Citizens' Climate Lobby

Getting your group to generate letters to the editor (LTE) in your local or regional newspaper is an essential way to build on our momentum and keep generating political will back in district. It's also an effective way to reach a broad audience with our message. Join CCL’s Communication Director Steve Valk to get updated on recent media developments and initiatives within CCL as well as the chance to discuss tips and best practices to not only writing effective letters to the editor but also getting them published. Steve will discuss the news hierarchy, the letter to the editor formula, message protocol and etiquette. The webinar will feature some hands-on practice and conclude with what to do when your letter is published and applying the skills learned to actual news stories. 

Our guest speaker for our July 8, 2017, monthly meeting was Andrew (Drew) Jones the Co-Founder of Climate Interactive, a top-rated climate change think tank that creates the simulations used in the United Nations negotiations. Jones and his team at CI and MIT Sloan developed “C-ROADS”, the user-friendly climate simulation in use by thousands of climate analysts around the world. He teaches Systems Thinking and Sustainability at MIT and UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. Surprise Guest! CCL Founder Marshall Saunders delivered the talk he was scheduled to give at our International Conference last month.

Audio Only: Andrew (Drew) Jones is Co-Founder of Climate Interactive, a top-rated climate change think tank that creates the simulations used in the United Nations negotiations. An expert on international climate and energy issues, his quotes and interactive data stories appear frequently in the New York Times, The Washington Post, and other media. Jones and his team at CI and MIT Sloan developed “C-ROADS”, the user-friendly climate simulation in use by thousands of climate analysts around the world. He teaches Systems Thinking and Sustainability at MIT and UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. Additionally, CCL Founder Marshall Saunders delivered the talk he was scheduled to give at our 8th Annual International Conference.

Jonathan Haidt, a professor in the Business and Society Program at NYU-Stern, is a social psychologist and author of The Righteous Mind and The Happiness Hypothesis. Dr. Haidt discusses how we came to be so politically polarized as a nation and what needs to happen to restore a more cooperative system of governing. “To live virtuously as individuals and as societies, we must understand how our minds are built. We must find ways to overcome our natural self-righteousness. We must respect and even learn from those whose morality differs from our own.”

Though scientific evidence for the existence of global warming continues to mount, in the United States and other countries belief in global warming has stagnated or even decreased in recent years. One possible explanation for this pattern is that information about the potentially dire consequences of global warming threatens deeply held beliefs that the world is just, orderly, and stable. Individuals overcome this threat by denying or discounting the existence of global warming, and this process ultimately results in decreased willingness to counteract climate change. Two experiments provide support for this explanation of the dynamics of belief in global warming, suggesting that less dire messaging could be more effective for promoting public understanding of climate-change research. Dr. Robb Willer summarizes the study's findings.

Audio Only: CCL's Global Strategies Director Joseph Robertson gives an inspiring World Tour of CCL's growth and expansion across all five continents beyond North America.

CCL's Global Strategies Director Joseph Robertson gives an inspiring World Tour of CCL's growth and expansion across all five continents beyond North America.

Join Ricky Bradley, CCL Web Development Director for a preview of Community 2.0. For the past several month's CCL has been rebuilding our intranet into Community 2.0, which boasts a clean design and more intuitive and consistent site-wide navigation system with improved menu functionality that directs you to the information most relevant to you. It is also fully responsive with mobile devices, making it easy to navigate on a wide range of web browsers and portable devices.

Audio Only: Dr. Richter's discussion as part of the CCL 2017 Sunday afternoon plenary session "The Way Forward: CCL National Planning Plenary."

Dr. Richter's discussion as part of the CCL 2017 Sunday afternoon plenary session "The Way Forward: CCL National Planning Plenary."

Audio Only: Dr. Richter's presentation during the CCL 2017 Sunday evening plenary session "The Way Forward: CCL National Planning Plenary."

Dr. Richter's presentation during the CCL 2017 Sunday evening plenary session "The Way Forward: CCL National Planning Plenary."

Audio Only: How do we unlock and support the growing desire among conservatives to manage climate change risk? Whether engaging a cautious supporter or encountering an ardent skeptic, we need to be prepared to find common ground with folks across the political spectrum. Join CCL’s Conservative Caucus in welcoming an esteemed panel of friends from allied organizations representing a range of right-leaning perspectives. We’ll highlight the importance of empowering conservative voices, offer strategies to get them engaged, and lay a foundation for effective messaging. Finally, we’ll introduce the range of conservative outreach resources available through CCL. Zaurie Zimmerman,Moderator, CCL; Alex Smith, College Republican National Committee; The Honorable Claudine Schneider, Former U.S. Congresswoman for RI; Peter Bryn, Citizens' Climate Lobby; Sean Themea, Young Americans for Liberty; RJ Lyman, ML Strategies

Jay Butera has spent nearly a decade working to move Congress toward climate action. Today, as CCL’s Senior Congressional Liaison, Jay works year-round to maintain CCL’s ongoing presence in the halls of Congress. Jay has devoted much of his work in recent years to trying to bridge the partisan divide on climate change. His three-year quest to help Republicans and Democrats find common ground has led to the recent formation of the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus in the House of Representatives, a milestone which Newsweek called “an historic first…” A graduate of Brown University, Jay has started, built and sold several businesses. His articles on business and other topics have appeared in newspapers, magazines, and college-level textbooks.

Jay Butera has spent nearly a decade working to move Congress toward climate action. Today, as CCL’s Senior Congressional Liaison, Jay works year-round to maintain CCL’s ongoing presence in the halls of Congress. Jay has devoted much of his work in recent years to trying to bridge the partisan divide on climate change. His three-year quest to help Republicans and Democrats find common ground has led to the recent formation of the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus in the House of Representatives, a milestone which Newsweek called “an historic first…” A graduate of Brown University, Jay has started, built and sold several businesses. His articles on business and other topics have appeared in newspapers, magazines, and college-level textbooks.