Last week, I joined 150 ocean activists and leaders from the Surfrider Foundation for a lobbying day in Washington, DC. Volunteers, staff members, industry representatives, and professional surfers from 20 states had over 145 meetings with members of Congress.

It’s a whirlwind experience to participate in our democracy with other determined activists. It also gives a glimpse into the world of law making and serves as a reminder that there are good people championing the causes you care about.

The point of these lobby meetings is to let our representatives know that we care about our ocean and that we want laws that will protect our ocean. From addressing plastic pollution and climate change to stopping new offshore oil drilling, these are some of the issues we discussed with our representatives.

If you’re interested in helping to pass laws that address plastic pollution here are some steps you can take:

• Find Organizations that Champion Your Causes
• Contact Your Representative
• Meet With Your Representatives Locally
• Join a Capitol Lobby Day
• Support through Social Media
• Vote!

Find Organizations

One of the easiest ways to get plugged into a cause you’re interested in is to find an organization whose mission aligns with your cause. Growing up in San Diego, the Surfrider Foundation had a huge presence and when looking for an organization that wanted to protect the ocean, I knew it was the right fit for me.

After finding the organization, join their email list. This is the easiest way to keep up-to-date with what the organization is work on.

I started out going to Surfrider Chapter Meetings to see what Surfrider did and how things worked. Monthly chapter meetings are a great way to meet local leaders, ask them how they address the causes you care about, and see how you can get involved.

Contact Your Representative

Oftentimes organizations will send “Action Alerts” which ask you to send an email to your representative through a pre-populated form. They usually will ask you to put your name and mailing address into a form. Through your mailing address they figure out who your representative is and when you click send, it sends an email to saying you support a specific initiative or bill. These can be at the state or federal level.

Now it might be easy to think, “What does one email matter?”, but don’t think this way! Each phone call, tweet, email, written letter is counted by staff members. A representative’s job is to execute the will of his/her constituents. So, it’s important for them to know what their constituents want. By contacting your representatives you’re letting them know that you want action on plastic pollution.

At the local level cities have a city council and counties have a board of supervisors. A quick google search can show you who your local leaders are.

At the state level there is an Assembly and a Senate. For California you can figure out your representatives using this site.

At the federal or national level there is a House and a Senate. You can find your representative in the House using this site and your Senator using this site.

Meet With Your Representatives Locally

You don’t have to travel to Washington, DC or your state capitol. Your state and federal representatives have local offices where you can call to set up a meeting if you want to go into the details of the particular issue you’re interested in. I go into the details of lobby meetings in “How Lobby Meetings Work“.

If a formal meeting is not your style, try catching your representative after a town hall or local event. In addition to town halls, my Congressman, Eric Swalwell, has coffee and hiking events where you can grab a cup a coffee or hike with him.

After one of the town halls I got a chance to talk to him about joining the Climate Solutions Caucus.

I’m always impressed by how much information my representatives retain. I had mentioned I was a volunteer with Citizens’ Climate Lobby and before I could even get my ask out, he said he was looking for a partner to join the caucus with. (The caucus requires that you join with someone from the opposite party.) He knew what my ask was before I even said it! That tells me that when other Citizens’ Climate Lobby members had approached him in the past, he listened and remembered!

In any case, sign up for emails from your representatives to be notified of their local events.

Join a Capitol Lobby Day

There are many organizations that have an annual lobbying day in DC or at your state capitol. These days are usually jam-packed with several meetings. At Coastal Hill Day this year I had eight meetings in one day!

Support Through Social Media

Social media is a powerful tool. By helping to spread the word to support various plastics bills it helps build momentum. Oahu, Hawaii recently passed one of the strongest plastics ban in the nation. A big piece of that effort was a social media campaign that got the support of Chris Hemsworth, Kelly Slater and other celebrities.

Spreading the word on local laws is important. When local laws pass in many different jurisdictions, it gives the state and federal legislatures the support required to pass similar laws on a larger scale.

Vote!

Hopefully this last point is obvious. One of the best ways to help pass plastic laws is to vote for representatives who care about the environment. It’s more likely that a surfer like California Assemblyman Ian Calderon would create and pass a state straw ban than say someone in the oil industry. So, it’s important on election days to know what your candidates stand for, especially on the local level where it has a larger direct impact on your life.

What do you think? Can you call your federal representatives and tell them you support the #BreakFreeFromPlastic Pollution Act? Or send them an email by filling out this easy action alert from the Surfrider Foundation.

For related and random posts, check out:

• Why I Want San Francisco to Charge Me For a To-Go Cup
• Why “Green” Plastics Aren’t Any Better
• Plastic-Free Lip Balm