The US Chamber is vulnerable. How can a group with hundreds of millions of dollars at its disposal and a building full of lobbyists be vulnerable? Wel

"The US Chamber is vulnerable. How can a group with hundreds of millions of dollars at its disposal and a building full of lobbyists be vulnerable? Well, the US Chamber’s influence is based on its claim that it represents thousands of small businesses and local Chambers of Commerce around the country. But this claim couldn’t be further from the truth."



Is a Solution at hand, America?–KAS

Dear Friends,

Since it’s been a little while since we’ve emailed you, here’s a two-part refresher on the US Chamber:

Part 1: The US Chamber of Commerce is a corporate front group that’s blocking every effort to cut climate pollution. Contrary to the claims of its slick PR machine, the US Chamber does NOT represent the interests of small businesses or every day Americans.

Part 2: The US Chamber is vulnerable.

How can a group with hundreds of millions of dollars at its disposal and a building full of lobbyists be vulnerable? Well, the US Chamber’s influence is based on its claim that it represents thousands of small businesses and local Chambers of Commerce around the country. But this claim couldn’t be further from the truth.

This is the US Chamber’s Achilles heel. If we can make it clear that the the US Chamber doesn’t represent local businesses and local Chambers of Commerce, we can start to undermine their influence on our democracy.

Here’s the good news: our team at 350.org has a strategy to expose the US Chamber for what they are and strip them of their influence. But it will take everyday citizens to make it work. Can you jump in today?

Click here to get started: http://chamber.350.org/go

The first step is to get your local Chamber of Commerce to disassociate–publicly–from the US Chamber. This might sound hard, but is often as easy as making a phone call and asking them to put out a statement.

Getting a few dozen local chambers of commerce across the country to say “The US Chamber Doesn’t Speak for Me” on climate and energy issues will make a big impact on the US Chamber’s credibility.

Of the nearly eight thousand local chambers of commerce in the country, just a fraction of that are officially accredited by the US Chamber. The US Chamber is happy to play into people’s confusion–in fact, they do everything they can to make it seem as if they represent every local chamber in the country.

You and I know the truth–that the US Chamber doesn’t represent American businesses, it represents a handful of wealthy corporations. It lobbies hard and swings elections to protect CEOs. In the last few weeks, the U.S. Chamber has continued it’s assault on clean air and our democracy–going to bat for more offshore drilling, fighting campaign disclosure laws, running misleading ads in local elections, and more.

The time has come to go after the fundamental barriers to climate progress–and the US Chamber is enemy number one on that list. Luckily, we can all pitch into this fight.

Click here to get started in your community: http://chamber.350.org/go

Onwards,

Phil Aroneanu for the U.S. Chamber Doesn’t Speak For Me Campaign

P.S. The bigger our campaign is, the stronger it will be. Can you spread the word to anyone you think might be interested by forwarding this email or directing them to http://chamber.350.org?

You should join 350.org on Facebook by becoming a fan of our page at facebook.com/350org and follow us on twitter by visiting twitter.com/350 To join our list (maybe a friend forwarded you this e-mail) visit www.350.org/signup. 350.org needs your help! To support our work, donate securely online at 350.org/donate. You are subscribed to this list as eslkevin1@yahoo.com. Click here to unsubscribe

350.org is building a global grassroots movement to solve the climate crisis. Our online campaigns, grassroots organizing, and mass public actions are led from the bottom up by thousands of volunteer organizers in over 188 countries.

What is 350? 350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Scientists measure carbon dioxide in “parts per million” (PPM), so 350ppm is the number humanity needs to get below as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change. To get there, we need a different kind of PPM—a “people powered movement” that is made of people like you in every corner of the planet.