I’m still nursing a grudge against Microsoft about the whole Windows Vista fiasco, but I’m impressed with the collection of nonprofit “templates” they’ve posted on their Microsoft Office Online collection.

There are sample fundraising letters, press releases, petitions, membership questionnaires, and other useful templates for environmental writing and communication of most kinds. You might find a few “Foolproof Photos” in clip art in the collection that you could use in your next environmental advertising campaign.

Click the link for Microsoft templates that you can use for environmental communications!

Talk about kicking somebody while they’re down. Sheesh. But it’s pretty funny.

This week, I am writing a guest column over the Great Lakes Town Hall, an online community for conservationists along America’s northern coast. Today’s post riffs on a survey about global warming that J.D. tipped me off to!

Click here to visit the Great Lakes Town Hall.

So the producers of this video have compiled an impressive number of statistics — and some of the statistics themselves are quite impressive. But what does it prove? And what are YOU supposed to do about it?

I stole today’s headline from an old Talking Heads song. But it’s appropriate: I dare any of you readers to go home tonight and summarize this video for your companion (pets don’t count). Up for it? If not, remember that next time you are planning to wow somebody with some mindblowing fact. The most powerful facts in the world are useless if you forget to tell your audience what they prove.

Here’s how you avoid missing the mark like that with your next environmental advertising effort: Step one of the Water Words That Work method is “Begin with Behavior.”

• First you tell them what you want them to do.
• Then you show them a picture of somebody else doing it.
• And only then do you supply some impressive facts to convey the importance of the action.

Anybody up the dare? What will you say about this video to your companion?