Letters to the Editor are great ways to amplify our message.
Here are step-by-step instructions for submitting a letter to the editor. Below are three letter templates you can use, but the best letters have a personal touch so we encourage you to add your voice or craft your own. Here are some tips on writing your own.
Template for Earth Day
To The Editor
With Earth Day just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to consider how we, as community members, can make a difference on climate change. I’m a humanist, a nonreligious person who knows that our lives should be guided by a set of ethical principles—principles that compel us to live morally and to consider deeply the positive impact we’re creating.
As part of that humanism, I think it’s imperative that we band together to address the biggest threat to our shared existence: climate change. Experts from the United Nations and even the United States agree that, although our time is running out, our planet can be saved. And there’s so much we can do here at home.
My local group, ______, is putting on an event: _____. We’re also working to push our state representatives, ______, to vote YES/NO on _____. This bill would work on behalf of us all to _______. This Earth Day, let’s change the world together.
Sincerely,
Template for specific bill
To The Editor
Climate change is hurting us all. It’s affecting our most vulnerable communities at disproportionate rates.
It’s imperative that __[Name of Senator/Representative]____ take action and support legislation that takes necessary steps toward saving our planet. ______ must vote ___[yes/no]___on ______. I’ve called their office at ______ to explain why this is so important, and I hope you do too. This bill has the potential to _____. Experts agree that though time is running out, our planet can be saved. Our legislators have the power to do just that—and help to extinguish one of the biggest threats to our continued survival. And it’s our responsibility to ensure they do so.
Sincerely,
Template for general support toward solutions-oriented conversations
To The Editor
Though it is tempting to think about climate change in terms of the threats it poses to humanity, I think it’s time to change how we approach this topic. Let’s start talking about how, and why, we as a society should move in a cleaner, more renewable direction.
Let’s talk, not just about who is affected by climate change, but what could actually be done and give more space to people who have concrete policy proposals in mind. Environmental policy covers a wide range of different proposals, including pollution taxes, subsidies for renewable energy, and conservation efforts to preserve important natural landmarks, like ___[natural landmark in your community]___.
It’s time that we move from discussing the impact of undeterred climate change to focusing instead on what substantive measures we can take as individuals to push for greater climate justice. It is only through personal and collective action that we can address this crisis, and that action starts with conversation.
Sincerely,