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As you may know, proceedings to get a climate bill passed have been stalled in the Senate, due largely to GOP opposition and a dozen or more uncertain Democratic Senators. A large number of the undecided Senators represent what we might call climate swing states--where there's heavy influence from coal, oil, and heavy manufacturing industries who oppose putting restrictions on pollution or enacting clean energy initiatives.
While the long arm of coal and oil is powerful indeed, there is something that rivals that power: American voters. Scoff if you'd like at the notion that public opinion can be as powerful as the oil lobby, but it's true--these politicians do want to get reelected, after all.
And there's some compelling new evidence that might begin to sway even some of the more skeptical senators: a recently released poll that reveals that voters from such climate swing states (Alaska, Arkansas, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Nevada, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia and West Virginia) would be 60% more likely to reelect their senators if they voted yes on the climate bill.
Which means, if you live in one of those states, the climate bill needs your help. The poll numbers may raise some eyebrows, but individually written letters, emails, and phone calls put a human face on the concerns that those numbers represent.
The biggest problem with getting climate action into policy isn't that people don't support it--most do, in overwhelming numbers. It's getting them to care about supporting it--getting folks interested enough to pen a letter or to attend a rally and so forth. Climate change just seems so far away, and like someone else's problem. Of course, it's not. So let's get enthused--at least enough to send a note to a congressperson.
More on the Climate Bill:
How the Climate Bill Will Clean Up Our Beaches
Climate Bill: Everything You Need to Know
