This is the 2nd blog post for the Whidbey Climate ACTION website of Langley's Climate Crisis Action Committee. The website is designed to engage Whidbey Islanders in the fight against the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and environmental injustice with projects you can join that will also help build our community, a vital necessity in these times. This post will highlight a project of 350.org in WA, an effort in which anyone in WA can participate and one that will benefit our community.
Want to make your voice heard in Olympia? Having trouble tracking important legislation? Even know what the important legislation is? Have any idea how to get involved in the process? The WA state 350.org groups are working together to make it simple to demand sustainability and justice in our region's activities through their Civic Action Team (CAT) program.
CAT makes it easy to follow the progress of climate and justice bills that you are passionate about and send messages to your legislative representatives and other leaders involved in proposing, drafting, and passing laws that will affect everyone in the state. Once you sign up, the CAT folks will send you typically 2 emails a week
with a list of important goings on for the following couple of days. One email's worth of actions can take as little as 15 minutes to complete (using a browser's autofill feature).
Each action outlines the important facts about the legislation and provides a link to the citizen's input form. The sample input text can be copied or modified for a personal impact. Here is an example:
📜 2. Concerning energy in buildings (Navigator program) -HB 1391
The goal of this bill is to help coordinate the many different programs available to community members and to serve as an “information hub". This bill would establish and oversee a statewide building energy upgrade “navigator program” to assist building owners with accessing electrification services and energy efficiency services, funding, and any other assistance that will result in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, job creation, business opportunities, and workforce development in the building sector.
We are following the lead of Shift Zero on this bill. For more information, here is their 1-pager on the Navigator.
✏️ Please click here to contact both of your Representatives using the “Comment on this bill” form and press “Support” in the position button. The first sentence of your comment should be: “Please ensure that HB 1391 is placed on second reading, pulled to the floor for a vote, and vote yes in support.”
📑 Here are additional talking points, or feel free to write your own:
This bill would create a reliable resource that homeowners can turn to in order to access factual information about transitioning their homes to clean sources of energy, find related services and understand available incentives. It would help clear up confusion and be an important decision-making tool.
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Other great climate justice organizations doing similar work:
Why is Whidbey Climate ACTION calling your attention to this? 2 reasons: (1) the WA legislative is currently in session, and (2) this impacts all of our state
including, of course, Whidbey Island!
Sign up for CAT and raise your voice for change!