Gearing up for a ten percent reduction is an ambitious goal from the perspective of human convenience, but not from the perspective of the earth’s atmosphere and climate. Our climate has been changing faster than scientists expected even five years ago, with rising average temperatures, fiercer storms and floods, polar ice cap melt, and atypical weather variations. The highest concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that is considered safe by most scientists is 350 parts per million - and we are currently around 380. Ten percent reduction brings us back from the brink.

We have created this situation, in part, by underestimating ourselves. Yes, we need energy, and yes, many people are motivated by convenience. But it is human nature to rise to a challenge that is properly offered. Cutting our energy footprint ten percent is an invitation to creative redesign of our lifestyles, work routines, and communities. And the real transformation is in getting ten percent of our people involved, developing energy-savvy local leadership for the future.

In the United Kingdom, in fact, a "10:10" campaign is spreading virally through the news and electronic media, town to town, people to people.