Sea Studios Foundation, the non-profit that partnered with National Geographic to produce the Strange Days on Planet Earth series, released a good new video today showing how states are taking climate change policy into their own hands.

The 12-minute documentary, Ahead of the Curve, features interviews with four governors, as well as other state officials, as they discuss the need for stronger state-federal state partnerships to fill the void of inaction by lawmakers in Washington, D.C.

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R), Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) don't necessarily break any new ground in the short video. But amidst all the rhetoric, the geographically diverse group of lawmakers present a strong case for state action on climate change. The federal government may shy away from targets -- see next week's floor debate on Lieberman-Warner as Exhibit A -- but this documentary confirms that governors from both parties are no longer willing to sit and wait on the sidelines. And they're not shy about saying so.

We were somewhat surprised not to see California's Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) in the video, especially given the state's endless battle with the feds over setting their own environmental standards. But it's refreshing to see some different faces here, and the four governors make it clear that national lawmakers are going to have to work with state governments as they develop and implement national climate law. The video is certainly worth a few minutes of your time.