Writing To Your Congressman: The Beauty Of The First Amendment

An idea is only as good as the people who believe in it.

Today we have for all you REFUSERS a very cut-and-dry way of contacting your local Congressman- good, old-fashioned letter writing- about the plastic epidemic we are all facing.

The First Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees the right of all citizens to communicate with their elected representatives:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. (emphasis added)

Beautiful, isn't it?

I wrote this letter myself and give you full permission to copy it for the purpose of sending it with your personal information to your congressman and other government officials. 

Your address

Your city/state/zip code

Your email address

Date

Recipient’s address

Recipient’s city/state/zip code

Dear ________________,

I am writing to you today because of my concern for the plastic pollution epidemic that is plaguing our Earth.

Here are some quick facts about plastic:

-       Americans use 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour.

-       A milk jug will take at least one million years to decompose.

-       Plastic garbage that is thrown into the Ocean, especially plastic bags, contribute to the deaths of over one million sea creatures every year.

-       Today, Americans generate over 10.5 million tons of plastic waste every year. Only 1-2% of this plastic is recycled.

Basically, almost all of the plastic we’ve ever created since it was first invented in 1862 still exists today. We continue to make and use more and more plastic every day. We need to stop using plastic and switch to a more environmentally responsible solution.

In the state of Hawaii, in the counties of Maui and Kaua’i, plastic bag bans were implemented as of the first of 2011. In 2009, the state of New York required that businesses provide a recycling bin for all their shopping bags, with instructions written on the bag to “return to the original store for recycling.” All the time, states are looking for ways to refuse the use of plastic, and I applaud them.

The use of plastics in our everyday lives needs to be greatly reduced, if not altogether stopped. I believe that searching for and implementing environmentally responsible options should be a top priority for our government officials. I hope this letter helps convince you of this need. Please feel free to contact me at (Your phone number) or (Your email address) if you have any questions.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Your Signature

Your name written clearly

As always, THANK YOU FOR REFUSING!!!