Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This page may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. There is no additional cost to you whatsoever.
For some individuals, writing a letter to an elected official may be intimidating. Formal correspondence isn’t a daily a part of life for many of us, and generally our legislators appear so out of contact that it’s onerous to imagine they’ve any curiosity in what we have now to say. But elected officers do take discover when their constituents attain out to them. If sufficient voters contact them on a selected difficulty, it may possibly have an effect on their place on the subject or spur them to take motion.
To honor 52 years of motion impressed by Earth Day, Earth911 is presenting 52 Actions for the Earth. Each week from Earth Day 2022 to Earth Day 2023, we are going to share an motion you may take to invest in the Earth and make your individual life extra sustainable.
This week, you may spend money on the Earth by writing a letter to an elected official to assist local weather literacy.
Action: Write to an Official in Support of Climate Literacy
Climate Literacy
Basically, climate literacy means understanding your affect on local weather and local weather’s affect on you and your society, and that understanding is a prerequisite to growing a sustainable inexperienced financial system. That’s why EarthDay.org is campaigning for universal climate education. But proper now, our colleges will not be geared up to arrange the subsequent era with the data of local weather science they should take part in a inexperienced financial system.
In the U.S., Ok-12 curriculum standards are decided on the state stage. Twenty-nine states and Washington, D.C., have science requirements that embrace human-caused local weather change. Fifteen states require local weather change however don’t specify its trigger. Five states solely require local weather change to be addressed in elective highschool science programs. Pennsylvania’s requirements don’t tackle local weather change in any respect.
Directing Your Letter
This week, let an official in your state know that you simply worth local weather literacy and imagine that local weather science needs to be a common requirement for Ok-12 training. If you don’t already know, use this on-line resource for locating the names and speak to data of your state-level elected representatives. You might additionally select to achieve out to your state’s superintendent of education (who is probably not an elected official) or members of your local school board (who’re elected).
Your Literacy Letter
You can categorical your assist for common local weather training nevertheless you want. But if you happen to battle to know what to say, you may copy EarthDay.org’s template letter, or simply use it for inspiration. Your letter doesn’t should be a murals, nor does it should be prolonged – the truth is, it’s higher to remain easy and to the purpose. Just just remember to determine your self as a constituent, point out particular laws if attainable, and make a selected request for motion. It’s higher to be factual than emotional, and all the time be courteous.
You can ship the letter by e mail, however as a result of they’re much less widespread, a printed, mailed letter may obtain extra consideration. Whatever format you employ, you should definitely proofread your letter earlier than you ship it.
This week we’re writing to state officers about local weather literacy, however the template format and elegance guidelines for writing to an official are constant and may be utilized everytime you write to any official on any subject. After you’ve written one letter, you’re ready to speak along with your representatives often on any difficulty that you simply care about.
