Have 2 minutes? 10 minutes? Two hours? We’ve got you covered with ways to center climate change and social justice in Vermont’s 2020 election season!
Allies from the Sunrise Movement calling for a Green New Deal from Senator Patrick Leahy in Burlington (Photo: Zac Rudge)
In order to make sure Climate Justice is a central issue in the 2020 election, 350VT is providing a platform and support for Vermonters looking to make their voices heard!
Have 5 minutes to spare or all the time in the world? We’ve got you covered!
We’ve got a template letter you are welcome to use, as well as a list of contact info for many of the big, upcoming races. We encourage you to ask questions, and if you need ideas check out this list.
We’ll have more on this soon– we’re in the post-primary dry spell for a bit! The plan is to attend as many virtual candidate events and forums as we can, asking the questions on climate that so many politicians try to brag their way around. LIST COMING SOON! Stay tuned.
Never been published? No worries! We’ve got a comprehensive guide below, and staff ready to help.
We need to make it loud and clear that and candidate that claims to be an ally to the Climate Justice movement can’t just coast on old or outdated legislation. We’re still pushing for a ban on new, large-scale fossil fuel infrastructure, a ban on eminent domain to build pipelines, reparations, defunding the police, and taxing the top 5% of Vermonters to fund climate solutions like public transit.
Legislation like the Global Warming Solutions Act is the floor, not the ceiling! We want to know what comes next!
It’s easy for political candidates to brag about accolades– and skirt around answering tough questions! Many have done a lot in the arena of climate, and others are allies only in name. (EX: Phil Scott’s climate solution of getting more electric Mustangs!)
We’ve carefully compiled a list of targeted questions to get at the heart of each candidate’s climate policy, which you can find HERE. We’ve packed this list with meaningful legislation to push for, such as banning new, large-scale fossil fuel infrastructure, pushing for reparations and defunding the police, and making sure the Global Warming Solution Act is the floor, not the ceiling!
COMING SOON: DATES AND TIMES FOR FORUMS AND DEBATES
—There’s currently a bit of post-primary dry spell; stay tuned for more info about where and how to join the conversation!
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This should only take a few minutes– but a wave of emails can really shift power and perspective! Find contact info for the candidates running for Governor and Lieutenant Governor HERE.
You can also find a TEMPLATE LETTER to use any or all of. We encourage you to ask you own questions, as well as the ones found HERE.
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR GETTING PUBLISHED (OP-EDS AND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)
What is a Letter to the Editor?
Letters to the Editor (LTE) are typically shorter pieces (a few hundred words) and are in direct response to an article the news agency posted. Example: SevenDays LTE Section for 8/5/2020
What is an Op-Ed?
Opinion Pieces (Op-Eds/Commentary/My Turn) are longer but will still have a word limit (typically 600-1000 words, with online publications being longer), and can be about anything regardless of the content of the news. Example: “What the Sparrows Told Me” by Trish O’Kane
Tips for Getting Published!
Examples from 350 Staff and Allies
https://www.vpr.org/people/abigail-mnookin
https://vtdigger.org/tag/julie-macuga/
https://www.huffpost.com/author/rachel-smolker
https://vtdigger.org/tag/rosanne-greco/
350.org’s LTE and OP-ED Guide:
Keep it local – recognize the audience of each newspaper, and try to build arguments around that (definitely VT specific, hopefully city/town specific)
LTE and Op-Ed word limit: 400 LINK
LTE and Op-Ed word limit: 400 LINK
LTE and Op-Ed word limit: 300 LINK
LTE only; word limit: 250 LINK
Op-Ed only; minimum word limit: 400 ideal length: 600-800 Please send your commentary to Cate Chant, cchant@vtdigger.org, and Anne Galloway, agalloway@vtdigger.org.
Accepts Op-Eds; Site down for maintenance. LINK
LTEs only; 300 words max; and must be submitted by Monday at noon the week of publication. LINK
LTEs: 300 words max LINK
(They also take op-eds but don’t specify length.)
LTE’s accepted; No word limit given, but safe to assume 200-300 max. LINK
No longer runs commentaries 🙁