October 10 will be a day to highlight the amazing work happening all over the world in response to the climate crisis, but more importantly, it will be a day to tell our leaders that we can't afford any more bickering or delays—we need them to get to work today on hammering out fair, ambitious and binding climate legislation.
It's been very exciting to learn about the hundreds of communities across the U.S. that are planning on calling and writing to their Senators and Representatives on 10/10/10 (in addition to the skill-shares, weatherization parties, local food potlucks, rallies and other activities that they're organizing). Flooding the phone lines and mailboxes in Congress are important tactics for making sure that the Global Work Party has a significant political impact in the U.S., so it's great to hear that so many of our organizers are adding that political element to their Work Parties.
Over the past two months, a major focus of the U.S. Organizing Team has been to invite every major sitting politician and candidate to attend a Work Party in their state on 10/10/10 (over 300 politicians total), and our efforts are finally paying off! We're starting to receive confirmations from State and U.S. Senators across the country who are planning to attend a Work Party or send a representative, and many of the politicians who aren't able to attend are sending us statements of endorsement instead. I'd like to share two of the statements that I've received in the past few days, and please keep in mind that 350.org is non-partisan and we do not endorse any candidate or politician:
“I applaud 350.org’s 10/10/10 Global Work Party and its focus on building a clean energy future to lift us out of recession, address the threat of climate change, and end our dependence on foreign oil. I believe that we need to invest now in the clean energy jobs of tomorrow – good-paying positions that can’t be outsourced and that modernize our energy policy in addition to creating jobs. I believe that the road to America's energy independence runs right through the prairies of Illinois, not the Gulf of Mexico. In Illinois alone, we have more than 2,500 companies that have created more than 28,000 clean energy jobs, like building wind turbines, weatherizing homes, building a more efficient electricity grid that reaches every corner of Illinois, and producing energy from waste. As a Senator, I’ll fight to build on this foundation with the right kind of government incentives so that we can grow clean energy businesses and put America back to work.” -Alexi Giannoulias, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Illinois
"I applaud the work of the 'Global Work Party' on 10/10/10 to combat the threat of climate change and move our world to a clean energy future. We must all do our part to fight global warming, and taking practical steps together to reduce carbon emissions is a must for our environmental and economic future. As the only candidate in this U.S. Senate race who supports comprehensive clean energy reform, including a cap-and-trade system, I commend your work today, and look forward to bringing these views to the U.S. Senate on behalf of the Sunshine State.” -Kendrick Meek, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Florida
No matter where you are in the world, please think about contacting your political or community leaders during the Global Work Party on 10/10/10. They need to hear what you're doing to solve the climate crisis, and they need to know that you plan to hold them accountable if they don't start doing their part.
Contact me at sara[at]350.org if you are organizing a Work Party in the U.S. and would like suggestions on how to make the event more political on 10/10/10. Let's get to work!