Weekly Briefing: CCL Volunteers Land Climate Letters In Washington Post
January 31, 2024
Last week, two CCL volunteers landed letters to the editor (LTEs) in the print edition of the Washington Post! The Washington Post is one of the most widely circulated newspapers in the country.
Carolyn Dorflinger, from our Morristown chapter in New Jersey, led the Jan. 23 opinion page with a powerful message: “Our country is divided, but action on climate is possible.”
“We have the means to blunt the effects of climate change. What we’re missing is the political will to implement the necessary changes,” she wrote in the first letter of the group. “We need to lean on our members of Congress.”
The same day, Amy Livingston, from our Raritan Valley chapter also in New Jersey, made a similarly strong argument. “We need to do a lot more a lot faster” on climate, she wrote. “We need to start making polluters pay for their greenhouse gas emissions with a carbon price.”
And if that weren’t enough — in the online version, clicking on the words “carbon price” in Amy’s letter takes readers to yet another CCL letter! This one, written by Chris Wiegard from our Richmond chapter in Virginia, is titled, “If Canada can price carbon, so can the United States.” It was published by the Post in December.
We’re proud of how our volunteers are pushing the national climate conversation forward. And it’s not just happening in major papers like the Post — we’re making the case for climate action in local media around the country, which members of Congress watch closely.
Want to help? CCL staff hosts a monthly letter-writing workshop on Zoom where you can get a quick training, chat about topics, and then have focused time to write your own letter. The next one is Feb. 14 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
In other news this week:
- More than 10k messages: Wow! As we wrap up the month, we’ve hit our January action out of the park. CCLers have sent 10,537 messages asking Congress for more bipartisan work on clean energy permitting reform. If you haven’t sent yours yet, add your voice to the chorus.
- Conferences coming up: Applications are open for our Conservative Climate Leadership Conference and Lobby Day, happening in D.C. on March 19-20. That event is specifically for right-of-center volunteers, so if you fall somewhere else on the political spectrum, keep an eye out for your regional conference. The Mid-Atlantic meets Feb. 24-25, the Northeast gathers on March 22-23, and several more regions will get together in April.
Take action this week
If you have a little time: Share this Instagram reel. Your friends and followers might not know why it’s important to contact Congress or how easy it is to make your voice heard to your representatives. Share this reel to your Instagram stories to encourage folks to speak up to their lawmakers!
If you have more time: Rev up your chapter with a workshop. CCL has dozens of freshly trained volunteers who can lead a climate workshop to invigorate your local chapter or launch a new one in your area. Reach out to your state coordinator to identify one of these local trainers and explore hosting a workshop.
Upcoming trainings
2/1: 2024 Media Opportunities - Join CCL's Communications team, Flannery Winchester and Charlotte Ward, for an overview of the opportunities chapters will have to engage with their local news media on climate solutions this year, including some media work you can be doing right now. Join us!
2/8: What Happened At COP28? - Join Citizens' Climate International Executive Director Joseph Robertson to learn the main impacts, takeaways and results of this past December’s gathering of the UN Conference of the Parties in Dubai. Check out Joe’s written debrief or join us live!
New white paper: Wish you had every wonky detail about carbon pricing right at your fingertips? Look no further than this new white paper, “Carbon Pricing: Why We Need It, How It’s Working, and How to Build Support.” The document pulls together all of CCLer Jonathan Marshall’s Nerd Corner posts that dive deep on our favorite policy.
Need training on the basics? Catch our next session of Core Volunteer Training, made for newer volunteers:
2/6: Chapter Development Basics - This training will demystify the process of starting, growing and running a CCL chapter. Join us!
To see other topics and past trainings, visit the Training Topics page of CCL Community.
Nerd Corner Chart of the Week
Climate change swung the 2020 presidential election by 3–6%
Join the discussion about how climate change is now a big enough election issue to change presidential election outcomes
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