Having lived in Washington D.C. for thirteen years, eight of which I worked at a trade association, the one thing I learned about legislation is that it is a long, messy and serious business fraught with partisan land mines.
Any of you that have spent any time in these endeavors at the national or local levels know exactly what I mean.
Fun generally doesn't enter into the equation, unless you count a “Hill Reception” as fun (I don't).
Having Fun with Legislation
That is why when Geoff Livingston, a well-known blogger and author (and oftentimes a partner of mine), asked me to help out with a campaign to use humor, fun and creativity to encourage the Congress to pass climate legislation, I was all ears.
This year it will be exceedingly difficult to break through to legislators about climate change with health care consuming all of the time. It is up to the Senate to come up with a bill that can garner broad support. That sounds hard, not fun.
So, along with Live Earth, which is a an organization dedicated to using entertainment to solve environmental issues, Geoff and the team came up with the idea to imagine the world as it would be if all the environmental problems were solved and send a message to Congress. Here is a link to a video explaining the campaign. The campaign started yesterday and will continue through Friday September 25th. And there are also great prizes. LiveEarth asks that you contribute some kind of content and then sign up for the sweepstakes, which includes some pretty cool prizes.
What I like about the campaign is that it aims to be creative and fun, plus there are a number of ways to participate.
- Facebook Message: Post a message on the Facebook page or link to one from your blog that is support of climate change – be creative
- Voice Mail Message: Send a voicemail to 347-422-6392 or send one from our Facebook Tab
- Share a Photo: Add your photo to the Love, The Climate group on Flickr, we already have a number of photos and they are stunning.
- Submit a Video: You can supply a link or embed code, or upload a video at the LiveEarth website
Here is an example of the type of submission Live Earth is looking to get from TV and online host Shia Lazar. (This video really cracks me up). Of course it doesn't have to be this professional.
I am not sure yet what the outcome of this campaign will be, but I will be sure to update it here. If you have any ideas how we can punch up the campaign, leave them in the comments.
Live Earth is also participating in social media and building a community through their blog, in their Friends of Live Earth Ning page and also on their Twitter account @LiveEarth
Here is a pretty good explanation of what the climate bill entails and a post from Live Earth about the legislation.
Credts: The cool logo is by David Armano.
