Take Legislative Action

“We have the tools we need to reduce emissions and protect health. We need the political will to use them.”

DISCLAIMER: We’re working on revamping our current “Take Action” pages. In the meantime, we wanted to make sure people who are looking for resources now can access them. Please check back or reach out to the MS4SF Advocacy Team if you can’t find what you’re looking for.

Contact Your Elected Officials

Contact your elected officials and ask them to support urgent action to fight climate change and protect public health. Here are the steps:

1. Identify your local, county, state, and federal elected officials.
2. Evaluate your current elected officials in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate on the National Environmental Scorecard, which scores officials on their voting record on environmental, public health, and energy issues. 
3. Reach out to your elected officials to share your views.

Consider one or more of these options for reaching out:

• Call their office and speak with a staff member.
• Contact their office to schedule a Zoom meeting!
• Send them an email.
• Post on social media and tag your elected officials.
• Organize a phone bank from home with your classmates and friends.

Unsure how to start? Watch this 30-minute training by Physicians for Social Responsibility’s Climate Ambassadors program on the fundamentals of lobbying your elected officials on climate policy and feel free to utilize the resources and templates below.

• Meeting Request Template
• Legislative Meeting How-To Guide
• Potential Agenda for Legislative Meeting
• Template for Info to Leave with Legislators after Meeting
• Thank You Note Template

Prepare to Vote

1. Check Voter Registration Deadlines and make you sure are registered to vote.
2. Research your candidates’ commitment to sustainability and planetary health.
3. Make sure you know how, when, and where to vote including ID requirements.
4. Show up on election day (or send in your ballots) and make your voice heard!

Consult these leading organizations tackling climate change for more information

The League of Conservation Voters has created this Election Scorecard, rating every member of the US House and Senate on their environmental voting record.

Check out Sunrise Movement’s tools for engaging in elections

Participate in Public Hearings

Check back for more info on participating in public hearings!

Stay Up-to-Date on Climate Legislative Policy

Here are some topics and priorities we recommend exploring and championing: 

• Invest in stronger public health and health care infrastructure to better protect the public and frontline workers during health crises–whether the COVID-19 pandemic or extreme weather events made more frequent and severe by climate change.

• Champion policies to address root causes of the social inequities that COVID-19 is exacerbating, including environmental injustices such as disproportionate air pollution exposure in low-income communities of color. Such exposure has been found to dramatically increase COVID-19 mortality risk in this recent U.S. study. 

• Endorse and fight for health-promoting climate policies supported by over 120 leading U.S. medical organizations in the US Call to Action on Climate, Health and Equity.

• Invest in clean, renewable energy, transit systems, and other strategies to decrease air pollution and prevent extreme climate change, with a goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2030 to do our part toward protecting health and humanity.

• Support an immediate and rapid drawdown of fossil fuel extraction in order to limit global warming and protect our children and grandchildren from severe health impacts of climate change. 

• Aligned with the spirit of a Green New Deal, support a “just transition” to a green economy for all workers, including ensuring good paying jobs and universal health coverage independent of employment status.

• Support all workers, but Do Not Bail Out Fossil Fuel corporations. Their continued production of fossil fuels drives climate change and air pollution, harming health.