[Newleaf] EVERYBODY READ THIS!

Tue Nov 13 09:16:48 EST 2012

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Brad Johnson, Forecast the Facts <forecast at engagementlab.org>
Date: Tue, Nov 13, 2012 at 8:01 AM
Subject: Thank you for breaking the silence
To: Tika Simone <tikasimone237 at gmail.com>

Dear Tika,

For months, Forecast the Facts members like you have joined us in pushing
for the presidential candidates to end their climate silence. Thanks to
your petition signatures, powerful comments, sharing of online content, and
generous contributions, *we unified the climate movement around a clear
demand to end climate silence, and fundamentally changed the national
conversation on climate.*

We’re thrilled with the impact that we’ve had, and we wanted to say how
grateful we are for helping us make it happen. You can read more below
about the highlights from the Climate Silence campaign.

Thank you,
Brad, Jordan, Daniel, and the rest of the Forecast the Facts team

*P.S. With the election over, what are your thoughts? Please let us know
here. <http://act.engagementlab.org/go/521?t=1&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>*

P.P.S. The devastation of Hurricane Sandy has made the urgency of
addressing climate change even clearer. You can help by contributing to the
relief efforts here<http://act.engagementlab.org/go/482?t=2&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>
.
------------------------------

*Here are some of the Climate Silence campaigns key successes:*

   - *Both President Obama and Governor Romney were directly confronted
   about their climate silence.*
   We researched past presidential debates, and revealed the fact that 2012
   was the first series of presidential debates since
1984<http://act.engagementlab.org/go/465?t=3&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>to
completely ignore climate change. This led to a key victory when MTV’s
   Sway Calloway cited our research, and did what every debate moderator had
   failed to do: he asked President
Obama<http://act.engagementlab.org/go/472?t=4&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>about
climate change. Days after Superstorm Sandy, Mitt Romney was
   interrupted at a campaign rally by a climate activist inspired by our work
   with a banner reading “END CLIMATE
SILENCE."<http://act.engagementlab.org/go/522?t=5&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>Both
confrontations were re-broadcast on national television and reported
   in newspapers across the nation.

   - *We brought in voices from across the movement, and strengthened the
   call to end climate silence.*
   We partnered with Friends of the Earth Action to launch Climate Silence.
   Soon thereafter, Public Citizen and the National Wildlife Federation joined
   with us, and thousands of their members signed our petition to Governor
   Romney and President Obama. Passionate student activists, organized by
   Energy Action Coalition, enthusiastically
plead<http://act.engagementlab.org/go/523?t=6&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>for
an end to climate silence at the presidential debates. Thousands of
   movement heroes, from climate scientist Michael Mann to climate leader Bill
   McKibben, joined in our online protest against the silence. And in the
   run-up to their national tour (initiated this week), McKibben’s
   organization, 350, promoted our campaign and the need for political leaders
   to “Do the Math.”

   - *We generated tons of media buzz, etching the climate silence frame
   into the campaign narrative.*
   Over the summer, there were murmurs about climate silence from a handful
   of progressive commentators and columnists. But it wasn’t until our
   campaign launched that media outlets adopted our terminology, and media
   criticism of climate silence really poured in. The New Yorker’s Elizabeth
   Kolbert aptly
summarized<http://act.engagementlab.org/go/524?t=7&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>the
problem of climate silence in several persuasive columns. Coverage of
   our campaign ranged from well-read online sources like
Politico<http://act.engagementlab.org/go/529?t=8&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>and
Huffington
   Post <http://act.engagementlab.org/go/525?t=9&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_> to
   traditional media like the New York
Times.<http://act.engagementlab.org/go/526?t=10&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>Editorial
boards nationwide, from local papers to the Washington
   Post <http://act.engagementlab.org/go/527?t=11&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>,
   excoriated the candidates for their refusal to address climate
change. And on
   MSNBC <http://act.engagementlab.org/go/444?t=12&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>,
   Chris Hayes dedicated an entire segment to the subject, and spoke
   powerfully about the need to end climate silence.

   - *We helped ensure that climate silence was adopted by major
   influencers.*
   The October surprise of the campaign ended up being a horrific,
   fossil-fueled storm, prompting a huge outcry for an end to the climate
   silence. Governors, Senators, and mayors who represent the regions affected
   by Sandy all ended their own climate silence. New York City Mayor Michael
   Bloomberg endorsed<http://act.engagementlab.org/go/498?t=13&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>President
Obama, citing the need to address climate change as the chief
   reason why. Former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore
   both spoke out for forceful climate action. And it wasn’t just
politicians. Journalists,
   actors, comedians, writers, and
musicians<http://act.engagementlab.org/go/528?t=14&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>
all
   made the case against climate silence—prominent names like David Letterman,
   Alec Baldwin, Rachel Maddow, and Arianna Huffington.

   - *We boldly fought the influence of the coal industry, and provided an
   outlet for activists frustrated by the coal-pandering of both candidates.
   *
   When President Obama’s campaign launched an ad in swing states attacking
   Mitt Romney for once criticizing coal pollution, we responded with a
   petition<http://act.engagementlab.org/go/410?t=15&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>urging
the Obama campaign to pull the ad. Thousands signed our petition,
   and The Hill<http://act.engagementlab.org/go/423?t=16&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>,
   the Washington
Post<http://act.engagementlab.org/go/422?t=17&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>,
   and BuzzFeed<http://act.engagementlab.org/go/424?t=18&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>all
covered our efforts. President Obama’s campaign ultimately withdrew
the
   ad. We produced a
video<http://act.engagementlab.org/go/465?t=19&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>exposing
the appalling (and historic) way that the candidates neglected
   climate change in the presidential debates, choosing instead to compete for
   who could burn more fossil fuels. The video generated thousands of views
   and a major wave of media coverage.

   - *We helped expose Mitt Romney’s climate denial through the “most
   brutal ad” of the election cycle.*
   After Hurricane Sandy devastated the Atlantic coast, Mitt Romney’s
   callous mockery of sea level rise looked particularly un-funny. We
produced an
   ad <http://act.engagementlab.org/go/481?t=20&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>juxtaposing
Romney’s joke with footage of the destruction left by Sandy.
   The video went viral, receiving over 800,000 views in just three days.
   Grist.org’s David Roberts called the ad “the most
brutal”<http://act.engagementlab.org/go/517?t=21&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>he
had seen all election cycle, and many media outlets
   agreed. <http://act.engagementlab.org/go/530?t=22&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>Hundreds
of you chipped in to help us run the ad, which exposed Mitt’s
   climate mockery in the crucial battlegrounds of Ohio and Virginia days
   before the election.

*None of this would be possible without the support of members like
you.*Thank you to your dedication and commitment to ending climate
silence.
*Please let us know what you think by taking this quick survey:*

*Click here to tell us your thoughts
post-election*<http://act.engagementlab.org/go/521?t=23&akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>

Factually yours,
Brad, Daniel, Jordan, and the rest of the Forecast the Facts team

You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any
time.<http://act.engagementlab.org/cms/unsubscribe/unsubscribe/?akid=287.136120.NDn9k_>
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