The Obama administration, along with many others, has placed a high priority on accelerating the nation's transition to a cleaner, greener economy. Transforming the nation's economic, energy, and environmental systems to become more sustainable will require a level of expertise, innovation, and cooperation unseen since the 1940s war effort. Public engagement is essential. Top-down solutions alone, such as regulating carbon emissions, simply will not suffice without a broad base of literate citizens to help make this transition happen. Citizens will need to implement changes in business and personal practices, support and help develop new technologies and policies, and confront the coming social and economic problems and opportunities arising from a changing climate. Architects, engineers, planners, scientists, business managers, financial experts, lawyers, entrepreneurs, political leaders, resource managers, and a green manufacturing workforce will all be needed to make this transition--as well as environmentally literate consumers to drive the green economy. Higher education has a critical role to play in this transition, much as it did during the space race of the 1960s. Colleges can--and must--help students understand the complex connections and interdependencies among environment, energy sources, and economy--all of which underpin the green movement. The author contends that only then will a broad segment of the population begin to move in the same direction as the leaders of this transition.