Weekly Briefing: After Hurricane Helene, Connecting The Dots To Climate Change
October 2, 2024
Along with the rest of the country, CCL staff and volunteers have been watching the devastation from Hurricane Helene with heavy hearts.
CCL staff members and volunteer leaders in the path of the storm are safe and accounted for, including in our chapter in Asheville, North Carolina. Many are still dealing with the impacts such as power and water outages, spotty cell phone and internet connections, fallen trees and other property damage, and worry and heartache for their communities.
If anyone would like to share your own updates about impacts from the storm, or if others want to offer messages of support, we invite you to post in this CCL Community forum.
As so many communities begin the long work of recovery, those of us not in the immediate path of the storm can help. We can help by sending aid and supporting those recovery efforts, of course. We can also help by connecting the dots to the underlying issue of climate change.
As CCL staffer Charlotte Ward wrote in a moving piece about her family’s experience in the storm, “The climate scientists have been extremely clear: carbon pollution from fossil fuels is changing our climate and elevating the risk of weather disasters like Helene.”
She adds, “I'm not satisfied scraping through another storm, crossing my fingers, and hoping for the best when I know more catastrophic climate events are in our future. I want to see our lawmakers jumping into action to stop the pollution overheating our planet and driving these storms.”
Visit our Spread the Word page to share Charlotte’s post and other posts connecting the dots between Hurricane Helene and climate change.
Take action this week
If you have a little time: Contact Congress in support of clean energy permitting reform. We’ve sailed past our goal of 7,000 messages to Congress in support of the Energy Permitting Reform Act, which could reduce America’s climate pollution up to 25% by 2050! But you still have five days left to take this action, and the devastation of Hurricane Helene underscores why Congress needs to move as fast as possible on climate action. If you haven’t reached out to your member of Congress, do so now with our easy online tool. (Don’t forget, you can customize your message to help it stand out!)
If you have more time: Activate environmental voters. Climate change hasn't been a major focus of this election so far, but in last night’s vice presidential debate between Senator J.D. Vance and Governor Tim Walz, the second question focused on climate change. Sen. Vance cast doubt on the settled science, while Gov. Walz acknowledged the threat of climate change and discussed the investments in clean energy made by the Biden-Harris administration. Watch it yourself to see what they said.
We know that Americans care deeply about protecting their communities from environmental disaster and want the government to take the needed steps to protect the planet for future generations. We've got just a few weeks left to make sure that people who care about the environment turn out to vote in November. Sign up to phone bank with CCL through the Environmental Voter Project any Wednesday night between now and Election Day: Oct. 9, Oct. 16, Oct. 23, or Oct. 30.
Featured: CCL Greater Highland Park / Deerfield
CCL Greater Highland Park/Deerfield celebrates its one-year anniversary this month! Co-led by Sunday Mueller and Francesca Kelly, this Illinois chapter has a dedicated core group of about 20 active members who show up for events and meetings. Two of those dedicated members are Lida Obniski, who serves as the group’s liaison to their representative, and Jo Anne Gottfried, who helps with chapter development and youth outreach.
“Lida traveled to the June conference for lobbying and loved the experience. She stays in regular contact with our representative's staff,” Francesca shares. They actually held a virtual lobby meeting less than a month after they launched the chapter, and they’ve kept up the relationship since then. “We've sent letters and cards, and recently sent children's drawings, made at our summer tabling events.”
The chapter has hosted six tabling events this year. “A good conversation-starter has been the Yale Six Americas jars and beads,” Francesca says. “Some of our best conversations were had with people who initially characterized themselves as ‘dismissive’ or ‘doubtful.’ We put a premium on listening and asking questions.”
And the conversations don’t stop there! “We've had several in-person coffees hosted by different members and at cafes. We aim for one in-person event every month,” Sunday says. For their one-year anniversary this month, the chapter is planning a big in-person meeting to get organized for broader outreach.
“Our leaders are newbies who are still learning. We know there are many more things our chapter could be doing, but we are busy grandmas who are still working and volunteering, and we don't let the ‘perfect’ get in the way of the good — or even the adequate!” Francesca says. “Our low-key approach has actually led to people wanting to get together and take action because there's little pressure. We're proud of gently encouraging our people.”
Want to chat with Francesca, Sunday, or other volunteers from this chapter about their work? Join the conversation on CCL Community.
Join the Conversation Want to see your chapter featured? Tell us what you’ve been up to!
Upcoming trainings
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!
10/8: Understanding Congress Basics - Have a question about the legislative process in Congress? Join CCL staff to walk through a training that explores the details of the congressional policy-making process, how a bill becomes law, and research from the Congressional Management Foundation on life in Congress for both staff and lawmakers. Join us!
10/10: Fundraising for CCL and Your Chapter - As a Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) volunteer, you’re already making a difference by building political will in your community. Many volunteers also support CCL financially. We appreciate your donations because they allow us to build the resources for you to work your magic! Thank you so much for your hard work and support! Sometimes our dedicated volunteers want to go above and beyond by organizing a fundraising campaign for CCL or its sister organization, Citizens’ Climate Education (CCE). It’s another great way to make a difference, and you can use the step-by-step guide provided here to do it easily. Raising money can be fun and satisfying—just ask our development team! Join us.
To see other topics and past trainings, visit the Training Topics page of CCL Community.
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