Speak Up for clean energy, more jobs and reduced pollution!

Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper urging Senator Max Baucus and Senator Jon Tester to let them know you want strong, comprehensive climate change legislation.

Talking points for letters:

• The ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a call to action for our nation's leaders to implement comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation that will greatly improve our energy independence, create jobs and harness American technology and know-how, and conserve our planet for future generations. Now is the time for the Senate to act and pass comprehensive energy and climate policy.
• Montana households would benefit from investments in clean energy with expanded job opportunities, rising wages, and reduced home heating and utility costs.
• Carbon pollution is costing more each year in damage from droughts, spread of insect-borne diseases, and more intense weather events like fires, hurricanes and storms.

Here are some tips to help you write an effective letter and help get it published:

1. Be timely - Many papers are covering the energy debate in Congress.  Your letter will have a greater chance of being printed if it is in response to an editorial, op-ed, or story about the current energy debate. Mention the name or date of the article. 
2. Follow the paper's guidelines - Below is information about where to email a letter to the editor of any of Montana's seven major newspapers, and the word limit for each paper.   In general, you should:
3. put your final letter into the body of an email (don't send as an attachment);
4. put the editor's email address in the "To" field;
5. put "letter to the editor" in the "Subject" line;
6. have the salutation read, "Dear editor," followed by your letter; and
7. include your name, address and phone number with the letter (many papers will call to confirm authorship before running a letter).
8. Get personal - Share your expertise. Editors are more likely to publish a letter, and the letter will have more impact, if it demonstrates local relevance.  If you are a business person, talk about the importance of your industry and clean energy jobs.  If you have solar panels on your roof-share that information. 
9. Refer to the our Congressional delegation - Senator Max Baucus, Senator Jon Tester and Representative Dennis Rehberg - by name. If your letter includes a legislator's name, staff will usually give him the letter to read personally.  
10. Keep your letter short, focused, and interesting. In general, letters should be under 200 words, 150 or less is best.  Stay focused on one main point - in this case, urging our senators to strengthen and pass the American Clean Energy and Security Act.  Get to the main point in the first two sentences. 
11. Write the letter in your own words. Editors want letters in their papers to be original and from a reader. Write the letter in your own words. 
12. Follow-up with Montana's delegation. If your letter is printed, clip out your printed letter and send it to the elected officials you mentioned with a brief cover note. This way you can be certain that your elected official sees it.
13. Contact the newspaper if your letter doesn't run. If your letter doesn't appear, contact the editor after a few days to ask whether it will run.

Montana Newspapers

Billings Gazette, (406) 657-1200, speakup@billingsgazette.com word limit: 250

Bozeman Daily Chronicle, (406)587-4491, citydesk@dailychronicle.com
or Bill Wilke, bwilke@dailychronicle.com   word limit: 300

Great Falls Tribune, (406)791-1444, tribletters@greatfallstribune.com word limit: 250

Helena Independent Record, (406)447-4000, irstaff@helenair.com word limit: 200

Kalispell Daily Interlake, (406)755-7000,  newsed@dailyinterlake.com word limit: 300

Missoulian, (406)523-5200, oped@missoulian.com word limit: 300

Montana Standard (Butte), (406)496-5500, Roberta.Stauffer@Lee.Net word limit: 400 

Thanks for speaking up for clean energy, jobs and reduced pollution!