If you are active on ActiveRain (or any other blogging platform) , you have probably accepted, to some degree, that what is said on line by individual bloggers can make a difference. Never before has the public had such an ability to influence the international conversation. I remember a time, not too far in the past, when if you wanted to bring attention to an issue, you had to petition reporters and convince them that your story was both newsworthy and worthy of public attention.

Those days are long gone. Our voices may still be very quiet in the grand scheme of things, but they are being heard.

In 2007, the first Blog Action Day was held on October 15. It was such an immediate success that we are getting ready to see the 3rd annual Blog Action Day this year on the same date. Each year a topic is selected and individual bloggers, who register to participate in advance, post a blog on the selected day about the selected topic. The idea behind Blog Action Day (as found on their website) is: 'Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites the world's bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day. Our aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion.'

This year the topic is Climate Change. All participants are asked to register at the Blog Action Day Website, write a blog about the topic and post it for public viewing on October 15. Participants are asked to write about Climate Change in a way that relates to the topic of their blog. As of this posting, there are 3,099 bloggers registered from 113 countries around the globe!

We can make a difference in the conversation by speaking out. Please consider participating in Blog Action Day.