Summer 2012 has broken thousands of heat records so far, bringing misery to millions of Americans. The United States is suffering its worst drought in fifty years, leading the Department of Agriculture to declare 1,000 counties—one of every three in the nation—natural disaster zones. Meanwhile, President Obama, writes Mark Hertsgaard in the new issue of The Nation, has remained shamefully silent on climate change, refusing to say a word about what is fueling these disasters.

There’s still time to trigger the reaction that would make the 2012 heat wave a landmark event, but the impetus will have to come from citizens rather than mainstream politicians. Implore your elected reps to support the End Polluter Welfare Act—sponsored in the House by Keith Ellison and in the Senate by Bernie Sanders—which seeks to end the $11 billion annual subsidy that taxpayers give the richest industry in history. After you’ve weighed in, share this post with friends, family and your Facebook and Twitter communities. And, if you have children, sign on to Climate Parents, a new initiative co-founded by Hertsgaard and longtime organizer Lisa Hoyos to demand action on behalf of a huge, yet largely voiceless constituency: America’s youth.

In a sweeping essay for Rolling Stone, seminal climate change writer and activist Bill McKibben calculates global warming’s terrifying new math and calls for the climate movement to begin a divestment campaign against Big Oil, similar to the divestment drives that helped end apartheid in South Africa.

Hertsgaard recently joined Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now! to talk about how Climate Parents might be able to marshall the moral authority to increase the national urgency  to curb fossil fuels.

A weekly guide to meaningful action, this blog connects readers with resources to channel the outrage so many feel after reading about abuses of power and privilege. Far from a comprehensive digest of all worthy groups working on behalf of the social good, Take Action seeks to shine a bright light on one concrete step that Nation readers can take each week. To broaden the conversation, we’ll publish a weekly follow-up post detailing the response and featuring additional campaigns and initiatives that we hope readers will check out. Toward that end, please use the comments field to give us ideas. With your help, we can make real change