Ed Myers (1917-2002) was a remarkable man who focused his capacious mind and learning on the issue of the earth's future. A realist with an engaging sense of humor, he wrote dozens of articles, letters, sermons, and diatribes on topics ranging from global climate change to the benefits of not smoking. Running throughout all his writings was his belief that the earth's long-term health could only be assured, if we, its inhabitants, changed our behavior. And he firmly believed we had the means and the will to do so. Ed Myers saw the humor in almost everything that happened, but he was deadly serious about saving the planet and turning it over to successive generations in better shape than he found it. Nobody forgot Ed Myers--or his message. So we are presently engaged in a gigantic planetary chemical experiment to see how much CO2 and its global effects we can stand. When the experiment is complete, there won't be anybody around to report on it. The Creation, in writer Annie Dillard's phrase, will be playing to an empty house. This dreary prospect does not have to happen. At the end of the nineteenth century, we made a choice, or rather, had it made for us. We would run the world on fossil fuels. It proved to be a very successful choice for a runaway industrial society and worked well, in its own way, for about a century. But for the long term the choice was, in a word, lousy. Now we have a chance to turn it around. Our only chance. Additional commentary and updates are provided by Peter Shelley (Conservation Law Foundation); Don Hudson (Chewonki Foundation); Tom Chappell (Tom's of Maine); Robin Alden; and Melissa Waterman.