The organizers of a new anti-climate change lobbying group in St. Joseph are hoping to strike a chord with residents and attract a robust membership. On Saturday, the first advocacy training event was held for the Citizens’ Climate Lobby. CCL organizer Sandy Walker tells WSJM News she watched the CCL chapter in Kalamazoo grow to more than 900 members over the past few years, and decided to bring the idea to Berrien County. She thinks the group’s message resonates with a lot of people.
“Over and over, I heard friends, they’re worried about climate change, but they don’t feel like there’s anything they can do,” Walker said. “They say, ‘I see that things are changing, I’m worried about it, I know it’s real, but there’s just really nothing I can do.’ So this organization is really an answer to that.”
Walker says the CCL will specifically push for the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, which would create a carbon tax on the producers of fossil fuels. The idea is to nudge them toward other energy sources while generating revenue for the public to offset rising costs that would come with the transition. Walker says the group will meet the second Saturday each month to hear from speakers, sometimes remotely. For example, this Saturday’s meeting will feature South Carolina Congressman Bob Inglis via webcast. The meeting will be from 12:30 to 2:30 at the Berrien Unitarian Universalist Fellowship on Lincoln Avenue.
