Weekly Briefing: Let’s Talk! 25,000 Climate Conversations This Month!

April 3, 2024

This week, we launched an ambitious outreach campaign for Earth Month. We’re planning to hold 25,000 climate conversations in the month of April!

These conversations will help break the spiral of climate silence that our country is stuck in. Here’s what happens: Climate change is harming communities, but most folks don’t talk about it or hear about it — so, they assume it isn’t that big of a problem. That means our lawmakers don’t feel pressure to act, and the problem keeps getting worse. 

But 25,000 climate conversations will interrupt that pattern. When you bring up climate change with your friends and family (and neighbors, and coworkers, and baristas, and cab drivers…) it feels more real and relevant to everyone. And that makes it more likely that we — and our elected officials — can move from talking to acting.

Head to our website for guidance from our partners, Potential Energy and Science Moms, about how to have successful conversations. You can also log your conversations on our website as we aim toward our goal of 25,000 across the country!

Climate Conversations

In other news this week:

• Thank you for your support: We appreciate everyone who gave during our fundraiser this March! Thanks to your generosity, we hit our stretch goal of $11,000 in new monthly donations  These funds will help us train and mobilize citizen lobbyists to lobby their elected officials for climate policies at the state and federal level; educate students, businesses, and community leaders about effective climate solutions; and a whole lot more. If you didn’t get a chance to donate during the month of March, you are still welcome to contribute — your gifts make an impact all year round!

Take action this week

If you have a little time: Share this video about having climate conversations. We just posted a video on Facebook, Instagram, X, and Threads to announce our climate conversations goal. Watch and share the video on any of those platforms, and get the conversations started!

If you have more time: Get your Climate Conversations materials ready. CCL staff has prepared brand new outreach materials to help you have good climate conversations this month, including a new tabling trifold, a one-sheeter of conversation starters, and cute stickers and decals. Find them all on CCL Community here.

Featured chapter: CCL Cincinnati

CCL’s Cincinnati chapter had a big win recently — on March 18, the school board of Cincinnati Public Schools unanimously passed a resolution committing to renewable energy and an all-electric future. 

Local CCL volunteers Chris Heckman and Kelly Patterson joined forces with a group of local public high school students for this effort. With resources and guidance from CCL’s Great School Electrification Challenge, they made it happen!

“This Challenge gave specific steps to help pass a resolution, which the CPS board adopted tonight!” Chris celebrated on social media. “We are the first of 13 school districts using the Challenge to have a resolution pass, but certainly not the last.”

“Similar efforts have been going on in Cincinnati for seven years, but members of the Board said that it was citizen advocacy — and especially students — that made it happen in three quick months,” says Sharon Bagatell, CCL’s Youth Action Team Coordinator. 

Specifically, the resolution commits the school system to use renewable energy for its future electric power purchase agreements, and it starts a process of converting all the systems that power the district over to electric power. Show us how it’s done, CCL Cincinnati!

Want your own local school board to pass a resolution like this? Learn more about the Great School Electrification Challenge and sign up!

Upcoming trainings

4/4: Climate Conversations Campaign For Earth Month - Kick off your climate conversations with this training, which will include brand new outreach materials and communication tips from Dr. Katharine Hayhoe. Join us!

4/11: Bringing Policy Support from Trusted Messengers to Congress - The CCL Government Affairs team is recommending that all chapters secure at least one letter from a trusted messenger to their member of Congress (MOC) and deliver the letter in a June lobby meeting. This training provides some ideas for how to do that. Join us!

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

4/9: Communicating with Progressives - In this session, CCL Texas State Coordinator Bob Hendricks and CCL superstar volunteer Nicole Hammond will share recommendations on talking about carbon fee and dividend and CCL's policy agenda with progressive groups. Join us!

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

Nerd Corner Chart of the Week

Support for the four House anti-carbon tax resolutions

Join the discussion about the House of Representatives' anti-carbon tax Resolution vote and its declining support.