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I’m an intern with the Nevada Conservation League, and in June I participated in the League of Conservation Voters’ annual Lobby Day. I was among 60 youths from 30 states invited to Washington, D.C., to urge our representatives to support the permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, Clean Car Standards, and the LCV’s Clean Energy for All campaign. We used our own personal stories to help politicians understand how environmental issues affect their constituents. Then we hit Capitol Hill and met with five of Nevada’s key decision makers, all of whom gave us their verbal support of a clean energy future for Nevada.
This experience was empowering and gave me hope for our nation’s future. These politicians will listen to their citizens if enough of us speak up. If you’d like to make a difference but aren’t sure how, here are some examples of what you can do: educate yourself on environmental issues and vote for candidates who support the environment; call or send a letter to your decision makers and let them know if you disagree on a decision they made regarding the environment; or simply volunteer with a local nonprofit, where you can work with other environmental stewards and help promote pro-conservation policy.