Research tells us that the most trusted source of information for most people is a friend. So why not host a party for your friends that combines good information with lots of fun? Make your next gathering a "Climate Party." With the right combination of setting, food, drink, dress, conversation, and even games that suit your social scene, you can create a memorable and momentum-building event.

Every aspect of the party presents an opportunity to comfortably raise awareness. Here are a few little thought-starters, but really the sky (the atmosphere?) is the limit when unleashing your own creativity. Invitations should suit your group of friends. For example, the invitation should say something like, "Come to my climate party and we can help move America and the world towards a better future." Or perhaps provocative or satirical would be more effective for your crowd. If you are sending out an electronic invite, be creative with the RSVP:

  • Yes, I can come and I will turn off anything not being used before I leave the house.
  • No, sorry I can't make it, that's my night to install attic insulation.


Discussion can be seeded by inviting people with different backgrounds and points of view. You don't have to have all the answers about the climate crisis to host a party but you might want to think about some questions or issues that are important to you and your family.

Games can include races to replace light bulbs around your house (your friends will discover by doing it how simple it is) or a contest that challenges geography as well as climate change knowledge by getting guests to put endangered icons - like the Great Barrier Reef, a snow-covered Mt Kilimanjaro, and Borneo's rainforest -- on a world map. Of course even a good, fun party has to end, but there is really no end to our discussion of how we can all help to halt climate change. As a parting gift, give your guests a card with the Alliance's 7-Point Pledge and our website address (www.climateprotect.org). Encourage them to visit the site and sign the pledge and ask their leaders to sign it as well. In addition, you can follow up with an email containing information about what you did at your party so they can host their own, plus web addresses and other suggested resources so that your newly enlightened guests can read and educate themselves at their leisure.

We'll be looking for your e-invitation.

Tips for your party:

  • Use comfortable conversation starters. By this we mean tell people about something you've heard you can do to lower your climate impact (maybe you read about it on climateprotect.org) or share something you did that was easy and effective. You might want to mention that the 10 compact fluorescent lights you installed took 15 minutes and will save you several hundred dollars over your lifetime, enough to help replace your old inefficient refrigerator.
  • Play the trailer to An Inconvenient Truth DVD or choose a few short films about climate change that are inspiring.

    • For music, put together a mix of music recorded by the groups and individuals appearing at the LiveEarth concerts.
    • Put some photos and captions up about American heroes who are making a difference on climate change.
    • To inspire lively discussion you can give your guests an identity of someone important to the climate change debate when they arrive: Guests assume the roles of political leaders like Gordon Brown, Angela Merkel and George Bush, or business leaders like Richard Branson and Jeff Immelt, even celebrities from Leo DiCaprio to Cameron Diaz, and world leaders from Desmond Tutu to Pope Benedict. Imagine if all of those personalities really were at the same party!
    • Serve drinks on coasters with factoids about climate change.
    • To keep the conversation going about climate solutions, serve food on reusable plates, and when your friends ask if they can help clean up, point out that they can put the dishes straight into the dishwasher without rinsing, which wastes hot water that is warmed by burning fossil fuels.