A DOZEN OF THE COUNTRY'S top comedy writers, from series like The Daily Show, The Simpsons, and Curb Your Enthusiasm, have convened in the Davids' living room. After a meal prepared by the family's in-house chef, the group is lounging on sofas and sprawled across floor pillows, presenting their initial scripts for Earth to America, which will be filmed at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

The writers take turns reading scenes. One has Will Ferrell, doing his Dubya impersonation, chasing a rainbow across Bush's Crawford ranch. Another features Jack Black as the attorney for a group of five-year-olds who want to sue America's CEOs for stealing their future.

"There's got to be a good skit about the climate skeptics," Larry interjects. "What really gets me are these religious-righters who expect everybody to believe that Moses parted the Red Sea or that Mary gave birth without having sex—but they can't believe the reams of data on melting glaciers and rising seas?"

Alas, Larry's idea pushes all the wrong buttons. "Settle down, dear Jew," says another writer. "We can't do religion jokes."

"Yeah," someone else says. "I mean, isn't the idea to unite people around this issue, not divide them?"

"Exactly," Laurie agrees. "I hate to break it to you, honey, but we've got to keep your disdain for humanity to a minimum."

Several of the ideas sound promising, but more than a few fall flat. Eventually, Phil Rosenthal, the executive producer for Everybody Loves Raymond, speaks up: "I'm starting to feel like, Enough already with the global-warming jokes."

Laurie objects that the scripts are only first drafts and will get funnier. But soon enough she sees what her writers are saying: It's getting stale. "We're almost minimizing the importance of the issue by hammering it too much," she says.

So Laurie decides to mix up the fare—to intersperse skits with serious stories about how global warming is already affecting the United States. Sprinkled in will be cameos from politicians, scientists, and astronauts discussing why the issue matters and possible solutions.

And in the weeks that follow, the skits get better. Daily Show correspondent Stephen Colbert agrees to present a list of satirical tips on how to be a good environmentalist. Mr. Krabs, the animated character who owns the Krusty Krab restaurant on Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants, will rant about how ocean warming is affecting his seafood business.

Whether or not people laugh, Laurie is sticking with her theory that humor can make life's overwhelming concerns feel manageable. "It's very tricky using comedy to educate people," Laurie says later. "But if it's done right, it can be very effective."