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Carleen Cullen, executive director of Cool the Earth.
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SOMEWHERE between Marin County's red flag fire warnings (in May!) and Tesla's turning its first profitable quarter, was the big news.

It may have been received as a passing whisper, but it should have been a deafening roar: 400 parts per million. Planet Earth now has a higher concentration of carbon dioxide in its atmosphere than at anytime over the past 3 million years.

That's before humans evolved, in case you were wondering.

Here's the kicker — we effected this change in less than 200 years. We've created change that is in a new constant state of change. Carbon dioxide rates will continue to increase and our weather events will worsen and enter into a persistent state of instability.

It might be pretty impressive if it weren't so shocking.

So now what? Hope NASA's spacecraft can achieve its mission to find other Earth-like, habitable planets?

Wait for our legislators in D.C. to have a Kumbaya moment and solve our climate problem?

Keep an eye out for a superhero to remedy our woes?

NASA's mission is at risk. Federal legislation is stuck. Superman is a no show.

However, rather than taking on the issue personally, we are overwhelmed by the scope of the problem and live in denial, depression and a state of inaction.

In my work at Cool the Earth, I am witness to this regularly. I speak with parents who feel great concern about climate change but don't believe they make a difference. They feel guilt as they gas up their car and turn on the air conditioning, in April.


Then there's the fossil fuel economic engine, China and India, population explosion, and other reasons to do nothing.

But everything changes when we start talking about the kids. Parents immediately brighten and speak of hope. They speak of ways their kids understand and take action about the climate change crisis.

A child's view is optimistic against all odds.

Climate change is not just about the environment. At its core, it is a humanitarian issue, and as this great humanitarian disaster unfolds before us, might we imagine that kids can inspire families to engage?

Kids' influence on consumer markets, culture and media is huge. Kids' influence on their parents and communities is staggering.

Don't take my word for it.

A recent study by researchers at Stanford University found that kids in the Cool the Earth's school program took new energy-saving actions at home and they led their families to act as well. 250,000 actions. But just how do small family actions stack up to 400 ppm? Small actions empower us, give us hope and initiate real engagement.

They shift inertia and can lead to bigger things. Stanford found 38 percent of parents of kids in Cool the Earth went on to take significant steps such as higher-priced, more complex carbon-reducing measures as well as taking civic engagement steps. Small actions, taken in a community, are the foundation for broad climate engagement.

As a movement, we've reached for the brass ring of federal legislation. We've failed. We tried to hit a home run while skipping spring training.

It's time to retrench and take local, personal action.

Only by building a foundation of people acting to protect the climate will we bring about sustainable change in consumer markets and legislation.

Let's interrupt inertia and show we have evolved.

Kids and families are my local community. Discover your community for engagement on climate change. Retired, college students, religious affiliation, bikers, artists. If you don't find a ˆ«group that you can engage in climate action, create one.

Then you will find Superman — just look in the mirror.

Carleen Cullen of Greenbrae is founder and executive director of Cool the Earth, a Marin-based nonprofit educating kids and families across the U.S. about climate change and inspiring personal action and engagement.