Attract Robins

Robins rely on the fruits of trees and shrubs as their primary food source during the winter when worms and insects aren’t available. That’s one reason why they tend to hang out in the woods rather than on your lawn in the winter. You can attract robins to your yard in winter by providing them with fruiting plants. Some of the best berry-providers for robins include bayberry, winterberry, crabapple, cranberrybush viburnum, hawthorn, mountain ash, toyon, sumac, chokeberry and American holly.

Robin Trivia

• Robins are a kind of thrush and are related to the much less common wood thrush and hermit thrush.

• Adult male robins have the brightest red breast feathers.

• The American robin was named after the European robin even though they are not closely related.

• Robins build distinct, bowl-shaped nests out of grasses and twigs mortared with mud. Their eggs are a beautiful light blue color.

• Robins avoid areas with snow cover.

Robins Impacted by Climate Change

Analysis of 40 years of data shows many common North American birds, including robins, are already being impacted by climate change.