This fall, the Union of Concerned Scientists and Penguin Classics—along with hundreds of book stores across the country—encouraged aspiring writers and photographers to submit their personal impressions of global warming (in words or images) for publication in a new online book, Thoreau's Legacy: American Stories about Global Warming.

The response was overwhelming. The essays and photographs submitted vividly describe the effects of climate change, and clearly express the need for our elected officials to support policies that address global warming.

Now the hard part. Over the next several months we will be selecting the top essays and photographs to be included in the book. Check back at this website to receive wallpaper for your computer and profiles of the first contributors chosen.

Thoreau's Legacy: American Stories about Global Warming, coming in spring 2009.

The American outdoors has been central to some of this country's greatest books, from Henry David Thoreau's The Maine Woods to Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi. Writers like Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Muir, Rachel Carson, Peter Matthiessen, and E.O. Wilson have inspired us to make positive changes in our lives with their wisdom and words about our lands, geographical riches, and wildlife.

Now it's time for new voices to inspire us to fight the dangers of global warming.

Your voices.