In a few days, I will be walking the halls of Congress, knocking on the doors of my elected officials and sitting down to discuss legislation to stop climate pollution along with more than 1,000 other volunteers from across the country. This isn’t my day job. Usually, I can be found recruiting & interviewing staff for my employer, Gould Farm, or volunteering for my local conservation commission or teaching my grandson about my love of birds.
I live in Monterey, where I’ve seen surprisingly heavy flooding in the winter destroying roads and culverts, and a very limited season of skiing and ice fishing. When spring and summer arrive, I am often nervous about gardening and hiking unless I am dressed in heavy socks and boots along with spraying myself for disease-causing ticks. I know the problem needs to be solved to ensure the Berkshires we love is safe from the harms of our changing climate.
A recent CBS News/YouGov poll showed that 70 percent of participants favored the U.S. taking steps to try to reduce climate change, yet many of our elected officials are not moving fast enough to implement solutions to reduce the pollution damaging our environment.
This is why I decided to learn how to be a citizen lobbyist for the climate. I volunteer my time to meet with lawmakers about policies that benefit everyday people and our environment, working to ensure a healthy, stable future we can all enjoy. U.
S. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.
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