Influence Environmental Policy - Write Your Representative

There are two components to the process of improving the health of our environment – the individual and the policy-makers or public officials. The actions individuals take to improve the health of our environment will only make a difference if the political policies are in place to protect the environment and encourage natural resource conservation.  Many people consider themselves to be eco-friendly and make efforts to reduce, reuse, and recycle. This is great and I want to thank you for your efforts. Now it’s time to take the next step from individual actions to community action.

A great way to participate in community action and influence environmental policy is to write a letter or email to an elected public official to advocate for planet-friendly policies that matter to you and your community. To begin, visit your states legislature website.  Here you will find a list of representatives, including their contact information, and a list of upcoming bills, revised statutes, and laws. Read through the proposed legislations and select a few that matter to you. Next, select the legislator to whom you will send the letter. Finally, draft your correspondence and mail or email to the recipient.

Your letter should contain your contact information, the date, the recipient’s information (including name, “The Honorable…”, role of the official, mailing address), salutation, body, and closure. The first paragraph of the body should contain your opening statement including the reason your writing, your expectations from the official, and the specific bill you want the official to act upon. The next few paragraphs should discuss how the issue relates to you and your community including facts and personal stories to support your points. The last paragraph should specifically identify what you are asking from the legislator, for instance, “I urge you to support (your issue ex. reduced carbon emissions) by voting in favor (or against) Senate Bill xxx this session.

A sample letter I wrote is found here.

I encourage you all to take the time to write your elected officials regarding issues pertaining to natural resources and environmental quality. Our individual actions can only go so far without policies in place to support our actions.