Me, a high-powered lobbyist?

Some methods can work; some just waste time.

Few people understand it. Strong government action is the only thing that can protect our children from the worst costs and disruptions of climate change. The most important effort we can make is persuading our legislators in Washington to enact real incentives to curb emissions - carbon taxes, regulations, and penalties, that sort of thing.

Yes, we make a tiny impact when we drive less, fly less, and insulate our windows. But even if we persuade some friends and neighbors to take these actions, the impact on emissions is way too small. We need the whole country, particularly our businesses, to take big actions. And the only way for that to happen is for Congress to require it.

So how do we influence our legislators?
There’s a wide range of effectiveness in how we lobby lawmakers. Many ways of approaching our Senator or Representative have almost no impact. Others can get their attention and have a real chance to modify their thinking. The AWI (see below) points out that

“Advocacy organizations represent the views of like-minded individuals when it comes to supporting or opposing bills, but the most powerful voice still belongs to the individual constituent.”

Here are some of the actions we can take individually to reach our lawmaker, graded by me from effective to . . . not-so-much.

B+ Show up in our legislator’s office. Tell the staff our personal or family story, e.g. that bad things are happening to our children. Bring photos. For instance, I might emphasize that Buddy loves the snow and hates watching it disappear!
B+ Show up in our legislator’s office with a group (like CCL below).

B Phone our legislator’s office with a personal story. (202) 224-3121 is the Capitol switchboard.
B Vote. Persuade our friends to vote. Help other voters get to the polls.
B Make phone calls, knock on doors to ‘get out the vote’ for candidates who favor strong climate action.
B Show up, speak, ask questions at Town Hall meetings.
B Write to our legislator. (B+ if it’s about us, in our words, in our handwriting.)

C Write an op-ed piece or letter to our local news editor

D+ Join a protest march
D + Join an email/postcard/call campaign
D Sign an organization’s online petition or letter
D- Use social media

A few tips

• Graphic stories about our family and neighborhood are most persuasive. They can help our lawmaker make a decision, but just as important, they will provide ammunition to help our lawmaker justify that decision, when it’s made, to others.

• Be specific about what we want - such as support for a specific bill.

• Congressional staff are key to getting our message through. In-state staff are just as influential as those in DC. We must show them respect.

• We can trash our effort if we’re not factually correct, and weaken it if we’re not concise.

• Remember, ahead there is a tipping point. It’s when, after decades of weakness, our legislator suddenly decides the growing weight of public opinion says it’s time to start fighting climate change. Our stories and pleas today, even if we see no near-term result, are adding to that weight.

Most of us don’t realize that most citizen ‘lobbying’ is just pushing on a string. We should focus - and help our friends focus - on the few methods that could actually have some effect.

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LEARN, THINK, ACT
One organization that helps us take many of these actions, including getting people like you and me in to actually talk with one of our legislators, is the Citizens’ Climate Lobby. CCL volunteers scheduled 268 Senate and House meetings in one week recently.

The Animal Welfare Institute, quoted above, has one of the best guides to communicating with our legislator, with far more suggestions than I offer here.

Write it down: (202) 224-3121. It’s the Capitol switchboard. Pick up the phone and tell your lawmaker what you want.

For more of my argument that reducing carbon emissions calls for strong federal action, and federal action calls for Herculean citizen efforts, see Magical Thinking.