Weekly Briefing: It’s election season. Get loud on climate.

September 14, 2022

With the midterms closing in, it’s time to make climate an election issue. Fortunately, CCL’s “Get loud, take action” page has some suggestions for making a greener difference during campaign season and at the ballot box. 

Every election cycle, tens of thousands of environmentally minded voters fail to turn up at the polls. CCL Executive Director Madeleine Para emphasizes that it’s important for environmental voters of both parties to be consistent voters. Madeleine says, “That would create an environment where every Republican and every Democratic candidate has to have a strong position on climate change in order to be viable.”

There are several actions you can take to make sure that every candidate of every party sees climate as a central issue:

• Register to vote
• Participate in CCL’s Earth Day: Election Edition events in October
• Work with Environmental Voter Project
• Share your actions on social media

Take these actions and help push climate to the forefront on our “Get loud, take action” page today.

GET LOUD, TAKE ACTION

_________________________________________________________

In other news this week: 

• Why we still need a national carbon fee: The progress that we’ve made with the Inflation Reduction Act has been great, but we can’t stop there. Read more about how a technology-neutral carbon fee would work with clean energy subsidies and regulations to accelerate the phase-out of fossil fuel emissions.
• CCL Inclusion Conference: Get excited — CCL’s Inclusion Conference is this Saturday. Join us for an array of speakers bringing us together in unity, community, and trust. You can also attend the virtual reception on Friday night! Check out the agenda here, and register for the conference here.
• Happy National Hispanic Heritage Month! Hispanic Heritage Month, which starts tomorrow, celebrates the achievements, traditions, and diversity of Latinos in the United States. Read more about CCL’s planned festivities here. 
• UK household impact study: Last month, a study was published by CCL United Kingdom taking a closer look at how a carbon fee and dividend could help lower income households. You can read Dana Nuccitelli’s analysis of that study on Nerd Corner.  
• Goodbye to the Queen: Queen Elizabeth II passed away last week at the age of 96. The monarch supported climate action, and her heir is expected to push for climate action as well. View CCL’s tweet for more information. 

If you have a little time: Join an Earth Day in October event 
We love Earth Day. But our planet is too big for just one day of action. On Oct. 22, CCL is celebrating a second Earth Day to help draw attention to the importance of climate in the upcoming elections. Find and plan to attend a local Earth Day: Election Edition event near you.

If you have more time: Watch the September national call
In case you missed it: Check out the recording of our September national call, featuring guest speaker and CCL Advisory Board member Dr. Hahrie Han. Dr. Han specializes in the transformational process that empowers volunteers to be effective advocates. A professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University and the Inaugural Director of the SNF Agora Institute, Han’s work strengthens global democracy through powerful civic engagement and informed and inclusive dialogue. Watch the recording.

Find your CCL chapter | Check out our Action Teams | Browse upcoming events

__________________________________________________________________________
Featured Lever This Week 

Conservative voices sound off in the media

 In the weeks following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), CCL conservatives have reached out to their local media to make their voices heard. 

In last week’s Weekly Briefing, we featured CCL Conservative Fellow Hannah Rogers, who went on a media tour about the parts of the IRA that appeal to her as a young conservative. 

Since then, CCL volunteers have gotten the conservative version of our Inflation Reduction Act op-ed published in newspapers and magazines across the country, including Arkansas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.

Live in a red area? You can send the conservative version of the IRA op-ed to your local publication too.

SUBMIT THE CONSERVATIVE OP-ED

CCLers Tom Moyer and Lauren Barros also recently got an op-ed published in Utah’s The Salt Lake Tribune about the importance of Republican voices in solving climate change.

Tom and Lauren point out that bipartisan laws are better than partisan ones, and that Republican participation is pivotal in making a difference. 

“When the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed the Senate recently, it got no Republican votes. Bipartisan legislation is always better than laws passed by one party, but the IRA incorporates many good ideas that Utah legislators have been championing,” the two write.

The duo goes on to state that Utah Republicans have the opportunity to lead the way on climate change: the state and country depend on them.

READ THE UTAH OP-ED

_______________________________________________________

Upcoming Trainings 

• 9/15: Understanding Conservative Perspectives About the IRA — Join CCL Conservative Outreach Director Drew Eyerly for a training that will help attendees understand the perspectives of conservatives about the Inflation Reduction Act. This training will also cover how to best engage conservative audiences around the clean energy, local jobs, and American innovation generated within the bill. Join us!
• 9/22: Creative and Engaging Tabling Ideas — Join CCL Education and Resilience Coordinator Tamara Staton for a training designed to help you engage people at the events you attend. Join us!

Need training on the basics? Catch our next session of Core Volunteer Training, made for newer volunteers:

• 9/20: Climate Science AMA — Have a question about climate science in general? Join Dr. Deepti Singh, Assistant Professor, School of the Environment, Washington State University Vancouver, and Dana Nuccitelli, CCL Research Coordinator and leader of Science Policy Network for CCL's quarterly Ask Me Anything with some of the most well-respected climate scientists in the country! Join us!

To see other topics and past trainings, visit the Training Topics page of CCL Community.