Take Advocacy Action Now

Take Action

On this page, you will find the latest SSAFE Advocacy opportunities
Take quick and immediate action to make an impact on climate change.

The Farm Bill is a $1 trillion piece of legislation,
$20 billion is allocated for healthy forests
– we need to keep it that way!

What is the Farm Bill? The farm bill is an omnibus, multiyear law that governs an array of programs for farmers, forests, food production, and related issues. It’s authorized once every five years. This year Congress must pass a revised version for new and existing programs. We want to ensure no cuts in funding for forests.

$20 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act for climate-smart conservation practices and healthy forests has been allocated for the new version of the Farm Bill – we need to keep it that way since some members of Congress will move to strip or reallocate portions of these funds.

Primary Action: Click the green button to sign the online petition.

Action #2: Call your Members of Congress Directly about The Farm Bill

Yes, your voice will be heard! Congressional staffers take every call and voicemail, read every email their office receives, and pass these on to their members of Congress in regular briefings.  Members do want to know what their constituents care about. You may receive a generic email in response, but your message is still received loud and clear. Even more so when you’re combining your voice with hundreds of other SSAFE members and thousands of Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL) volunteers across the nation. 

SSAFE and CCL will continue to mobilize for climate-smart measures in the new Farm Bill until it is enacted.

Email your members of Congress just once yourself.  Then, share this page with friends, family, and coworkers who want to help get climate-smart forestry legislation passed in Congress!

Action #3: Write a Letter to the Editor about The Farm Bill

Tips for Writing a Good Letter to the Editor

  • Add a short reference to an existing article
  • Praise the article or newspaper, or critique it politely.
  • State how it relates to your issue.
  • Keep to 1 bite-size argument, 1 major pt. (150-350 words).
  • Identify a solution/action
  • Specify how to get action (e.g., write Senator X).
  • Close creatively (metaphor, word play, starting point)
  • Always be respectful.
  • Check the newspaper’s submissions requirements for author information, word limit, email attachment or not.
newspaper with glasses

Action #4: Use the materials below to educate others and gather signatures for the “Keep Forest Funding in the Farm Bill” action alert. 

Click above to download the color flyer for the “Keep Forest Funding in the Farm Bill” SSAFE Action Alert.

Click above to download the “Keep Forest Funding in the Farm Bill” fact sheet.

Click above to download the “Keep Forest Funding in the Farm Bill” petition form.

Click above to download the complete Action Alert Tabling Packet including flyer, fact sheet, petition form, and instructions.

Action #5: Use these Educational Resources to Inspire Action at your campus!

Video: Farm Bill 101: Forestry Title, 1.5 minutes, by Defenders of Wildlife, available for free on YouTube

Video: Our Planet | Forests, 48 minutes, narrated by David Attenborough, available on Netflix (https://www.netflix.com/title/80049832)  and free on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkaxUblCGz0)

Video: Our Planet “How to Restore Forests”, 8 minutes, watch for free at: https://www.ourplanet.com/en/video/how-to-restore-our-forests/

Video: TED Talk “How trees talk to each other”, 18 minutes, by Suzanne Simard, 2016, available to watch free at: https://www.ted.com/talks/suzanne_simard_how_trees_talk_to_each_other

Book: The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate―Discoveries from A Secret World (The Mysteries of Nature, 1) by by Peter Wohlleben (Author), 2106, Greystone Books,

Book: Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest by Suzanne Simard, 2022, Knopf Doubleday

Electrifying the Grid

SSAFE Urges Stronger Permitting Reforms for Faster National Electrification 💡

Improvements to the electrical grid need permits from local, state, and often federal authorities before work can begin. The permitting process, while necessary and important, frequently adds extra expense and creates bottlenecks that delay time-sensitive projects by as many as six years.

It is imperative that local and state-level bureaucratic red tape be reduced, and equally important that communities located near planned projects are both heard and protected.

State and Local Advocacy

SSAFE is committed to promoting state and Local climate advocacy. Use these resources to learn more about your state legislature and current environmental legislation.

State and District Sessions: Start by learning more about your state and district legislative sessions.

The National Conference of State Legislatures tracks legislative sessions in each state, district and territory.

Environmental Legislation Tracking: Utilize resources from organizations dedicated to tracking current state and local environmental legislation.

Write Those Letters!

Did you know that published letters in local or even national newspapers (print or online) are monitored by your elected officials? A key part of being an effective advocate is learning how to write short and effective letters to the editor. Click on the video on the right to view the workshop – it’s easier than you might think!

The workshop slides are available here to download. Please contact us if you would like to join a letter to the editor team on your campus!

SSAFE Successes!

Success! The SSAFE Advocacy Team collected a record-breaking 791 signatures on a petition during January and February 2024 to pressured the U.S. Department of Energy to stop reviews for at least a year of 17 applications for new LNG export terminals, and we won! 

Success! The SSAFE Advocacy Team 682 signatures to EPA Administrator Michael Regan to strengthen Landfill Methane Emission Standards and submitted them in July 2023. 

Success! During Earth Month, April 2023, SSAFE Activists collected 397 signatures petitioning the International Seabed Authority and Elon Musk to support a moratorium on deep sea mining.
Read more here about this important issue.

Success! The SSAFE Petition to EPA Administrator Michael Regan re: Stronger Methane Emissions Standards logged 298 signatures! The letter was printed on SSAFE letterhead and mailed to his Washington, DC office on December 1st, 2022.

Success! The SSAFE Letter Writing Campaign supporting the Break Free From Plastics Act to members of Congress has resulted in 286 letters submitted!

SSAFE Wrote Postcards! SSAFE and the Center for Common Ground are working together to encourage low-engagement voters to register and vote. The Center, a non-partisan group, has compiled a list of low frequency or recently purged voters. Together, SSAFE residents wrote over 450 postcards encouraging low-engagement voters to confirm their registration and remember to vote during the 2022 mid-term elections.

To the right is a selection of postcards written by SSAFE members from Kendal at Crosslands. They are carefully arranged to hide addresses for privacy.

Success! The SSAFE Petition to Tristan Brown, Acting Administrator Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration logged 286 signatures! The letter to Tristan Brown was printed on SSAFE letterhead and mailed to his Washington, DC office on May 28th, 2022.

Success! The SSAFE Petition to Michael Regan re: Strong Truck Emission Standards logged 254 signatures! The letter to Micheal Regan was printed on SSAFE letterhead and mailed to his Washington, DC office on February 14th, 2022.

To the right is an example of how SSAFE mails petitions to administrators such as EPA or DOT administrators. The letter includes signatures from the SSAFE Advocacy Leadership team and a list of digital signatures. In addition to the paper letter and signatures, a copy is also emailed digitally with signature timestamps.

Letter writing campaigns are different. Each digital letter and signature is emailed at the time of signing. Letter campaigns are used to contact local and state elected officials. When the signer enters their zip code and address, the letter automatically chooses the signers elected officials such as Senators, House Representatives or other local elected officials.

LNG Export Terminal