When we see lists of things we can do to help the planet, one of the most important is often missing, and it's this - campaign. Make your voice heard. It's one of the most powerful things we can do, but I think for lots of us (myself included), the idea of 'campaigning' sounds a bit intimidating. 

The dictionary definition of activism is:
"the policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change".

And I don't know about you, but the phrase 'vigorous campaigning' leaves me feeling a little bit lacking. I mean, I bang on a LOT about all things Sustainable(ish) but do I 'campaign vigorously'? I'm not so sure.
However, the good news is, for those of us who find the thought of 'vigorous campaigning' a bit too much, we can still have an impact. In this episode I'm chatting to Steve Shaw from Power for People, a campaigning organisation that "run grass-roots mobilisation campaigns, engaging and involving citizens and local communities and calling on them to lobby their elected representatives for changes in the law or in government policy."
So instead of simply writing to your MP letting them know you're scared shitless about the climate crisis and asking them what they're doing about, and probably getting a stock response back full of political waffle (the equivalent of a pat on the head and being told to run along), you join in with one of their campaigns. Basically, they come up with a bill (their current campaign is around renewable energy) and then ask people to lobby their MPs to support the bill. If enough MPs support it, it gets debated, and then hopefully made law. It's a long old process, but the beauty of it is, is that your asking your MP to do something really specific, and that your letter/tweet/e-mail is part of a bigger campaign, and if your MP gets lots of constituents writing and asking them to do that one same thing, they're much more likely to do it. AND it results in a concrete tangible change. Possibly, hopefully, a change in law.

If you're like me and more than a little politically naive and unsure of what really happens behind all the smoke and mirrors and the braying of Prime Ministers Question Time, this will be a fascinating episode. And it's packed with practical advice about what to write and how to start building up a relationship with your MP and get them on your (the planet's) side. 

Find out more about Power for People's local electricity campaign

Useful links

• Power for People
  - Website
  - Facebook
  - Twitter
  - Instagram
  - The Local Electricity Bill
  - Guidance on writing to your MP
• Hope for the Future - UK specialists in training citizens to work with MPs on climate change
• They Work for You - find out who your MP is and how they've voted on issues in the past
• [032] - The introverts guide to climate marches (podcast)
• Four things you can so if you can't/don't want to climate strike (blog post)
• Global Climate Strike locations (20th Sept 2019)

Ouch! But when you put it like that, suddenly writing a letter or an e-mail doesn't seem quite so hard....