Weekly Briefing: Encourage Congress To Support This Bipartisan Permitting Reform Bill
September 25, 2024
In July, a bipartisan pair of Senators introduced the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, which could reduce America’s total climate pollution by up to 25% by 2050. That means it's our biggest chance to reduce pollution in this Congress.
So this month, we’re asking you to write to your members of Congress. Your messages will encourage lawmakers to support this bill and help it pass by the end of the year.
And there’s good news — the bill already has real momentum. In July, we generated hundreds of calls to Senators on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, helping lead to a 15-4 vote passing the bill through the committee.
The most likely time for the bill to advance further is after the election. With our outreach to Congress right now, we can build more support and set the bill up for success in the coming months.
We want to send 7,000 messages by the end of this action, and we’re at 5,772 so far. Let’s keep the momentum going!
In other news this week
- Inclusion Conference recordings now available: If you weren’t able to join CCL’s virtual Inclusion Conference last weekend, the recordings are now available on our YouTube channel. Kick off your viewing with the opening remarks from CCL Executive Director Rachel Kerestes and CCL Diversity and Inclusion Director Karina Ramirez, and then dive into the artist session, community building session, resilience and mindfulness training, and more.
- Texas volunteer highlighted by CBS News: "If you want my vote, you've got to step up on climate and prioritize the issue," CCL volunteer Larry Howe told CBS News in a climate-focused segment that aired this week.
Take action this week
If you have a little time: Share this video to put climate policy into everyday language. At CCL, we believe public policy should be for everyone. Unfortunately, the text of legislation can get a little dense. We had our Research Coordinator, Dana Nuccitelli, serve as a translator in a fun new video. Check it out on Facebook and share with your friends and followers to help them understand what you’re working on as a CCL volunteer.
If you have more time: Push the pedal to the metal on election activities. As we come into the final weeks before Election Day, now is the time to phone bank with the Environmental Voter Project, table with CCL’s election season tabling materials, and make sure you have your own voting plan in place. Check out CCL’s September Action Sheet for more details on how to take these actions.
Featured: CCL Midland and CCL Saginaw Bay
Some incredible volunteer power was on display from members of Michigan’s Midland and Saginaw Bay CCL chapters last month, who racked up an outstanding 400 electrification conversations while hosting a booth at the Midland County Fair (pictured above).
Using a “bean poll” based on the Yale Climate Communications "Six Americas" categories, they gauged public concern about climate change. The poll results showed 799 people engaged throughout the week, with 34.8% identifying as "Alarmed" and ready to take climate action. Many of these interactions then led to conversations about electrification.
“Our primary focus was simply to engage people in conversations about the climate and encourage them to feel comfortable talking to their friends and family,” says Mike Colucci, the Saginaw Bay group leader. “Having done that, we would start a conversation about electrification, especially if the person we talked to was a homeowner.”
Read more about this effort and all the other activities from CCL’s Electrification Month in a new post on CCL’s blog.
Upcoming trainings
9/26: Fall 2024 Media Opportunities - Join CCL's Communications Team Flannery Winchester and Charlotte Ward for a training that will outline opportunities to engage with your local news media on climate solutions in the coming months. Join us!
10/1: Social Media Basics - Join CCL's Content Marketing Manager Elissa Tennant for a training on social media as a tool for climate advocacy. Join us!
10/3: Welcoming New Volunteers To Your Chapter - This training offers tips and suggested strategies for welcoming new recruits to your CCL chapter so that they acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviors to become empowered volunteers. Join us!
To see other topics and past trainings, visit the Training Topics page of CCL Community.
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