Contacting your elected officials is very effective!
Tips:
- Phone calls are great. If their office voice mail is full, send an email or try another office location.
- Contact all your senators and your representative. If they already agree with you, they need to hear from you how much you care, because they must decide how much political capital to expend on it. If they don't already agree with you, contact them anyway, because the more they hear from local constituents, the more willing they will be to stand up for our community. Speak as much as possible to what you know they already care about (ie, fiscal responsibility, a healthy environment, clean water and clean air).
- Don't be nervous about calling! You don't need to say much. Simply be polite and brief so they can hear from other constituents. The talking points below can help you frame your thoughts or write your own personal letter.
- ALWAYS let them know that you are a constituent. Include your zip code and home address in all emails & letters.
- Below, we offer suggested action items with talking points and details about pressing issues
- Write letters to the editor of the Mining Gazette--and send copies to your representatives! Here's a guide. Briefly, every person can submit one letter to the Mining Gazatte of up to 400 words each month. You can also submit news tips and information about personal and community events through our website (mininggazette.com), email (clerk@mininggazette.com), fax (906-482-2726) or postal mail to our office at 206 Shelden Ave., Houghton 49931.
- Use social media to spread the word! Our twitter handle is @keweenawclimate and our facebook group is Keweenaw Climate Community at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1090367037715276/
- Organize a letter-writing campaign among your friends or attend one of ours at the monthly meetings.
- Staff a table at your favorite event. We can help provide literature.
- Here's a good site to track Congress, including your representative’s votes, bills, and committee actions: https://www.govtrack.us/
Go to “get alerts” -> “advanced alert” search to search for “climate". Tweeting at https://twitter.com/govtrack. - You could also try resistbot: text resist to 50409 to get started. Resistbot turns your text messages into daily letters to your Congressional representatives.
- Forward Action Keweenaw has excellent resources for getting involved in community action (not limited to climate action).
CONTACTS
Senator Debbie Stabenow
Office locations:
DC: 731 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510-2204, (202) 224-4822 (this voice mail is nearly always full)
UP: 1901 W. Ridge, Marquette, MI 49855, (906) 228-8756)
Twitter Handle @Stabenow
email option on Senator Stabenow's Website
Senator Gary Peters
Office locations:
DC: Hart Senate Office Building, Suite 724, Washington, DC 20510; (202) 224-6221
UP: 857 W Washington St, Suite 308, Marquette, MI 49855; (906) 226-4554
Twitter Handle @SenGaryPeters
email option on Senator Peters's Website
Representative Jack Bergman
Office locations:
DC: 414 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515, 202-225-4735
UP: 1500 W. Washington St., Suite 2, Marquette, MI 49855, 906-273-2227
Twitter Handle @RepJackBergman
email option on Rep. Bergman's Website
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross phone: (202) 482-2000
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt at 202-564-4700
The Citizen's Climate Lobby frequently visit our members of Congress. They would love to bring your letters with them expressing your concerns about climate change, and your hope that they will step forward. You can download this letter here, fill it in, and then email it as an attachment to Sarah Green at sgreen@mtu.edu
| ccl_constituent_comment_form_rev_ed__2_.docx |
Thank Rep. Bergman for Joining the Climate Solutions Caucus
What this is about: The Climate Solutions Caucus is a bipartisan group in the US House of Representatives which will explore policy options that address the impacts, causes, and challenges of our changing climate. The caucus was founded in February of 2016 by two south-Florida representatives Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) and Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) who will serve as co-chairs of the caucus.
“The Caucus will serve as an organization to educate members on economically-viable options to reduce climate risk and protect our nation’s economy, security, infrastructure, agriculture, water supply and public safety,” according to documents filed with the Committee on House Administration.
Membership will be kept even between Democrats and Republicans.
Why it matters: The more local constituents urge Rep. Bergman to lead on climate, the more likely it is that he'll respond.
For more information: http://citizensclimatelobby.org/climate-solutions-caucus/
Talking points:
“The Caucus will serve as an organization to educate members on economically-viable options to reduce climate risk and protect our nation’s economy, security, infrastructure, agriculture, water supply and public safety,” according to documents filed with the Committee on House Administration.
Membership will be kept even between Democrats and Republicans.
Why it matters: The more local constituents urge Rep. Bergman to lead on climate, the more likely it is that he'll respond.
For more information: http://citizensclimatelobby.org/climate-solutions-caucus/
Talking points:
- I write to thank you for joining the Bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus.
- I am a resident of Hancock Michigan and a [insert personal information about why this matters to you]. To protect Lake Superior and the Upper Peninsula, we need to move forward with bipartisan solutions to the climate challenge.
- The Climate Solutions Caucus deserves your support because it offers hope that members of both political parties can come together to show leadership and solve the problems posed by climate change. Concrete, market-based solutions such as those offered by the Climate Leadership Council will allow us to move forward.
