Michigan Environmental Council

Michigan
Environmental Report

Volume 22 . Number 5
October 2004

PURPOSE
Founded in 1980, MEC is a coalition of over 60 environmental, public health, and faith-based organizations with nearly 200,000 individual members. For over 20 years, MEC has provided a voice at the State Capitol. In addition to serving as a clearinghouse of environmental information, MEC develops public policy, educates elected officials and the public, and provides training and support to member organizations.

SUBSCRIBE

OFFICERS

Chairperson
Chris Graham,
Michigan Natural Areas Council

Vice Chair
Vicki Levengood,
National Environmental Trust

Vice Chair
Terry Miller,
Lone Tree Council

Treasurer
Tom Leonard,
West Michigan Environmental Action Council

Secretary
Brian Imus,
PIRGIM

MEC STAFF

President
Lana Pollack

Policy Director
James Clift

Associate Director
Patrick Diehl

Land Programs Director
Conan Smith

Special Projects Coodinator
Brad Garmon

Office Manager
Judy Bearup

Member Services Director
Michele Scarborough

Policy Specialist
David Gard

Policy Advisor
Dave Dempsey

Environmental Campaign Coordinator
Wendi Tilden

ECCO Field Director
Stephanie Anderson

Land Programs Assistant
Ben Stupka

MER Design & Layout
Rose Homa

The power of community: reaching out for the environment

Why in the world would anyone walk through a neighborhood and knock on the doors of strangers to talk about the environment? When organizers for The East Michigan Environmental Action Council, the Sierra Club and the Brownstown Open Space Millage Campaign (among others) ask people to take action, they often hear the worries of, "That's so rude," "It's intrusive," and "I can't do that."

But Carol Brown, a volunteer with Clean Water Action, in Oakland County remembers when neighbors used to talk to one another. "In the past, people stood on their front porches, attended block parties and pancake breakfasts in the neighborhoods. Now we don't have town hall meetings, Ladies' Clubs or the culture of just hanging over the back fence to talk about our concerns. Now the only way we get to talk to each other about issues we care about is by going out to find people."

But why spend the time and effort to trudge around the streets and speak to people only one at a time? Why not just send out a press release, buy a billboard or send a letter to the editor?

According to researcher Valdis Krebs, who studied the link between social interaction and political choice, "Research on voter participation in elections has revealed the importance of social networks. Voter turnout is highly correlated among family, friends and co-workers.

"A somewhat surprising finding is the strong effect that neighbors and other causal acquaintances can have on political choice.
Neighborhoods, especially suburban bedroom communities, can be a meeting place of many diverse networks and information flows. Neighborhoods are places where people will hear information and opinions that are likely to be different than those they hear at family gatherings, at work and at their place of worship."

But how can your organization get your members to have those conversations? In two words: you ask. When Clean Water Action hosted an open house for its new office in Ferndale, Carol attended. The party was in a friendly location, close to her home, and she liked CWA's grassroots component. Not one to trust in the bureaucracy of national-level efforts, Carol wanted to roll up her sleeves, and say, "let's get in there and do something." So when the organizer asked her to have some one-on-one conversations with folks, she decided to give it a try.

Like many people, Carol was quite nervous the first time she made some phone calls and walked through a neighborhood talking to strangers. But once she got a little training and started doing it, she noticed something surprising-a strong sense of community and a new sense of power.

"I felt very cynical and hopeless, thinking corporations are going to run everything, and there's nothing we can do about it. That was until I became active.

"Now, I might only talk with 20 people in a day, but it makes me feel powerful and hopeful."

Carol finds that building stronger activism is more comfortable when you see others taking action with you. You feel a sense of camaraderie and more connected to the community. "I feel connected to people whom I would have never met. And, I LOVE to hear what people think about things. I love bouncing ideas off each other. It's all a learning process, and it's fun."

And not only is it fun, but it's building the power of the organization. Through the team of volunteers, groups doing the work like Clean Water Action, Sierra Club and EMEAC have been able to reach out to many more supporters than they would have with only paid staff.

So, why don't more people do this work? The idea that you have to be some sort of expert to talk about environmental issues looms large in people's minds. This misconception is one of the roadblocks that prevent us from getting involved and building the power it takes to act on our values.

Take the advice of "Average Citizen" Carol Brown: "If you don't know all the facts, you don't have to be intimidated. It's about the conversations. Anyone can make a change if they are aware of the problem. So by speaking to people one-on-one, we share our commonality, and we have a chance to take collective action."

The power of our community of environmentalists is out there for us to build.

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Nonprofit organizations can legally engage in nonpartisan
Get-Out-the-Vote efforts.
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