Three years ago, climate change worries were consuming me.
I felt like I was drowning in my inability to do anything meaningful to save the planet. The problem seemed so huge and complicated. What hope was there for my children’s generation?
I started searching on the internet for something productive I could do. That’s when I found Citizens’ Climate Lobby, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working on climate change solutions.
Citizens’ Climate Lobby consists of 150,000 volunteers in chapters across the U.S., advocating for legislation to make polluters pay for using the air we breathe as a trash can. CCL’s preferred bill, the Energy Innovation & Carbon Dividend Act, would put a gradually rising fee on carbon emissions at the source (i.e. the well, mine, or pipeline) and the money raised would then be returned to U.S. households as a monthly dividend. Crucially, it would reduce America’s emissions by 40% in 12 years.
Back in 2016, I wasn’t really sure what to expect at my first CCL meeting in the Chicago suburbs. I turned up, feeling awkward and promptly burst into tears as I explained to the chapter leader how depressed I felt about climate change and the lack of solutions. He told me kindly that he shared many of my frustrations but CCL would be a good outlet to use my personal political power to invoke change.
I was born in the UK and, at the time, I knew little about American politics. I didn’t even know the name of the Senators of my state and who my Representative was. So I started small, turning up to my local chapter’s monthly meetings to listen and learn. I attended a climate advocacy training workshop which taught me how CCL volunteers meet with elected officials, both locally and in Washington DC, write letters and op-eds to local papers, and work in their communities to educate the public, leaders, and organizations about climate change solutions and citizen advocacy.
In 2017, I moved to a new CCL chapter in Silicon Valley, California, I joined the ‘tabling’ team talking to people at farmer’s markets and Earth Day events and asking if they’d like to write a letter which we promised to hand-deliver to their members of Congress. It inspired me to keep doing more.
When I began my journey with CCL I never envisaged I’d end up leading a chapter but when I again relocated – this time to Greenville, SC – it was clear I needed to step up and help the local chapter to build some momentum.
We have been making great progress in the Upstate, getting regular letters to the editor published in local papers, tabling at events, meeting with our elected officials, and talking to the city about their plans to cut carbon emissions.
Earlier this month I traveled to DC for my first lobbying day with CCL, armed with 150 letters from constituents urging for fee and dividend legislation.
A few years ago, I could never have imagined that I would walk into the office of a Member of Congress to have my say about climate change. Yet there I was, speaking to legislative staff about how important it is for them to support H.R.763. It was nerve-racking but I’ve discovered that you don’t need to be the best public speaker or know everything, simply speaking from the heart and listening does a lot. So I talked about how Greenville has asthma rates that are 40% worse than the national average and how rising temperatures will likely reduce the air quality in South Carolina. We need to do something to protect everyone, not least the young and vulnerable, from being exposed to toxic air.
The message we got back from Congressional offices was that climate change is on their radar but they often need to hear more from their constituents and community leaders. Quite simply, the people who live in their districts and states near to speak up more and keep telling them the solutions they want. When enough people demand climate action it will happen.
Wherever I am, I talk to people about climate change and encourage them to do something. Talk of lowering carbon emissions shouldn’t be a taboo subject or partisan. It really affects us all on multiple levels.
If this blog resonates with you and you too want to do something to combat climate change then please head to the Citizens’ Climate Lobby website and use this quick tool to message your MOC. I’d also love to welcome you to our next CCL Greenville meeting.
Voila! You turned your climate despair into action 💚
