Calling For Change

Last month, 1Sky issued an important call-to-action to our supporters in some key Congressional districts. We asked folks from Michigan and Indiana to Utah and Georgia to visit our online phone center to call their representatives and urge them to support a strong Markey-Waxman clean energy bill through the Energy and Commerce committee.

The bill passed and is headed down the road to more committees and the House floor.More than 1,200 of you made calls to your representatives over a three-week period. And almost a third of you recorded your notes for us using our online call center tools. Together, we logged more than 1,600 minutes of call times to key representatives. You made your voice heard and amplified an active call for change.

This comment came from Stacy in her notes to a call to Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-TX)

I was a little nervous and forgot to get the name of the person I spoke to, but he was very polite and said he would give Mr. Gonzalez the message. He says he supports clean energy (who wouldn't?) but it seems like he wants the transition to be so smooth that it will be extremely slow in happening. Even if there is some sacrifice on the part of people, it will be worth it in the long run to make bold changes. It seems to me like everyone agrees with clean energy. Thank you so much for creating this campaign and making it this easy to call our reps.”

So, why are calls so important? Congressional offices record every call that comes their way, whether it’s left on an answering machine or recorded by a staff member. A flood of calls tells them that their constituents—the people who send them to Washington – care about an issue. It’s not just idealistic rhetoric to say every call you make is a voice for a clean energy future.

This is also important as we enter the next steps for the Markey-Waxman bill, now called H.R. 2454. The bill needs to be stronger and pass through the House and Senate. President Obama needs to attend the climate summit on Copenhagen this December with a strong piece of legislation that shows the world that the U.S. is ready to lead. There’s a lot of work left to do… and we’ll be calling on you to call on your leaders. We want your voice in the movement.