Phase down HFC super pollutants to stop global-warming (WHWN April 2020)

Action Alert: Tell your U.S Representative to Take Action Now Against Dangerous Climate “Super Pollutant” HFCs — While Creating New Jobs!

 

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Our faith calls us to promote bold action and hold our legislators accountable. We strongly believe that the climate crisis demands a dramatic and rapid reduction of emissions of the greenhouse gases that are causing the earth to warm dangerously. Among one of the most potent groups of climate-changing super pollutant chemicals are hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), used in air conditioning, refrigeration, and many other applications. The House must bring the American Innovation and Manufacturing Leadership (AIM) Act (H.R.5544) to the floor for a vote.  

Our ASK: Tell your Representative to co-sponsor H.R.5544 and talk to leadership to urge a full committee vote in the House Energy and Commerce Committee. 

Why now?: We have a rare opportunity to advance bipartisan bicameral legislation that is good for the environment, will create jobs and grow the economy.

While attention is now understandably focused on the COVID-19 pandemic and we know that job recovery must be addressed, we must not neglect the longer-term but equally serious crisis posed by global warming, which seriously impacts air quality and the health of people. H.R.5544 addresses economic job growth, reducing HFCs while improving air quality and reducing global warming. This bill  presents a welcome opportunity to show that Congress can act on a bipartisan basis, just as it did with the Corona Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, to address the serious dangers to health and the economy posed by the buildup of powerful heat-trapping chemicals like HFCs.

Contact Your U.S. Representative by 6pmET April 16, 2020:

Write letters for delivery through UUSJ, and/or call or send message to your Representative.  See details below

Action Needed NOW: 3 Things You Can Do

1 – Write letters – organize members of your congregation to Write Here! Write Now! (WHWN) letters and deliver by Thursday, April 16 by 6pmET, UUSJs will deliver later in the month.

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, we are altering our scheduled visits to the Hill but will move forward with the Write Here! Write Now! letter writing. We have canceled the April 14 Capitol Hill Advocacy Day visits to the House and will fax or deliver all letters as soon as it is safe. We are in consultation with some Hill offices about alternatives to our delivery of letters and face-to-face meetings, and their availability for Zoom or phone call in meetings with constituents in April. Link here for the April WHWN Handout.

How should we conduct WHWN! at a time of physical distancing?

  • Consider hosting an online letter-writing event (utilizing Zoom, Skype, or another online platform). This is a good way to maintain a sense of community for many people who are feeling isolated. Maybe host it as a happy hour, or gather virtually after your online Sunday service. If you don’t have your own Zoom account, contact your congregation as they might have or have recently purchased the service. A free Zoom account allows for 40-minute meetings but you can extend it with a quick re-invitation of the group. Link here for more Frequently Asked Questions generated during our March 29 brainstorming sessions with WHWN partners. 
  • Want to write your members of Congress regularly? UUSJ offers a monthly letter-writing campaign. We send you a promotional announcement to adapt, WHWN issue handout, and a report on our Advocacy Corps Day Hill visit. Want to explore becoming a partner? Contact Lavona Grow at advocacy@uusj.org.

How do I deliver our letters to Washington, D.C.? 

  • Mail your letters to UUSJ c/o Lavona Grow, (see address on WHWN handout), or scan and email your letters to advocacy@uusj.org. Mailed or emailed letters should arrive no later than Thursday, April 16 by 6:00 PM ET. We will fax or deliver letters as soon as it is safe.
    • Want to mail your letters but don’t want to go to the Post Office? Consider a bulk snail mail service like MailForm.

2 – Call your representative 

3 – Send an online message

Suggested message – adapt for your call or online message

Hello, my name is [your name]. I’m a constituent from [city, state]. I am a Unitarian Universalist from [name of congregation and location optional]. 

I have a deep concern for the environment and for people who suffer most from the effects of a warming planet. I urge [Representative’s name] to take action to address the dangerous heat-trapping hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and also create jobs by supporting the American Innovation and Manufacturing Leadership (AIM) Act, H.R.5544.

I also urge [the representative’s name] to co-sponsor H.R. 5544 [check to see if your member is a co-sponsor, if yes, thank them, if not ask if they will]. Please speak up and take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by supporting common-sense bipartisan legislation. Please urge the leadership to support this common-sense legislation now pending a vote in the Energy and Commerce Committee.

[Add a personal concern or story from your community or state, etc.]

Thank you for your consideration of my concerns.

 

How do I contact my Representative?

Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121- you’ll be connected to your member of Congress’s office.

To find contact information (phone, website, D.C. office etc.) for your members of Congress visit these websites or Google your member and go to the D.C. office page. On their webpage. you’ll find an online email form to send a message.

After sending your letter, consider Tweeting your Representative or finding them on Facebook

What You Should Know

WHWN Issue Handout: For more information about the topic, see the WHWN handout with talking points and sample letter. Send to your letter-writers. 

Citizen engagement is an essential aspect of our democracy — all the time. Advocacy is particularly important at this time because special interests may use this time to advance their agendas to the detriment of the people and the environment. Our members of Congress need to know we are still paying attention.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we are altering our scheduled visits to the Hill but will move forward with Write Here! Write Now! letter writing. We have canceled the April 14 Advocacy Day visits to the House and will deliver all letters as soon as it is safe, we are in consultation with some Hill offices about alternatives to delivering letters, and their availability for Zoom or phone call in meetings in April.

During April, to address the climate crisis we must reduce harmful greenhouse gases. A bipartisan bicameral bill now in the House and Senate can help make that happen, while creating new jobs. The American Innovation and Manufacturing Leadership Act (AIM), H.R.5544, is a bipartisan bill to reduce hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by 85% over 15 years. Pound-for-pound, HFCs are more potent drivers of warming than carbon dioxide. The AIM H.R.5544 bill is a critical solution to decrease harmful gases caused by air conditioners and refrigeration and replace them with environmentally-sound alternatives. The bill is supported by environmental and business communities.

  • Note: For the May 2020 nationwide WHWN letter-writing campaign, we will write to our Senators regarding the HFC companion bill in the Senate (S.2754). We are co-sponsoring the Senate letter-writing with the UU Ministry for Earth (UUMFE) the Senate WHWN handout will be available on April 14. We will be in consultation with the UUMFE regarding the due date for your letters.

 

From GreenBiz Group:

Super-pollutant greenhouse gases such as methane, black carbon (aka soot), nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) don’t have a long lifespan in the atmosphere (measured in days and decades rather than the centuries that carbon dioxide could hang around) but data suggest they have an outsize negative impact on the global warming trend during their aerial lifespan.

Indeed, some figures suggest that collectively speaking, super pollutants may be contributing as much as 50 percent to the current warming trends of the planet. Without more aggressive reduction or phase-out measures, there’s a strong possibility that temperatures could rise 1.5 degrees Celsius before 2030 (barely a decade away) with catastrophic implications for human health, according to a 2018 event report.

Our UU Spiritual Grounding

Avoiding a climate crisis falls squarely within our UU 7th Principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. At the General Assembly, UUs passed an Action of Immediate Witness, Build the Movement for a Green New Deal (2019) and Act for a Livable Climate… (2015), and a Statement of Conscience, Threat of Global Warming/Climate Change (2006).

 

Resources and Relevant Links

Where to learn more about the issue: