Download Letters to the editor (7/19/10)

Citizens Climate Lobby
Support Kit
Appendix
We’re here for you.
www.CitizensClimateLobby.org
Revised 7-2013
Important Note: This document contains forms that can be edited.
Please save a copy, just in case you need the original.
www.CitizensClimateLobby.org
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Contents
Websites
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Science
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Government
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News/Opinion/Editorials/Other
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Speaking and writing samples
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Laser talk
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Sample letter to the editor
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Sample op-ed
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Sample meeting request
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Media Advisory
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National conference call invitation/flier (template)
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Sample follow up invitation to “Wednesday call”
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Tools
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Conference call number and code
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3-way calling instructions
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Staff contacts and phone numbers
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Outreach booth or table sign-up form (template)
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Websites
Science:
National Academies/ The National Academy of Sciences http://www.nationalacademies.org/
America’s Climate Choices: http://www.americasclimatechoices.org/index.shtml
Video: Americas Climate Choices: http://americasclimatechoices.org/study-video.shtml
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IPCC reports: http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_and_data.htm
The U.S. Global Change Research Program:
Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The U.S. Global Change Research Program
(USGCRP) coordinates and integrates federal research on changes in the global environment and
their implications for society. Thirteen departments and agencies participate in the USGCRP:
http://globalchange.gov/
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a federal agency focused on
the condition of the oceans and the atmosphere. http://www.noaa.gov/
NOAA Climate Services http://www.climate.gov/#climateWatch
Explaining climate change science & rebutting global warming misinformation
http://www.skepticalscience.com/
TED talk (18 minute video): Dr. James Hansen climate scientist:
http://www.ted.com/talks/james_hansen_why_i_must_speak_out_about_climate_change.html
Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego: http://sio.ucsd.edu/
http://scrippsnews.ucsd.edu/Releases/?releaseID=1033
Naomi Oreskes lecture (One hour -covers the history of denial arguments)
http://www.youtube.com/user/scrippsoceanography#p/a/f/0/2T4UF_Rmlio
The Copenhagen Diagnosis: http://www.copenhagendiagnosis.org/
Massachusetts Institute of Technology http://globalchange.mit.edu/index.html
Climate change odds much worse than thought. New analysis shows warming could be double
previous estimates. David Chandler, MIT News Office, May 19, 2009
Confronting the Climate Challenge - Science and Policy working together
http://globalchange.mit.edu/cover/climate-challenge.html
American Security Project examines climate risks state by state (research by
Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin company, for the U.S.
Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration).
http://americansecurityproject.org/issues/climate-energy-and-security/climate-change/pay-nowpay-later/
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Government
The United States Government: www.us.gov
The US Senate: www.senate.gov
US House of Representatives www.house.gov
The Executive Branch: www.whitehouse.gov
How a Bill Really Becomes Law, Center for Congress at Indiana University, By Lee Hamilton
http://congress.indiana.edu/radio_commentaries/how_bill_really_becomes_law.php
How a bill becomes law (for kids, but fun for adults):
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0770454.html
Library of Congress – Thomas: Thomas In the spirit of Thomas Jefferson, legislative information
from the Library of Congress. The 104th Congress directed the Library of Congress to make federal
legislative information freely available to the public: http://thomas.loc.gov/
Open Congress: http://www.opencongress.org/ Tabs includes Money Trail, Votes, Bills and Issues
GovTrack: is a tool to help the public research and track the activities in the U.S. Congress.
http://www.govtrack.us/
Open Secrets: www.OpenSecrets.org is your nonpartisan guide to money’s influence on U.S.
elections and public policy. Whether you’re a voter, journalist, activist, student or interested citizen,
use our free site to shine light on your government. Count cash and make change.
Federal Election Commission: campaign contribution information
http://www.fec.gov/disclosure.shtml and http://www.fec.gov/ans/answers_disclosure.shtml
Vote Smart: http://www.votesmart.org/ Founding board includes Governor Michael Dukakis,
Senator Bill Frist, US Senator, Congressman Newt Gingrich, Former US Representative,
Congresswoman Barbara Lee, US Representative, Senator Charles Mathias, Former US Senator
United States Environmental Protection Agency: http://www.epa.gov/
Center for Naval Analysis: www.CNA.org Center for Naval Analyses is a federally funded research
and development center (FFRDC) for the Navy and Marine Corps.
