Brownville woman lobbies in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Laurie Sproul of Brownville recently returned from a lobbying trip to the nation’s capital. She was part of a nationwide effort where 600 volunteers met with 500 congressional offices. Not only did she meet with all four offices of the Maine delegation, but she also approached congressmen from California. Twenty Maine residents made this trip in early November, and that group included 10 students from southern Maine.
The mission of the Citizen’s Climate Lobby (CCL) is to address global warming by putting a price on pollution. The group has a commitment to bipartisanship, since our climate situation will require all of us to find a solution. The CCL has far-and-near endorsements from such respected groups as the IPCC, the International Panel on Climate Change, and MOFGA, the Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association. Even energy producers such as Exxon-Mobil have favored their economic solutions to global warming, over other proposed government regulations. In particular, the fee and dividend model first used in British Columbia, and now adopted across Canada, has appealed to energy producers and environmentalists alike.
Sproul
There are six other chapters of the CCL in Maine. Sproul herself has founded the Portland and Brunswick groups. Belfast, Paris, Winslow, and Bangor all have active chapters as well. Members focus on letter writing and lobbying their delegation in Congress to address climate change with common-sense, economic solutions.
If you are interested in learning more about a CCL chapter here in Dover-Foxcroft, an informational meeting is scheduled at Mayo Regional Hospital from 3-4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 2. The agenda includes a short film called “Facing the Surge” produced by Adaptation Now. Through the flooding of the Norfolk Army Base, it documents the effects of fossil fuel on atmosphere, demonstrating the need for a market based pricing solution supported by R’s and D’s. Sproul will be on hand with other panelists to address our responses to climate change. According to the IPCC, we have 20 years to act if we hope to limit climate change to a 1.5 degree increase. For the thousands of families burned out of their homes in Paradise, California, it may be too late to ease the impact of global warming. Yet if we act now, maybe we can spare others from the terrible reality of a wild fire, or an intensifying hurricane. We welcome all to attend.