Contact your representative

Right now, the idea that we should choose to leave most of the world’s remaining fossil fuels unburned doesn’t get a lot of public attention. Many people don’t even seem to consider it as an option, when they think about how to deal with climate change.

As such, readers of this site can make a meaningful contribution to the public discussion just by contacting one of their elected representatives and sharing the idea. This could be done on the phone, by email, with a letter, or in person.

Briefing materials

I realize that not everybody would feel comfortable doing so, at least partly because they may not feel they have enough information. What sort of briefing materials would help people feel comfortable approaching their Member of Parliament, representative in their provincial or territorial legislature, or representative in local government? One place to start is the Why Bury Coal? page. Another resource is the accumulating archive of correspondence.

One aspect of raising the issue with anybody is that they are likely to come back at you with counterarguments. Examples are things like “but Canada is a cold country” or “renewable sources of energy are unreliable”. Responses to some of these questions are already on this site, particularly in the objections category. I would be happy to write some brief responses with links to more information here, or respond to emails in private.

If they question the science of climate change, the How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic series is quite good.

Follow-up

If an objection is raised that you feel you cannot overcome, you can always say that you will look into it and then contact your representative again. Quite possibly, they will be impressed by your willingness to engage with them and put in the time to find good answers.

If you do make the effort to contact someone, please consider letting people know by leaving a comment here.

One thought on “Contact your representative

  1. Byron Smith

    Yes, a good idea. I will do so.

    People concerned about getting answers to various objections could also try the excellent Skeptical Science website, which provides plenty of well-referenced and readable answers at a variety of levels to all the major denialist/sceptical points.

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