While we are seeing more news coverage of the climate crisis as a result of COP26, the AIC Sustainability Committee encourages you to reach out to your local and major newspapers and demand coverage not only of this conference, but of the climate crisis in general. For far too long, major news coverage has ignored the climate crisis or focused too heavily on naysayers instead of reporting the science and the facts. We are living in the midst of a human-caused climate crisis the consequences of which will be dire no matter what we do going forward. We can no longer avoid many of the negative effects and unless we change course immediately they will become even more extreme. The choices that will be made during COP26 will impact us all, but BIPOC and women most extremely. News coverage is necessary to get people talking and help inspire more positive action.
We have approximately six years to mitigate the worst climate disasters in our future. We are and will continue to live through the climate crisis and experience its negative effects more frequently in the coming years, but spreading awareness of the COP26 initiatives and global commitments will expand conversations around the climate crisis in our local communities leading to more positive change. One of the easiest things we can do is talk about it: so let's get our newspapers to do just that by letting them know that we want to read about this and read about it daily. Tell them you want extensive front page coverage of the climate crisis, including COP26, and tell them you want a hopeful message and practical solutions.
We have assembled a template for you below and gathered the contact information for newspapers in many of America's largest cities. Feel free to expand on what we have written and reach out to the newspapers listed below and others in your area.
Together we can make a difference and have a positive impact. The Sustainability Committee will include more calls to action on the AIC Global Forum and in our email blast Sustainability Now! going forward. We hope you will join us in this effort and in future calls to action.
TEMPLATE:
Dear Editor,
I want to read the coverage that concerns me the most. What is most pressing and urgent at this time is the climate crisis. I urge you to include prominent, honest, science-based coverage of the climate crisis and its solutions including coverage of the COP26 events in Glasgow and at future events on the front page. I urge you to make the connection between the climate crisis and racial and economic inequality as we will all be affected by the coming crisis, but none more so than BIPOC, women, and the poor. I urge you to include solutions and hope. Focusing only on the negative helps no one.
This is quite simply the most important issue of our times. Without your help we are uninformed and will continue on this negative trajectory. By covering the climate crisis, solutions, and changes being made you can help alter the course we are on by informing the public of where the world stands and what needs to be done. This coverage could help inspire important solutions and change the world.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
Contacts:
New York Times: nytnews@nytimes.com
Washington Post: readers@washpost.com.
Wall Street Journal: wsjcontact@wsj.com
LA Times: https://www.latimes.com/about/la-contact-our-readers-rep-htmlstory.html
Chicago Tribune: letters@chicagotribune.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none">letters@chicagotribune.com
USA Today: https://marketing.usatoday.com/contact-us/
Charleston Gazette-Mail in West Virginia: lwolverton@hdmediallc.com
The Arizona Republic: lindsey.botts@azcentral.com
The Houston Chronicle: news@chron.com
The Philadelphia Inquirer: jmartin@inquirer.com
Is the climate crisis affecting your work? Reach out to us at aicsustainability@gmail.com.