Thursday, April 15, 2010

President Obama Wants Your Story!

(click on title for video link)

Where have I been? I've been working on a new project: Citizen Climate Action Stories.

Over the past 12 months, while lobbying for comprehensive climate and energy legislation, I’ve met with dozens of members of Congress. Over and over they’ve said to me: “My constituents don’t care about climate change.”

I’ve also met with many individuals and citizen groups, students and members of faith-based communities, business leaders and municipal employees and I know you do care. To help get this message across to our elected leaders, the Natural Resources Defense Council and I are asking you to tell the story of what you and your group are doing to address the climate crisis and create a green energy economy for America. Once we’ve gathered these stories, a team of citizen lobbyists will deliver them to Congressional and White House Administration offices, to let our government know we do care.

Forty years ago, on the first Earth Day, tens of millions of Americans joined their voices to show they cared, and government responded by creating the Environmental Protection Agency and passing the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. Once again let’s show our leaders that people from all parts of America want them to complement our local actions by passing an effective climate and energy bill.

Please join us in changing the public conversation in America about energy and climate by sharing your story. And while you’re at it, please feel free to pass this on to others who have their own stories to share.

* * *

Instructions for sharing your story:

Here’s what we need from you to get started:

Basic organization information:

Name

Number of members

Location (city, state)

Focus area (e.g. education, industry, community, faith-based)

A few paragraphs (about 500-600 words) on what your organization is doing to reduce global warming, promote clean energy, and/or help the environment.

Any other stories you would like to tell, such as a best practice for greening your community or a profile of a star worker/volunteer.

Photos! Interesting images will help illustrate your work. Especially compelling will be shots of your team in the field helping to clean up or green your community.

We want your stories by April 21st, when we have a special opportunity to present them to President Obama. But feel free to contribute stories throughout the rest of 2010. We’ll give them a basic copy edit for consistency, send them to a designer to package with the stories of other groups, and distribute them throughout all levels of government. The end result will be information that amplifies all of our voices!

We are excited to share your stories with decision makers all over the country.

Send your information to

citizenclimatestories@gmail.com

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