Day 29: Join a climate action group

Today’s action: Finding your climate community

Today’s action is to find and join a climate action group. Your goal is to find a group that resonates with you. Bonus points if you can find a local chapter or local group that you can engage with more actively.

There are tons of options out there! Here’s a curated list that’s got something for almost everyone:

• 350.org: focuses on grassroots efforts to end the age of fossil fuels and transition to community-led renewable energy for all.

• Action for the Climate Emergency (ACE): empowers young people to take action and supports climate education.

• Citizens’ Climate Lobby: builds support in Congress for bipartisan solutions to climate change; has a particular focus on putting a price on carbon.

• Climate Changemakers: network of climate-concerned people who commit to taking 1 hour of action every week, with a focus on simple and productive political actions.

• Elders Climate Action: brings together grandparents and other elders to take climate action.

• Extinction Rebellion: global movement that uses non-violent direct action and civil disobedience.

• Fridays for Future: youth-led movement born out of Greta Thunberg’s school strikes.

• Mothers Out Front or Moms Clean Air Force: help mothers mobilize around climate change.

• NRDC Action Fund: builds political support for fighting climate change, supporting healthy people and communities, and protecting nature.

• Sunrise Movement : a youth-led movement to stop climate change.

• The Climate Reality Project: catalyzes solutions to the climate crisis, including by mobilizing people to become climate activists.

• Third Act: mobilizes Americans 60 or older on climate change and voting rights.

Did you find one that looks good? Great! Take a minute now to sign up! Not seeing any that speak to you? Check with local friends to see if they have a recommendation, or pull together your own group of folks in your community.

And now that you’ve signed up … plan to participate actively, at least some of the time ;)

Why this action? We’ve spent this month focusing on high-impact climate actions we can do together. We're proud of you! All these actions are important, drawing from the wisdom of climate scientists and other experts to help move us closer to a future where humanity can thrive. As UN Secretary General António Guterres recently said, “There are no safe levels of global warming … Every action matters.” High five to you for sticking with this action journey.

But what’s one of the absolute biggest actions we can take? As climate activist Bill McKibben has argued, “The biggest thing an individual can do is to become a little less of an individual.” Now more than ever, working collectively is super important for getting the big systemic changes we urgently need, so let's keep up the momentum.

Also, being part of a network helps you stay up-to-date on key climate-related priorities and critical action moments. We’ve come so far this month; why stop?!

Looking for more? Read on for some related tips, including on maximizing your impact when responding to action alerts.

Tips:

• When responding to action alerts, think about how you can participate most effectively. You don't have to do this, but these steps make your message more likely to stand out and be counted. For example:

  • If a group asks you to sign a petition or send a form email -- can you instead call your representatives (they’re already in your phone!) to make your request?

  • Or can you take 30 seconds to briefly tailor your email to make it seem more personal and less like a form letter? Modify the email to explain that you’re a constituent (you might want to include some detail about your city or neighborhood), and why the issue is important to YOU.

• If you’re worried about getting too many emails once you sign up for a group, we get it. We hate email overwhelm as much as you do! Pro tips:

  • Most of these networks let you manage your email subscriptions, so you can adjust how frequently you receive emails.

  • Alternatively, your email provider may allow you to filter specific emails so that they skip your inbox and go directly to a folder/label. This makes your inbox more manageable; just don’t forget to look at them occasionally!

• If you’ve already signed up with a national organization and also want something more local, look for a state-level or local organization that can keep you up to date on climate issues in your city or state. Or see if you can actively engage with the local chapter of a national organization. If one doesn’t exist in your area, consider starting it with some friends or neighbors!