We could spend our spring break channel surfing from the couch. But we want to spend five days making a difference on one of the most critical issues facing our generation.

Global warming is going to affect our way of life for generations to come, and we have only a few years to take action to avoid the worst consequences. But we've got solutions too, and California is a great place to see many of them in action, from giant solar arrays and wind turbines, to the cutting edge efficiency innovations of Silicon Valley startups. To take these solutions to the national level and solve global warming once and for all, we need strong national leadership, Luckily many of the best leaders are from right here in California.

This spring break, college students from around the state will tour the state to speak to the people who can help make global warming solutions a reality. The Climate Hero Tour will start out in San Francisco and travel the state, meeting with the state's Climate Heroes - legislative and elected officials who are leading the fight to solve global warming. At each stop the students will present Climate Heroes with a Super Climate Hero Cape in recognition of their leadership on global warming, and raise a giant wind turbine at iconic locations in each city, to symbolize the clean energy future these leaders will help us achieve in the first 100 days of the new administration.

Updates From Spring Break 2009

Gabe Elsner, Tuesday, March 24th - From what I've heard, going to bed in the early morning during spring break is a regular occurrence - but on the Climate Hero Tour, students woke up before 7 a.m. to begin preparation for day two. Students were busy making media calls, practicing press statements, and loading materials into cars.

The first stop of the day was the State Capitol Building in Sacramento. Secretary Linda Adams of the California EPA accepted a "Climate Super Hero Award" for her work negotiating the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. Having recently returned from Washington, D.C., Secretary Adams expressed her gratitude that students are organizing all over the country to pass national legislation that cuts global warming pollution. She described her discussions with President Obama as extremely positive on the issue of climate change - with enough pressure from the grassroots, we will have a climate bill that auctions 100% of carbon permits.

The Climate Hero Tour is only the first step for students in California. This afternoon a group of students began writing letters to the editor that will be sent to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, Sacramento Bee, Fresno Bee, Ventura County Star, and the Los Angeles Times. By Friday, students from the eleven districts represented on this trip will invite their Congressional representatives to in-district meetings during the April Recess. Building relationships with "climate heroes" and pressuring fence-sitters is indispensable to passing comprehensive climate legislation before the UN Climate Talks in Copenhagen in December.

One tactic we are utilizing is generating media hits in every city we visit. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has expressed interest in joining the Climate Hero Tour (which would create tons of media). But we need your help to get him to our event at Los Angeles City Hall on Friday morning. Join his Facebook fan page and ask him to join the Climate Hero Tour!

Gabe Elsner, Monday, March 23rd - Students from across the state of California gathered in San Francisco this morning to kick off CALPIRG's Climate Hero Tour. Instead of spending our spring break in Cancun or Florida, over 50 students are traveling around the state building support for global warming solutions. We finally have a President that believes in science and a U.S. Congress that is ready to take action.

We're calling on Congress to pass legislation in the first 100 days that is based on science, and dramatically reduces greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2020. The Climate Hero Tour aims to push our champions in Congress to go "greener, cleaner, faster, stronger" in the midst of pressure from the oil and gas industries and other special interests.

At this morning’s press conference, we presented the "Climate Super Hero Award" to Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office for her work increasing renewable energy tax credits, strengthening CAFE gas mileage standards, and investing billions of dollars in clean energy technology. Students collected photo petitions for members of Congress and staged a rally on the steps of San Francisco City Hall behind a backdrop of solar panels and a giant wooden wind turbine. Channel 2 KTVU was there to record the story for the evening news and a team of professional filmmakers are documenting the trip.

After a quick lunch, it was off to San Jose City Hall, where students in Captain Cooldown costumes collected dozens more photo petitions, pitched the story to reporters from the San Jose Mercury News, and dropped by Council members' offices to generate more support for comprehensive climate change legislation in 2009. It was an exciting day and a great alternative to the beaches of Mexico. For the next four days, students will be driving up and down the state building more support for legislation that will bring a new era of green jobs and environmental stewardship. Check back tomorrow for more updates!