2010 at Dateline Earth: Reversing global warming. Restoring ecosystems. And saving environmental journalism? Well, that's up to you . . .

How can we slow down global warming – or even take steps to reverse it?

Where is ecosystem restoration taking off in a big way?

How is environmental journalism faring in the news media meltdown that spawned InvestigateWest?

We plan to delve into those questions and many more -- we're eager to explore the tradeoffs of "green" energy, for instance -- when Dateline Earth and the InvestigateWest team return after the holidays.

In the meantime, we’re taking time off. So you won’t see anything new in this space for a little while. (Unless we’re just dying to tell you about something. Sometimes we can’t contain ourselves.)

Readers, please come back in early January to see what we’re up to in the new year. That will include beginning to publish some full-blown in-depth stories by InvestigateWest staffers, as well as continuing to produce Dateline Earth and our other two blogs, Western Exposure and From the Field.

In the meantime, it's incredibly important that you donate to InvestigateWest. Become a member. Give us your ideas. Give us your energy. But first, give us a little bit of money. A membership costs just $5 a month. It's what has to happen to sustain the independent journalism so crucial to our self-governing democracy.  We’re trying to keep body and soul together while building this ambitious new project to preserve and modernize in-depth reporting on the environment, public health and social-justice issues in western North America.

Will it work? It’s up to you. As a body requires oxygen, we must have support from citizens who care about what’s happening in the society around them. That means you. Right? Act quickly to become an InvestigateWest charter member as we get off the ground.

Thank you for your support. Happy holidays!

-- Robert McClure