There was some irony, therefore, when I returned with Meg Gluckman a few weeks ago to participate in Al Gore's Climate Change Training Program: coming full circle and discovering the progressive community I had longed for as a child. Gore greeted more than 200 avid volunteer trainees with enthusiasm and wit.

He expressed his appreciation for our commitment to tackle the almost overwhelming task of mastering his slide show showcased in 'An Inconvenient Truth,' so that we could spread the word about the threat of climate change and inspire a million others to take up the charge as well.

The Climate Project, a non-profit outgrowth of the documentary's success, sprang from Gore's response on Oprah to her question, "So what are you going to do now?" As the story goes, Gore paused, took a breath and responded, "We're going to train a thousand volunteers to give a minimum of 10 presentations each within the year, with the goal of building a grassroots movement that will be unstoppable."

Meg and I applied along with thousands of others around the country and various parts of the globe. Despite being discouraged to apply as a team, we persisted, believing that Meg's relative youth and background in alternative energy combined with my age and experience as a facilitator created an effective balance. We were accepted, and soon we were transported to the land of country music and climate consciousness.

So there we were, members of the third class, amid experts in their fields ' physics, natural sciences, public policy, media, acting. ' Cameron Diaz was in our group, for heaven's sake.

Gore took us through his 275-plus slides once as if we were a typical audience and then again one by one, explaining the nuance of each one, the importance of getting it right. I felt my not-science background at every click of his pointer while the scientists argued the finer points of climate change. We practiced opening and closing remarks, and I felt better. Meg could speak to rising CO2 levels, I could wax poetic about polar bears and mosquitoes, and together we could address the most important component of the presentation: in the words of Oprah, 'What are you going to do now?' Back home on Vashon, that's exactly what we're working on. We believe that many folks here, and along the Portland-Vancouver corridor, have already seen 'An Inconvenient Truth,' have read at least one article on the subject and are concerned about making an effective response. For that reason, we intend to focus primarily on generating solutions.

Al Gore says with conviction that we only have 10 years to make a significant enough impact on climate change to halt its irrevocable march toward disaster. That means making some hard choices on the personal, community and national level ' beyond swapping out incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescents and lowering our thermostats by 2 degrees, though that's a start. As we learned from our recent power outages, we are a resourceful lot, and we have both the ability and will to come together as a community in times of acute need. The Emergency Preparedness Teams are a great example of the effectiveness of people working together for a shared purpose.

Meg and I believe that Vashon has what it takes to tackle a longer-term crisis as well, to become part of a growing groundswell bent on convincing corporations and government to effect urgent policy changes.

For starters, the Democratic Club has invited us to speak at their March 17 meeting at the Land Trust Building. Keep a look out in The Beachcomber for details of this and other events. We hope you'll come and participate as together we strive to make a difference on behalf of our island and the Earth. And you won't even have to fly to Nashville.

- Janie Starr and Meg Gluckman are members of Sustainable Vashon's Working Council, which is sponsoring their efforts. For more information visit www.sustainablevashon.org or www.theclimateproject.org, or call Gluckman at 463-2916.