Advocate for Action on Climate

Summary: Advocate for action on climate - locally, statewide, nationally

Description

One way to make progress on climate change is to advocate for policy changes at the local, state, national and even international level.  

One can stay informed and take action by joining committees, such as the Harvard Climate Initiative, that is involved in education of residents, programs to assist residents to take action, and interaction with other town committees on how to mitigate the impacts and adapt to the forecasted changes in our climate.  Volunteering on any one of the town committees can help bring a climate focus to their work. 

One can get involved in state and national advocacy organizations by contributing financially and personally advocating for particular issues (e.g. helping get the message out, attending rallies, etc.).  Many of these organizations monitor forthcoming legislation or advocate for particular policies.  Many organizations work with private industry and hold them accountable. Others work with citizen groups so their voices are heard. 

One can advocate directly with legislators at the state and federal level.  If you care about climate change and want to make sure your representative knows you care, reach out by phone, email or letter.  These calls, emails and letters are closely monitored by your representatives and the more they hear about a particular issue, the more they will pay attention to it. They want to know what their voters care about.  They know it can impact voter support. 

Go to Steps to Take for more information.

Deep Dive

Steps to Take

To get involved in advocating for actions to address climate change, here are a few ways:

1- Harvard - Join a town committee.  There are openings on almost every committee in town, some more directly involved with climate issues, such as Harvard's Climate Initiative Committee, Energy Advisory Committee, Conservation Commission, Open Space Committee, Permanent Building Committee, or more indirectly such as the Capital Investment Committee, Finance Committee and School Committee. These latter committees manage much of the town's finances and climate should be taken into consideration as to how we spend our tax dollars.  Go to the town website to learn more about volunteer positions:  https://www.harvard-ma.gov/

2 - State - There are many advocacy committees that have statewide, national and international focus on climate and the environment.  We can't do justice by naming just a few but reach out to any member of the Harvard Climate Initiative Committee, all who may be supporting different organizations or do some reading by checking the resource page of our website, https://www.harvardsclimateinitiative.org/

3- Contact a Legislator - Here is the contact info for Harvard representatives at the federal and state level

Senator Elizabeth Warren:  https://www.warren.senate.gov/contact, (202) 224-4543

Senator Edward Markey:  https://www.markey.senate.gov  202-224-2742

Representative Lori Trahan:  https://trahan.house.gov  202-225-3411 

Senator Jamie Eldridge: https://www.senatoreldridge.com  617-772-1120

State Representative Dan Sena:  https://repdansena.com   617-772-2014

4- Contact the Governor:  Governor's email or call 617-725-4005

5- Write a testimonial to tell us what you did