Friends Committee on National Legislation: Look up Members of Congress, staff, committees,
votes, PAC contributions of (Note, not always current!)
http://fconl.capwiz.com/fconl/dbq/officials/?lvl=C
Who Runs Government is a Washington Post site MOC profile: “Why S/he Matters”.
http://www.whorunsgov.com
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News/Opinion/Editorials
Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
New York Times: www.nytimes.com
National Review: http://www.nationalreview.com/
Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com/home-page
Bloomberg on Environment: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/environment/
UK Guardian on Environment: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment
The Economist: http://www.economist.com/printedition/
Politico: http://www.politico.com/
MSNBC Meet the Press: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/
Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/
CNN News: www.cnn.com
Public broadcasting: http://www.pbs.org PBS New Hour: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/
The Hill: www.thehill.com
Roll Call (Capitol Hill legislative news) www.rollcall.com
Sociology
Cultural Cognition: Yale Professor Dan Kahan has researched why we deny science:
www.culturalcognition.net
http://www.culturalcognition.net/browse-papers/fixing-the-communications-failure.html
A detailed video about cultural views towards science at:
http://mediasite.video.ufl.edu/mediasite/Viewer/?peid=e16374d0980344fa911266bf40b60314
Robb Willer UC Berkeley Sociologist: www http://willer.berkeley.edu/
Apocalypse Soon? : Dire Messages Reduce Belief in Global Warming by Contradicting Just-World
Beliefs http://willer.berkeley.edu/FeinbergWiller2011.pdf
Climate Change Communication: Yale, Anthony Leiserowitz:
www.environment.yale.edu/climate/
Religious/Spiritual
http://www.creationcareforpastors.com/ “Creation Care”: applies biblical principles of
stewardship to the environment we share with all living things.
Other
Real Climate: www.realclimate.org . RealClimate is a commentary site on climate science by
working climate scientists for the interested public and journalists.
Desmogblog: www.desmogblog.com/ “Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science”
The Carbon Tax Center: www.CarbonTaxCenter.org
Bill McKibben’ s “350” site: www.350.org
www.CitizensClimateLobby.org
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Speaking and writing samples
Laser Talk Sample
A fresh approach on climate change
Senate leadership has pulled the plug on climate legislation because they don’t have the 60
votes needed for passage. It’s time, therefore, to go to work on Plan B.
We need a bill that will:
 Have bipartisan appeal.
 Reduce greenhouse gas emissions further than the proposals that are currently
being offered.
 Be simple and transparent.
 Create new jobs.
 Reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
We know of an approach that can accomplish all these things. It’s called Carbon Fee and
Dividend. Here’s how it works:
 A direct fee is place on carbon-based fuels at the source (well, mine, port of entry).
 That fee increases steadily each year so that clean energy is cheaper than fossil fuels
within a decade.
 100 percent of the carbon fee revenue is returned to all Americans equitably.
 With the “carbon dividend,” 70 percent of all households would receive more than
they would pay for the increased cost of energy.
 A predictably increasing carbon price will unleash entrepreneurs in the new cleanenergy economy.
Congressman [Congresswoman or Senator], will you sponsor this legislation in the next
Congress?
www.CitizensClimateLobby.org
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Sample letter to the editor
Letters to the editor (7/19/10)
Published: July 18th, 2010 05:55 PM
We must shift our energy economy away from fossil fuels
Your July 4, 2010, front page story about the serious decline in our oceans' health together
with stories about the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico should raise serious concern among
reasonable people.
The immediate and visible negative impacts of our over-dependence on fossil fuels are clear
from the BP spill stories; however, the ocean health story is a more serious call to action.
We must enact meaningful climate legislation to shift our economy away from fossil fuels
and toward sustainable energy sources.
A carbon fee and dividend bill, imposing a fee on carbon emissions and returning the
revenue collected directly to the American public, would serve that purpose well. Such a
system would not impose undue hardship on industry or the public, while creating
American jobs.
Our Founding Fathers had the foresight to produce a Constitution designed to function for
hundreds of years. We can and must honor their achievement with the foresight to shift our
energy economy to one that is sustainable for a few hundred more years.
-- Jeffrey Coleman
Anchorage
http://www.adn.com/2010/07/18/1371869/letters-to-the-editor-71910.html
www.CitizensClimateLobby.org
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Sample op-ed
OPINION
Posted on Mon, Aug. 23, 2010
Commentary
Floods, fire, and fiddling
Extreme weather abounds while Congress
dithers on climate change.
By Marshall Saunders
Photo KHALID TANVEER/ Associated Press,
A woman carries her child through a flooded area of central Pakistan.
Legend has it that Nero fiddled while Rome burned. These days, Congress fiddles while the world
burns.
More precisely, it's Russia that's burning at the moment, with a record heat wave and forest fires
being blamed for as many as 15,000 deaths so far. Also troubling is the drought, which prompted
the Russian government to ban wheat exports this year, sending shock waves through global food
markets.
