By Mark Boudreau, Co-chair of the Chancellor's Commission on Sustainability at Penn State Brandywine, and writes a monthly blog on climate activism, climbingout.medium.com.
Power Building. An evocative expression, isn’t it? To me the words suggest strength, energy, and growth in multiple contexts. I learned it when I joined a Pennsylvania Sierra Club team with that moniker last year, but little did I realize how much the term resonated with me as a personal process.
As a college professor, I’ve been talking about climate change to students ever since the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. Through all those years, I articulated the problem and solutions to those 18-year-olds, yet the needle barely seemed to move. By 2021, my students had become palpably fearful and often overwhelmed by the climate crisis, and I was succumbing to the same numbing despair.
I realized that for my own mental health, I had to move beyond the classroom and become politically involved. I started a blog to document my efforts. Happily, one of my first acts was a lobby training session with the Sierra Club, which led to a flood of guided opportunities: I found myself phone banking, writing letters, and on biweekly calls with other Pennsylvania activists. I was encouraged and energized. You might say my power was building.
Those activists were in fact the Pennsylvania Grassroots Power Building Team, led by the able and affable Sierra Club staffer Randy Francisco. The team embraced the momentum of the new administration and had lobbied the entire Democratic Congressional Caucus of Pennsylvania in support of the Build Back Better bill by the time I joined.. I know, success has been limited on that front, but our voice was unmistakably heard. And not just by politicians, because the team became a letter-to-the-editor writing machine, cranking out opinions to our respective local newspapers throughout the state, with surprising success—including a letter advocating for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) in the Philadelphia Inquirer by fellow Power Builder Beatrice Zovich.
Indeed, this is what Power Building means: creating a strong base that methodically, persistently sends a clear message to lawmakers, businesses, and the public. Our leaders must be reminded constantly that Pennsylvanians want a healthy environment and a meaningful response to climate change, as well as institutions that will make that happen for all citizens, regardless of what they earn, where they live, or how they look. Sure, this or that piece of legislation may not pass, but we must play a long game and trust that our agenda will prevail through dedicated citizens and relentless activism.
Power is in numbers, and big numbers mean not only a louder voice, but more networking, creative ideas, like-minded friends, and, let’s be honest, less work for each of us and more fun for all of us. If you’d like to be a part of our noisy numbers, you can learn more at a virtual gathering on August 3, 2022. Go to this link* to register and you will hear about coming opportunities during this critical time leading up to November. You may, like me, start a process that revives your energy, sense of empowerment, and hope. Then you will not just build power in Pennsylvania, but truly, tangibly, in yourself.
*If you're reading this after August 3rd, you can contact Jen Quinn, Legislative and Political Director, Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter, at Jen.Quinn@sierraclub.org, who can provide you with a link to the recording of the meeting as well as the survey that was taken in the meeting.
This blog was included as part of the August 2022 Sylvanian newsletter. Please click here to check out more articles from this edition!