Climate Health Action Teams

Overview

PSR feels this is a very important opportunity to advocate for a truly health-protective energy system based on energy efficiency and sustainable energy such as wind and solar rather than more natural gas plants. To build support for those solutions, PSR is organizing Climate Health Action Teams (CHATs). Teams will consist of PSR members and other interested people who will meet together to call in to monthly national webinars to learn about clean energy solutions. They will then take action with their team members.

The monthly webinars will open with an update about the action from the meeting before. (How many op-eds were written? Which state teams met with the governor? What were the successes and challenges?). A second component of the call will provide training and resources on a particular issue relating to clean energy options and health. Armed with this information, teams will then be offered a particular targeted strategic action they can take in their communities.

The actions will educate and influence health professionals, the local community, and/or state policymakers. Actions will take a variety of forms, ranging from the simple – like sharing information via social media or writing letters to the editor – to making presentations, participating in town hall meetings, and meeting with policy makers.

Meeting together after the webinar, the team will discuss how to take action. If the goal is to get a meeting with the governors’ energy team, they will need to know with whom to get such an appointment. They will decide who is responsible for making the outreach. Who else to invite to a meeting? Who will report back to the national climate organizer and the state coalition?

In between webinars, PSR’s climate organizer will follow up with teams to offer assistance and materials to draw on for their actions. We will also provide the teams with contacts of the groups coordinating their state-level work on the Clean Power Plan.

So how do you plug in? It’s so much more fun to meet with friends and colleagues in person to learn new information and plan to take action together. We would like a team to be 3-8 people meeting together in person to connect to the webinar. The team can then plan their actions. Again the important goal is to take actions to promote energy efficiency and clean, sustainable energy to meet the Clean Power Plan for the state targets. They can strategize together on how to achieve the action for the month. (psr.org)

Take Action on Climate Change

In June 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced its draft Clean Power Plan to limit carbon pollution from existing coal-fired power plants. The Plan sets a limit for each state on carbon dioxide emissions from these plants. Taken together, by 2030 these limits will result in an overall 30% reduction from 2005 levels of greenhouse gas emissions!

The rule will be finalized in June 2015. According to the plan, each state will have to file a "State Implementation Plan" by June 2016. The Implementation Plans will outline the mechanisms each state will use to meet its carbon reduction targets.

This is a very important opportunity to advocate for a truly health-protective energy system based on energy efficiency and sustainable energy such as wind and solar rather than climate inducing-natural gas plants. To build support for clean solutions, PSR is organizing Climate Health Action Teams (CHATs). Teams will meet together and call in to monthly national webinars to learn about clean energy solutions. They will then take action with their team members to make the solutions a reality.

These actions will educate and influence health professionals, the local community, and/or state policymakers. Actions will take a variety of forms, ranging from sharing information via social media or writing letters to the editor to making presentations, participating in town hall meetings, and meeting with policy makers.

For more information and to get involved, please sign up below!

Sign up now!

CHATs Webinar Schedule