And as Russia burns, Pakistan drowns, with record rainfall producing floods that have affected 20
million people. A nuclear power ever teetering on the verge of chaos, Pakistan could be pushed over
the edge by a catastrophe like this one.
While we can't blame global climate change for any specific weather event, the disasters now
unfolding follow a pattern of greater extremes predicted by scientists amid rising world
temperatures. A warmer atmosphere, for instance, holds more water vapor, which produces
heavier rainfall. (Just ask the people of Nashville, where the stage of the Grand Ole Opry was under
water earlier this year.)
If we don't take steps to stop climate change, these freakish extremes will become the new norm in
the decades to come. How many droughts, fires, and floods will it take before we act?
Despite the evident urgency of the issue, the U.S. Senate failed to consider a climate and energy bill
before members of Congress returned home this month. The odds of such legislation passing this
year look very slim.
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Not that the proposals being considered were anything to be hopeful about.
The latest congressional measure to limit carbon dioxide emissions is aimed only at electric
utilities, and it would give away most permits to emit the greenhouse gas in the initial years. When
the free permits run out, the proposal would allow polluters to purchase cheap carbon offsets that
would, in most instances, fail to produce net reductions in CO2.
Top it all off with a volatile trading system that fails to send a clear price signal to clean-energy
investors, and you have a recipe for failure.
This is what you might expect, of course, when legislation to control climate change is dictated by
the people who are causing it. Perhaps Congress should stop trying to appease the coal and oil
lobbies and start listening to the folks who actually want to preserve a sustainable world for their
grandchildren.
Climate scientist James Hansen is one of those folks. In the preface of his recently published Storms
of My Grandchildren, Hansen writes, "I did not want my grandchildren, someday in the future, to
look back and say, '[Grandpa] understood what was happening, but he did not make it clear.' "
Hansen is doing everything in his power to be clear about climate change and what needs to be
done. At an Earth Day rally on the National Mall in Washington this past spring, he unveiled a
proposal called "The People's Climate Stewardship Act."
Simple, transparent, and effective, the proposal calls for a direct fee on carbon-based fuels at the
source - whether coal mine, oil well, or port of entry - that would rise each year. As a result, cleanenergy sources would be cheaper than fossil fuels within a decade. Since this would increase the
cost of energy, the revenue from the carbon fee would be returned to households in the form of
monthly payments or reduced payroll taxes, shielding families from higher prices.
The carbon fee would level the playing field for wind, solar, and other clean-energy technologies,
unleashing a flood of investments that produce millions of jobs and wean our nation off coal, oil,
and natural gas.
Now that cap-and-trade climate legislation has failed in the Senate for the fourth time, we should
regroup and gather support in the next Congress for the simple, fresh approach of a carbon fee and
dividend. Rep. John Larson (D., Conn.) introduced such a bill last year, but it was tabled when the
House passed the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill.
Let's hope Larson makes another run at the proposal in January. The smoky haze hanging over
Moscow and the floodwaters inundating Pakistan serve as a warning that we're running out of time.
Marshall Saunders is the founder and president of Citizens Climate Lobby. He can be reached at
[email protected].
Find this article
at:http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20100823_Floods__fire__and_fiddling.html
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/101280824.html
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Sample meeting request
(Note: It is always best to call the MOC office and ask their preferred method to request a
meeting in DC or at a district office before composing a letter or making a request.)
April 23, 2010
Dear Representative Hill,
Thank you for support of climate change solutions that encourage jobs and reduce dependence on
foreign oil. Thank you for your willingness to work across the aisle.
I am writing to request a meeting and to ask for your support of the Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL)
proposed Carbon Fee and Dividend Act of 2010. I hope we can work together to get meaningful
legislation enacted in the US so that the rest of the world can follow suit. Please visit the
CCL website to learn more about us at www.CitizensClimateLobby.org. CCL’s purpose is to create
the political will for a sustainable climate. We are nonpartisan. We have 24 citizen groups across
the US.
We need your leadership to pass legislation that is a match for what scientists tell us we must do to
avert the catastrophic effects of a warming planet. Our transparent 2 page proposal has two main
parts:
1. Place a steadily-increasing fee on the carbon based fossil fuels.
2. Return all the revenues collected from the fee to every household.
Increasing the cost of fossil fuels will create a strong incentive for clean energy investments.
Returning the revenue would shield households from the economic impact of rising energy costs.
Eventually, the annual “carbon dividend” is estimated to bring $1,500 a year for every person.
Our group will be in D.C. in June for a CCL National Conference. Our Founder Marshall Saunders,
our Executive Director Mark Reynolds and I would like to meet with you to discuss this bill. Please
let me know if you have time to meet June 22-24.
