Source: Do my actions really matter?
Click here to see this email in your browser.  DO MY ACTIONS REALLY MATTER?The question we get asked most often by Climate Action Now app users is, “Am I making a difference?”Most CAN actions involve calling or emailing your legislators to urge systemic action on climate change. Do those calls and emails really matter? Here’s what we can tell you: Legislators say your calls and emails really do matter. Every message gets some level of attention. Most legislators retain staff to tally and report constituent concerns to them. The Congressional Management Foundation reports that 92% of congressional offices are influenced by individualized email messages. (See table on page 13.) The 117th Congress made climate the top priority of the Inflation Reduction Act even though climate ranked only 14th among general voter concerns (Pew – see the first table). Why? Because legislators knew from polls, face-to-face interactions, and constituent messages – hundreds of thousands of which were sent via the CAN app – that climate ranked high among their Democratic constituents’ concerns. (Pew – see the fourth table.) In early April 2023, we heard that Gov. Hochul was doing a backroom deal with the state’s gas supplier that would have gutted a key provision of New York’s landmark climate legislation, the CLCPA. CAN app users carpet-bombed NY legislators with protest emails. Other NY climate groups did the same. Two days later, Gov. Hochel backed down. Assemblymember Emily Gallagher and leading activist Bill McKibben credited the app with helping preserve the CLCPA. Other frontline activists have also credited the CAN app with helping them block pipelines and achieve legislative objectives. Legislators have responded personally to users, asked for more information, taken requested actions, and invited users to their offices. |
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