Our history at the NC League of Conservation Voters includes adapting to the changing landscape of North Carolina’s political and environmental community, and stepping up to take on different roles and try out new-fangled tactics. Right now, we are knee-deep in the next iteration of our work to support sound environmental policies and engage citizens directly in the democratic process. And, it’s exciting!
We have historically lobbied at the NC General Assembly on a wide variety of environmental issues to make North Carolina a leader in sound environmental policies. Unfortunately, the current political climate has turned increasingly anti-environment. Our current leadership is rolling back decades of good laws that have protected our air and water, kept our communities healthy, and strengthened our economy. But with coal ash pollution, fracking, renewable energy attacks, and the dismantling of rules and agencies designed to shield us and our natural resources, we need more voices and new faces demanding safeguards for North Carolina’s environment.
In 2014, we undertook an expansive nonpartisan voter engagement field program, helping over 14,000 North Carolinians register and knocking on 185,000 doors to turn people out to vote. Why? Because we understand that who we elect matters. During these conversations, we learned many of these underrepresented voters care about our issues but were being left out of the conversation. We came face-to-face with the fact that, as environmentalists, we don’t always do a good job of connecting the issues we work on at the General Assembly to the daily lives of citizens who are directly impacted by these laws.
So, we are stepping up again. For 2015 we are working in four regions (Charlotte, the Triangle, the Triad, and Fayetteville) to engage allies, communities, and underrepresented voters in fresh ways to bring absent voices to the local, state, and federal environmental policy-making process. We are working in communities disproportionately impacted by environmental degradation, most often low-income communities and communities of color. We are uniting with local groups and partners in the labor and social justice movements to broaden our impact and to better understand and define how environmental issues intersect with the economic issues that are top of mind for voters and decision-makers.
Most importantly, we are listening to these local communities about what environmental issues impact our lives each and every day, whether it is focused around jobs, energy, or transportation. We are joining with local leaders to define issue campaigns that will engage citizens, grow leaders, and impact local policies to better protect our environment, health, and communities. And, we will draw these voices up to the legislative battles that we are fighting.
We have a lot to learn, but the early results are in: North Carolinians care about the issues that affect our air and water, our communities’ health, and our economy, especially when the connection to their daily lives is clear. Our new friends in the social justice and labor movements are helping to strengthen our message and our voice around issues such as clean energy, environmental protections, environmental justice, higher paying jobs, better transportation options, and healthy communities – things we all care about. Now, we need to ensure our elected officials are reflecting those same choices.
When we mobilize voters again in 2016, we know those conversations at the doors will be much easier and much more impactful because we’ll be talking with folks about the local environmental issues we are all working to address. And. we’ll be connecting with people who share our belief that “voting is one of the most important things we can do for the environment.”
Carrie Clark, Executive Director on NCLCV, recognizes that after 45 years, change must happen. Or, as she likes to say, you can teach an old dog new tricks. You may contact her at carrie@nclcv.org.
