Here are a few ways that you can get involved in your community to help address pollution from industrial corporate agriculture. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or need any help with the following activities!
Learn more about the clean water problems in your community
Learn more about pollution from corporate agriculture here and solutions here. Other great resources are MPR’s water reporting, your local newspaper, other environmental groups in Minnesota or nationwide.
Email, write, or call a decision-maker urging them to protect clean water
When you hear from us or see something in the news about pollution impacting water in your community, contact your elected officials. Elected officials are always interested to her from their constituents and often eager to help. You can make a difference when you pick up the phone or write an email because then your representative knows that people in their district care about an issue. You can make an impact just by reaching out to your State House Representative, State Senator, or local elected officials. Don't know who represents you? Click here.
Meet with your elected official in person to ensure they know you care about clean water
Water Action Day happens once a year and is a great opportunity to learn about issues and how to "lobby" your representatives. Water Action Day is just one day -- there are other opportunities to go to the Capitol. You can also call your representatives on your own and set up an appointment to meet with them in person in St. Paul or in their local office.
Write Letter to Editor to make sure voice heard
Letters to the Editor are a great way to educate other people in your community about clean water. Elected officials often read these letters to help them determine how they want to vote on issues. Your letter is more likely to get printed if it is in response to a current story your paper has run recently, so timing is important.
Volunteer at events, phone banks, for environmental candidates, or for Clean Water Action
There are a lot of ways to get involved with environmental organizations to help protect clean water. At Clean Water Action we have opportunities to help elect environmental champions . You could also come to our sponsored events or join us for Water Action Day at the State Capitol and lobby your elected officials. If you want to do more active volunteering like restoring parks and habitat or getting out on nature hikes and actually enjoy clean water, we have partners who do more hands on work to protect our water. Learn more here.
VOTE!
We need a Congress, State Legislators, and local representatives that will stand up for safe drinking water, clean air, and a strong green economy. Every vote matters, especially in more local races that get fewer votes than statewide elections. That’s why Clean Water Action is working so hard to elect pro-environment lawmakers every November. It makes our jobs much easier at the Capitols when we have elected officials who are champions and know the importance of protecting our water. Now more than ever, we need representatives who will support commonsense water and air protections. This year, more than ever, every vote for the environment matters. Make sure you educate yourself about who will be a champion for water. CWA endorses environmental champions and works to get them elected so check back with us about who to vote for in the upcoming election.
Get your friends, family, and neighbors involved!
Whether it is important issues that comes up at the State Capitol or in Washington D.C. or you see something important in the news, talk with your friends, family, or neighbors. Ask them to get involved by calling their legislators, writing a letter to the editor, or coming to an event like Water Action Day.
Go to community meetings or town halls about clean water
There are a lot of venues for you to make your voice heard. These include: legislative hearings, state agency meetings, planning commissions, city councils, or county commission meetings. Decisions are often made at these meetings, which makes them very important. And, sometimes, there are no community members at these meetings -- your attendance can make a huge difference when elected or appointed officials are making decisions at these meetings.
Report Violators to city, county, state, or EPA
If you see problems in your area and think someone should be addressing it or it seems like they are violating clean water laws, give us a call or send us an email here at Clean Water Action and we’d be glad to help. If you don’t need help just give a call your local government and ask them if what you witnessed is legal or good for clean water.
Clean Water Action needs your help to make sure clean water solutions become a reality.
We are always looking for people who want to get more engaged in their community to help us reach our clean water goals. You can join our team of advocates who are working to get this done. Whether you have never done any volunteering before or are a veteran who has been working for clean water for decades, we need you! Contact our Water Program Coordinator, Steve Schultz using the form below and we can connect with you and set you up with activities you are comfortable doing and you can take action to make this a reality.