Climate protection pitch?
Cool L asked:
You are in an elevator with a congressman who has a low record of voting for environmental protection, has no academic background in science, but is not from a state that has lots of fossil fuel and has occasionally been known to vote independently.
You are in an elevator with a congressman who has a low record of voting for environmental protection, has no academic background in science, but is not from a state that has lots of fossil fuel and has occasionally been known to vote independently.
You have 2 minutes to convince him/her to take another look at legislation that reduces subsidies for fossil fuel and supports clean energy. What will you say?
Jeremiah
Juan
Give him a brief case full of cash is about the only answer to this
Taylor
Fred and Barney did it, we can, too!
Alyssa
All you need to do is look at the science for support of anthropogenic climate change. I’m not going to bore you with statistics but believe me when I say we do indeed have an effect. The world, as a whole, is moving towards a greener lifestyle. In order to take advantage of that and reap the rewards it is going to bring you can’t rely on old technology. You have to accept and adapt new technology so you won’t be seen as a fossil. Spending money on climate change is not a waste of time as some would have you believe. It is a means to not waste our future.
Diego
The suitcase full of cash would be very helpful, but to give it feeling…
Have you ever noticed how the news reports keep mentioning record breaking weather events? The hottest this, the coldest that, freakish floods and tropical downpours that last for days… mad isn’t it? And meanwhile we’re trying to clean up the gulf after a huge oil spill, when there are lots of ways we can reduce our dependency on it. People sure are crazy. They prefer to destroy something for little or no purpose than to keep it. That is why it looks like we’re coming to the end of the human story. There’s no chance for a species which consumes the very earth, like they do in Alberta, in its greed for profit. The signs are, mother nature will take revenge on us. Another ice shelf on Antarctica cracked last week, the Wilkins shelf. It only started to melt in the nineties. Who cares about that? Nothing much in the media, only one report on the BBC even covered the story. But this is the thin end of the wedge. We are losing so much. Our forests especially. Species are becoming extinct every day. Did you know that even though Indonesia once had one of the largest timber resources in the world, in the last twenty years, it has cut down a third of its forests, with no sign of stopping. We’re riding a runaway train while the corporations and their cronies just want it to go faster. So here’s your chance to make history. They’ll give you hell, but it’ll be worth it. Your life will have meaning! Anybody can arrange for a few pedestrian crossings and some new lights for the bingo hall. You have a chance to get in early in this deal,
Save humanity!
It’s the big one!
You lucky chump, now get in there and get your name in the history books!
Isabella
Forget talking to the congress-dude. It’s a waste of time at this point.
You have two minutes to get the name (and number if the nitwit knows it) of the senior staff member who actually knows what is going on. Then you call that person and say that Congressman Dork told you to call and set up an appointment.
Politicians are like ventriloquists’ dummies – only more shallow – and only a few people can make them talk. Those are the people you need to convince.
Brooklyn
You are in an elevator with a congressman who has a low record of voting for environmental protection, has no academic background in science, but is not from a state that has lots of fossil fuel and has occasionally been known to vote independently.You have 2 minutes to convince him/her to take another look at legislation that reduces subsidies for fossil fuel and supports clean energy. What will you say?
Tell him that you were visited by the Virgin Mary last night, and she cried tears that Cap Trade was not passed.
Audrey
I would hand him/her Bill McKibben’s latest book, Eaarth, which argues that we have so fundamentally changed our planet that we can’t even call it by the same name anymore (http://www.billmckibben.com/eaarth/eaarthbook.html). It is hard not to see the pressing need for action after reading this well-researched book. Many books have been written on climate change, but this comes from a true expert.
Emma
You would have to tell him that all the information he needs to make an educated vote on the issues of climate and the general environment can be had from NOAA. Offer to send transcripts to his staff manager.
James
WITH THIS COMING DEPRESSION WHO THE HELL CARES ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING? IF YOU THINK THEY ARE TAKING GAS ENGINES AND OIL OUT OF THE EQUATION THINK AGAIN. IF YOU THINK WE’RE GOING TO ADOPT SOLAR ENERGY ON A LARGE SCALE THINK AGAIN,IF YOU THINK AL GORE KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT HIS PROPAGANDA THINK AGAIN…(HE WROTE A BOOK TO SAVE FACE AFTER LOSING AN ELECTION)..THINK MAYBE YOU SHOULD BE MORE CONCERNED WITH ENVIRONMENTAL BIBLE THUMPERS THAT CREATE PRESSURE CAUSING OIL COMPANIES TO DRILL AT 5,000 FT UNDERWATER. ……AND TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION LESS THAN 1 TENTH OF A DEGREE AVG CHANGE CAN KILL CORAL REEFS AND RADICALLY CHANGE THE CLIMATE. BUT …ENVIRONMENTALISTS ARE ALL TALK , ONLY WANT TO REGULATE AND HAVE NO CONCEPT OF RUNNING ANY TYPE OF BUSINESS……….SO…GO JOIN GREEN PEACE..PROTEST A BIT AND WAKE UP IN A FEW YEARS WONDERING IF YOU MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE BY PROTESTING…………BUT BY THEN THERE WILL BE NO ECONOMY ..BRIGHTER NOTE ..AFTER THE DEPRESSION, APOCALYPSE WE CAN START FRESH ..OH FORGOT ALL THE BOOKS WILL BE UP IN SMOKE..SO WE ARE BACK TO OUR PRIMITIVE STATE DESTROYING THE ENVIRONMENT TO SURVIVE…….VICIOUS CYCLE HUH? THIS COUNTRY IS THE CLEANEST IT’S BEEN SINCE BEFORE THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION..ALL BECAUSE WE HAVE PURSUED SOCIAL DARWINISM SENDING ALL OF OUR MANUFACTURING AND PRODUCTION TO SWEAT SHOPS OVER SEA WHERE KIDS AND THEIR PARENTS WORK EXTREME HRS WHERE THERE IS NO OSHA, NO EPA, NO LABOR LAWS, NO FDA, NO UNIONS..NOTHING BUT THE WASTE OF HUNDREDS OF PLANTS DUMPING INTO RIVERS AND INTO THE AIR. NOT TO MENTION THOSE POOR INDENTURED SERVANTS..THAT THE US PREYS OFF OF………..SO WANT A REAL QUIZ? HOW LONG WILL IT BE BEFORE WE ENTER A DEEP DEPRESSION THAT WILL BECOME A WAKE-UP CALL TO ALL THE SPOILED PEOPLE IN THE US? ANS ARE: A)6MTHS B)1YR C)105YRS
Jordan
increase level of o2
and it wll form o3 ozone in the air
Alex
Gary F has pretty much provided the exact same answer that I would have. I wouldn’t want to waste my time trying to convince the Congressman one way or another, he’s the monkey not the organ grinder.
If I were to use the two minutes constructively I would utilise the time to arrange a luncheon with the Congressman, at a venue of his choosing, where the issues could be discussed in more detail.
Chase
I would say thank you for being smart enough not to fall for the global warming scam.
Avery
Why not be honest and say that you think socialism is the way to go, so everyone can be equally poor?
Alex
I would say, Thank you. May I send you a campaign contribution?
Most scientifically illiterate congressmen actually believe the crap that comes out of NASA-GISS and the IPCC.