Action Sheet, June 2017
Monthly Meeting, Saturday, June 10, 2017
at 10:00 a.m. Pacific / 1:00 p.m. Eastern
Two Join Options
1. To connect by video conference, go to zoom.us, select “Join A Meeting” and enter
2017201717 for the meeting ID, OR use this URL: http://cclusa.org/meeting
Note: To improve video quality, close open applications and unused browser windows. If your
Internet connection is poor, you can always connect by phone.
2. To connect by phone: If you have unlimited calling, please call 1-646-5588656; otherwise you can call toll-free at 1-877-369-0926. For either option,
enter 2017201717 as the meeting ID.
If you have problems connecting, please contact Zoom’s 24/7 support at 888.799.9666.
CONFERENCE CALL GUEST:
Congressman Ted Deutch
Just days before 1,000 CCL volunteers hit Capitol Hill, Congressman
Ted Deutch joins us to provide an overview of House Climate
Solutions Caucus activities and bipartisan progress on the climate
issue. In addition to serving as Democratic co-chair of the caucus,
Congressman Deutch sits on the House Judiciary, Ethics, and Foreign
Affairs Committees. He is now representing Florida’s 22nd district
— home to communities throughout western Palm Beach County and Broward County in South
Florida — for a fifth term.
Actions
1. Share the NY Times article about CCL with friends, family, allies and endorsers.
2. Write to MoCs about why you want them to support Carbon Fee and Dividend.
3. Practice the 5-minute communication skills exercise in the action sheet.
ACTION
ACTION
Share the NY Times Article
A recent NY Times article, “Cracking Washington’s Gridlock to Save the Planet,”
provides a wonderful introduction to CCL’s work, and includes the story of how
volunteers helped to facilitate the creation of the House Climate Solutions Caucus. The
article opens with this striking endorsement:
[W]hen Congress finally passes major legislation to curb carbon
emissions...to reduce the environmental and economic harm caused by
climate change…Americans will owe a big thank you to the perseverance
and discipline of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby.
Please share the article with your friends, family, allies and endorsers. This is a great
opportunity to introduce people to CCL, and to practice drawing them out with openended questions and reflective statements. Be ready to invite them to
the Wednesday intro call if they want to find out more!
ACTION
Write Your Member of Congress
With international climate action in jeopardy, encouraging our own government to
move forward is more important than ever.
Write your member of Congress and tell him/her why you are a CCL volunteer and
why you want him/her to support carbon fee and dividend. It would be timely to
mention your disappointment about pulling out of the Paris climate agreement. If
appropriate, you can include a thank you for meeting with us during our Lobby Day.
Remember, you can write even if you just contacted your congressperson during our
call-in day — a letter allows you to include more personal details than you might have
during a call.
Using the online action tool on CCL’s website makes writing a letter — and tracking
our total volunteer effort — easy. Please write your representatives today.
ACTION
5-minute communication skills practice
Each partner will take a role as staffer or CCLer and read the script out loud, then change
roles and do it again. You should be able to do this in just 5 minutes.
A carbon tax will increase energy costs and hurt hard-working families
WHAT NOT TO SAY:
BETTER RESPONSE:
Staffer or other contact: I'm not interested
in a carbon tax because it will increase
energy costs and hurt the hardworking
families in my district
Staffer or other contact: I'm not interested in a carbon
tax because it will increase energy costs and hurt the
hardworking families in my district
CCLer: It's true that energy costs will increase with a
Argumentative: People will switch to
carbon tax but, with the dividend, most lower-income
renewables so costs won't really go up much. and middle class families will come out ahead.
ENGAGEMENT ROLE PLAY 1 – Conservative Office
Staff/ Contact
I'm not interested in a carbon tax because it
will increase energy costs and hurt the
hardworking families in my district
Yes, fracking has finally made energy
affordable for people so they can get ahead.
The last thing I want is to make life harder
for them.
CCL Volunteer
It sounds like you're worried about people living on a
tight budget being able to make ends meet.
Sure. If we take our time and encourage
innovation, America can do anything. I just
don't think a carbon tax will help.
Reducing taxes and regulations is what
spurs innovation. Look what fracking has
done to reduce emissions.
What do you think would help?
I'm still dubious but would be happy to have
you send me something short.
We can all agree that we want to make sure all families
in America can be safe, healthy and prosperous. I think
we can both lower emissions and be prosperous. Do you
think that's possible in America?
I agree that the market is a key element in spurring
innovation. Part of what I really like about Carbon Fee
and Dividend is that it is not based on regulations.
Instead it creates a clear incentive for the market to
develop affordable clean energy sources. Plus, with the
dividend, most lower-income and middle class families
will come out ahead. Can I send you more information
on how lower income households in our district
would end up ahead under our policy?
TAKE HOME LESSONS:
 Reflect back their concern.
 Ignore tangential triggering topics.
 Find common ground.
 Ask questions.
 Appeal to things you think they value (America, innovation, free-market).
ENGAGEMENT ROLE PLAY 2 – Liberal Office
Staff/ Contact
I'm not interested in a carbon tax because it will
increase energy costs and hurt the hardworking
families in my district
CCL Volunteer
It sounds like you're worried about people who
are living on a tight budget being able to make
ends meet.
Yes. There are a lot of people in our district who
are just getting by and while we do want to reduce
emissions, we're not interested in a regressive tax
that would hurt the poor the most. We think it's
critical that a carbon tax go to programs that
support our communities and help families lower
their emissions.
We think the best way to reduce emissions is
through programs like mass transit with efficient
and affordable housing nearby, funding for energy
retrofits, vehicle efficiency, etc. A carbon tax is a
great way to fund those programs.
Not with Republicans in control. You'll never pass
any carbon tax.
We certainly don't want a regressive tax either and
totally agree that protecting vulnerable families
and communities is critical. Can you say more
about why you think the tax needs to go to
government programs?
I can't speak for the Representative, but I'm happy
to share whatever you have with her.
Those programs do sound like potentially great
ways to reduce emissions. Do you think that's
something we could get through the current
Congress?
I can understand your doubts, but we actually
think that Republicans can support a carbon tax if
it is 100% revenue neutral, and we are starting to
see some movement in that direction. Even though
it might not be your ideal solution, do you think
the Representative could support such a bill if we
could show you that it protected lower income
families and reduced emissions?
Great. Is it OK if I send you a few pages of graphs
that show how low income households would do
under our policy?
Of course. Please do.
TAKE HOME LESSON:
 Validate their values and feelings.
 Find common ground.
 Ask questions.
 Move away from ideal case to potential support for compromise.