{"id":410,"date":"2022-11-01T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-01T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/potatosquad.org\/?p=410"},"modified":"2022-11-01T06:25:55","modified_gmt":"2022-11-01T06:25:55","slug":"november-2022-talking-to-decision-makers-about-the-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/potatosquad.org\/index.php\/2022\/11\/01\/november-2022-talking-to-decision-makers-about-the-environment\/","title":{"rendered":"November 2022: Talking to Decision-Makers About the Environment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Hello, hello!!! Happy November! \ud83c\udf41 If you spoke with your friends and family about the environment last month, we commend you for it! \ud83c\udf89 We hope you had a potato of a time, and that you\u2019ll continue to do so as we move into part two of our theme, which is talking about the environment in more formal contexts and general activism \u2014 writing letters, starting petitions, giving public comment, attending protests, and contributing to sustainability initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Firstly, find reliable sources and think through your reasons. There\u2019s a <em>lot<\/em> to talk about here, but <a href=\"https:\/\/guides.lib.berkeley.edu\/evaluating-resources\">here are some tips<\/a>! When citing statistics or specific facts, make sure you\u2019re getting them from an accurate source. If it\u2019s a well-established organization or a peer-reviewed paper, or cited by one, it\u2019s likely trustworthy; make sure also to cross-check your sources and use current, relevant information. Remember, science is the best guess given all the information available. So it CAN change, but that is because given more time and research, more possibilities are ruled out or proven correct! <a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablymotivated.com\/2017\/04\/30\/stay-informed\/\">This article<\/a> has a list of good sources of information about the environment at the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At some point, you will likely talk to someone who doesn\u2019t believe climate change is happening, doesn\u2019t believe we\u2019re causing it, doesn\u2019t believe it\u2019s a big problem, or otherwise doesn\u2019t want to do anything about it. These conversations are not easy, but when it comes to talking to climate-change deniers and inactivists, look back at our tips for respectfully disagreeing in <a href=\"https:\/\/potatosquad.org\/index.php\/2022\/10\/01\/october-2022-talking-to-friends-and-family-about-the-environment\/\">the last email<\/a>! As a recap:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Assume good intentions<\/li><li>Actively listen<\/li><li>Respond directly to what they say<\/li><li>Give specific, fact-checked information<\/li><li>Hear the other person out, and be open to learning and changing your mind<\/li><li>Be kind, respectful, and civil<\/li><li>Don\u2019t let your emotions control you, even if the other person gets upset<\/li><li>And, if you can manage it, be fun and pleasant to talk to, because that will make people more willing to hear you out \ud83e\udd54<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes, people haven\u2019t heard these important facts and will be grateful to learn them. Unfortunately, though, some people are determined to deny the existence of climate change, and there\u2019s no way to force them to see the truth. Even though there\u2019s no way to solve everything or get everyone to understand, by talking about it, you\u2019re still keeping the environment in people\u2019s consciousness and doing your part to raise awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you\u2019ve done your research and addressed counterarguments, it\u2019s time to pass that knowledge along! Here are a few ways we encourage you to speak up for the environment this month. \ud83d\udce3<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Election Day is on November 8th \u2014 please vote!!!<\/strong> Midterms are just as important as general elections! Not as many people vote (unfortunately!) so each vote counts for more \u2014 but beyond that, choosing your local decision makers is just as important for climate policy, because a lot more can get done on a small scale. Federal climate policy is SUPER important, but it takes time and many, many people, and there\u2019s a lot that can still happen on a smaller scale. So please please vote!!!!!!!!!! And if you can\u2019t vote, you can still encourage others to do so!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Write to your legislators.<\/strong> Their job is to represent us, so your input matters!! The more messages they get on a certain subject, the more of an impression it\u2019ll make. You can generally find their contact information online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Writing to smaller-scale decision makers<\/strong>, like administrators at your school or workplace or at companies you buy from, is also important!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some tips for your message:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Be polite but clear about what you\u2019re asking and why<\/li><li>If you are a legislator\u2019s constituent, have a specific connection to the issue, or have expertise in the area, say so, since it gives your message more weight<\/li><li>Say why the issue is important, and ideally why you personally care<\/li><li>If you have one, give them a reason to care \u2014 if it\u2019s a legislator, say you won\u2019t vote for them if they don\u2019t do what you ask; if it\u2019s a company, say you\u2019ll boycott until they change their practices<\/li><li>Have a clear request (for example, \u201cPlease support [bill]\u201d), state it toward the beginning, and restate it toward the end so it doesn\u2019t get lost in the message<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You can often also find and create email campaigns for which people can just enter their name and email address and have a message automatically sent. This has the advantage of much larger numbers of messages, since it\u2019s much faster and easier for someone to sign, but personal, unique messages are the most effective. Petitions work similarly \u2014 it can be helpful to gather a lot of signatures in one place, but a personal message can sometimes be more convincing. Also, be sure to pass petitions and email campaigns along to other people as well as signing them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Give public comment<\/strong> at meetings about environmental policies where people in charge will be present. It might sound scary, but we potatoes are doing this together!! (It\u2019s not as bad as it sounds \u2014 lots of people do this, and if yours is not the most scintillating, eloquent diction ever to grace the world, that\u2019s okay. No one is going to notice.) Meetings are a good time to bring up environmental concerns, because the people in charge can\u2019t ignore you and are hopefully specifically looking for feedback. Here are some tips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Write down\/think through your most convincing talking points and how to articulate them concisely<\/li><li>Gather information beforehand<\/li><li>If you struggle with speaking in front of others, practice in front of friends and family<\/li><li>Don\u2019t overthink it! Focus on what you want to convey<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Attend (and\/or host) protests and climate strikes.<\/strong> Here are a few tips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Have a clear demand or list of demands<\/li><li>Be loud and noticeable, but still respectful<\/li><li>Get the attention of the media (and here are <a href=\"https:\/\/innovationlabs.harvard.edu\/talking-media-guidelines\/\">tips for talking to the media<\/a>!)<\/li><li>Have information available for passersby<\/li><li>Know your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/know-your-rights\/protesters-rights\">rights as a protestor<\/a> (and be aware that even though you have these rights, protestors\u2019 rights aren\u2019t always respected, so know your personal limits and assess the situation)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, <strong>join sustainability initiatives<\/strong> where you can! This could be joining a sustainability club or committee at your school or workplace, advocating for sustainable choices when coordinating groups and events, volunteering for environmental organizations, and more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Have a wonderful November and happy advocating!! \ud83c\udf41\ud83c\udf3f\ud83c\udf42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hello, hello!!! Happy November! \ud83c\udf41 If you spoke with your friends and family about the environment last month, we commend you for it! \ud83c\udf89 We hope you had a potato [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/potatosquad.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/potatosquad.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/potatosquad.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potatosquad.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potatosquad.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/potatosquad.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":411,"href":"https:\/\/potatosquad.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410\/revisions\/411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/potatosquad.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potatosquad.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potatosquad.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}