scienceaction.org

Apr 26 2008

Get Started

Published by sa-admin

What is scienceaction.org?

This site is meant to serve as a hub for connecting science and government, as well as a resource to those wishing to contact their elected officials about matters of science, education, and government. Here’s what you should start by doing:

Stay Connected

Subscribe to our feed using any RSS feed reader to get the latest news items and calls to action. If you don’t have a feed reader, you can simply go to the main webpage or directly access all posts.

Take Action, Make Action

If there is an issue that requires action, bring it to the attention of the site administrators (sa-admin(at)scienceaction(dot)org). We can post a “Call to Action” on the site and then create an action item, unless another organization has already provided tools to act on that issue (e.g. APS letter-writing drives).

You can use this site to pledge to act on the different issues listed here. A pledge means you “sign up” to act on that issue, by writing letters or making phone calls. You then follow-up and fulfill your pledge, and let us know what offices you contacted. This helps keep a record of which offices were contacted, and how many times.

Learn More about Government

You’ll need resources to give you background on the issues and to help you understand how your science impacts society and government. Each action item has its own description and sample letter, which can guide your contact with your elected officials. The “Call to Action” in the Scitizen Blog should also have background information. There is also a resources page page with links to reference documents, letter-writing aides, slides, etc.

The Golden Rule of Action

One important rule of thumb to remember is that it only takes three letters about an issue for a Congressional office to take that issue seriously. This is amazing, but speaks to how just a small contribution from each person on a particular issue can make a huge difference.