Ideas for Change in America: Vote by 11:59 pm Pacific

At 11:59 pm Pacific Time, the first round our Ideas for Change contest will close. Done your voting on the fine selection of suggestions for solving global warming? Well, get on over there!

The "Top 10 Ideas for America" will be determined through two rounds of voting. In the first round, ideas will compete against other ideas in the same issue category. The first round ends tonight, with the top 3 rated ideas from each category moving on to the second round. The second round of voting will begin on Monday, January 5, and each qualifying idea will compete against the qualifying ideas from all other categories. Second round voting will end on Thursday, January 15.

The top 10 rated ideas will be presented to the Obama Administration on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009 as the "Top 10 Ideas for America." Change.org will then launch a national campaign behind each idea and mobilize the collective energy of the millions of members of Change.org, MySpace, and partner organizations to ensure that each winning idea gets the full consideration of the Obama Administration and Members of Congress.

Below is a roundup of some of the more intriguing ideas in global warming and sustainability -- click through to read more and vote.

Transformative ideas: These are interesting because, as federal policies, they could enable significant progress towards achieving sustainability or stopping global warming:

• ReBuild and RePower America with a Green Stimulus Package
• Better Transportation to Curb Global Warming
• Hold Nationwide Town Hall Meeting on America's Energy Future
• Develop & Implement a National Strategy for Sustainability
• Declare India as the Green Idea Lab Partner
• Show Environmental Leadership by Greening the Government
• Mobility Education - First Bicycling and Transit, then Driving (Full disclosure: Green Maps Director Wendy Brawer, the author of this idea, was part of my writing team for the now-defunct Worldchanging New York blog.)
• Peak Water: Let's Solve It
• [Save the] Endangered Species Act
• Create nationally required science standards

Just A Good Idea: A handful of good ideas that are a bit narrower in scope in the sustainability problem they seek to solve, but strike me as important policies.

• Reduce Light Pollution and Wasted Energy
• Revitalize the National Parks
• You Made It - You Recycle It!
• No more corn subsidies
• Help to beginning farmers
• Support the real green revolution, small farms
• Solving the credit crisis from the bottom up
• White House Office on Social Innovation

Check out the ideas my fellow Change.org bloggers have been highlighting, too -- including Nathaniel on the Social Entrepreneurship blog, Stephanie at Animal Rights, Michael at Humanitarian Relief, and Zarah at the Fair Trade blog.