Sincerely,
Sarah Adams
Citizens Climate Lobby
999 Shady Lane
Atlanta, GA 92024
760 753-5515
www.CitizensClimateLobby.org
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MEDIA ADVISORY
New Madison group to press for climate solutions
WHAT
A presentation to organize and launch the Madison chapter of Citizens Climate
Lobby.
WHEN
Saturday, Feb. 19, from XXX to XXX.
WHERE
[Venue location goes here. Might link to map.]
WHO
Mark Reynolds, executive director of Citizens Climate Lobby, will lead the
presentation/training to give concerned citizens the tools they need to make their
voices heard by decision-makers in Washington. Madeleine Smith, a first-grade
teacher, will lead the Madison group.
WHY
As the saying goes, everyone talks about the weather, but nobody does anything
about it. Likewise, many people talk about the looming disaster of climate change,
but few are working to enact policies to reduce the greenhouse gases causing the
problem. We need a national policy to put a price on carbon that will speed the
transition to a clean-energy economy. The political will for such a policy is currently
lacking. Therefore, it is time for citizens to reclaim their democracy and overcome
the powerful influence of the fossil fuel industry. We must do this to secure a safe
and sustainable future for our children and our grandchildren. Learn more about
Citizens Climate Lobby at www.CitizensClimateLobby.org .
CONTACT:
Madeleine Smith, [email protected], 608.555.5555.
www.CitizensClimateLobby.org
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COOL THE PLANET
WITH YOUR VOICE
CCL is a national non-partisan organization.
Our Purposes: To create the political will for a sustainable climate.
To empower individuals to have breakthroughs in exercising their
personal and political power.
FIND COMMON GROUND
JOIN US FOR SOLUTIONS
Our activities

Group meeting each month on the first Saturday of the month at 9:45 a.m. to 12:00p m Pacific.

A guest speaker on federal legislation, climate science or economics.

Action such as outreach, writing to members of Congress or letters to the editor.

Meet with your members of Congress discuss climate change and legislative solutions.
Meeting Date: Saturday, September 11, 9:30-noon
Location: [Local address]
RSVP: [name, email and phone number]
www.CitizensClimateLobby.org
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Sample follow up letter to prospective volunteer or group leader
Invitation to a “Wednesday” orientation conference call:
Hello Sarah,
It was great to talk with you tonight. Thank you for your interest in Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL). I
am so glad you made the step forward to explore how you can help. Your motivation and passion is
what is needed to solve the climate crisis. Visit our website at www.CitizensClimateLobby.org to
learn more about us.
Please join us for an Orientation Conference Call on September 1st at 5 pm pacific or 8pm
eastern time to learn how you can be involved in solving the climate crisis.
This offers you a chance to meet our Executive Director Mark Reynolds and to learn what we do and
how you can be part of solving the climate crisis. Mark will lead the call.
Many of us have the desire to make a difference but don’t know how to do it alone. From my
experience, CCL provides more support to volunteers than any other volunteer organization (and I
have been in the non-profit sector for 20 years!) Please join us to find out what we have
accomplished already and how you can be a part of this amazing team.
This call is usually for a small group of 20-25 people.
Please RSVP to me via email or at 760 753-5515.
The conference call number is: 866-642-1665
Pass code 440699#
Please call in 1-2 minutes ahead of the start time to introduce yourself.
Best,
Amy
Amy Hoyt Bennett
[email protected]
760 753-5515
www.CitizensClimateLobby.org
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Tools
Conference call number:
1-866-642-1665
Pass code 440699#
(Press *6 to mute if you are in a noisy area or have a phone line with static.
Press *6 again to un-mute if you are speaking to the group.)
3-Way Calling Instructions
How to talk to 3 different people in 3 different locations at once.
One person needs the phone with a “flash button”.
Practice Example: Mark, Amy and a 3rd party.
1. Mark calls Amy and we are connected…
2. To connect to the 3rd Party: Amy Pushes her Flash button once --> you
will hear a stuttering dial tone that then becomes a regular dial tone.
3. Amy Dials the 3rd party's number --> listen for it to start ringing.
Amy Pushes Flash again once to connect back to the 2nd party.
Never hesitate to call staff directly.
We are here for you.
CCL Coronado CA office: 619-435-7980
Mark Reynolds, Executive Director 619 437-7142
[email protected]
Steve Valk, Communications Director 404-872-0197
[email protected]
Amy Bennett, Volunteer Coordinator 760 753-5515
[email protected]
www.CitizensClimateLobby.org
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Dr. James Hansen, climate scientist, says of CCL: "If you want to join the fight to save the planet, to save creation for your
grandchildren, there is no more effective step you could take than becoming an active member of this group.”
Please sign-up below to learn more.
Name
Phone
Email
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www.CitizensClimateLobby.org
Street/City/Zip