Discussion: View Thread

My state's infrastructure report card came out last month, and like the rest of the country, infrastructure funding continues to be a major issue. We know infrastructure is important. We know funding it properly is important. Yet, when was the last time you emailed or otherwise talked to your elected representatives to tell them so? 

If you're at all like me and figured it was just too much effort to type up a well-researched email on infrastructure policy, or perhaps are so totally disgusted with the current state of politics in the USA that you figure the effort is futile, I'd like to introduce you to ASCE's key contact program. Signing up for the program will take you less than 1 minute, and participating in it is equally fast. If you live/vote in the USA and have time to read a social media post, you have time to make a difference with this program! 

All you need to do is sign up HERE, and when there is legislation pending relating to infrastructure at the federal or state level, you receive an email from ASCE that it's time to take action. You click on the email, it automatically finds your local representative for you, and there is already a well-written and researched email included. Click send and you're done. It takes 30 seconds or less to tell your legislators that infrastructure is important! 

Comment below if you've signed up to be a key contact. And remember, if we don't tell legislators infrastructure is important, who will?



------------------------------
Stephanie Slocum P.E., M.ASCE
Founder
Engineers Rising LLC
www.engineersrising.com
------------------------------

Hi, Stephanie:

Great job yesterday on SmartTalk. Sorry you were stuck in traffic. I was trying to go in the opposite direction yesterday morning and traffic was stopped on the interstate near WITF. 

I still think that we need to seriously talk to people about the cost of not doing it. I constantly hear people saying "oh, I can't afford another tax." But what we really are trying to do is shift those lost dollars into improving the infrastructure to the point of making it do the job that it needs to do in an efficient manner. I try to sell it as a shift in dollars, rather than a new tax or fee. 

------------------------------
Shirley Clark P.E., D.WRE, M.ASCE
Professor
Penn State Harrisburg
Middletown PA
(717) 948-6127
Penn State HarrisburgProfessor
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-10-2018 21:50
From: Stephanie Slocum
Subject: "I'm Too Busy" Advocacy: Become a Key Contact

My state's infrastructure report card came out last month, and like the rest of the country, infrastructure funding continues to be a major issue. We know infrastructure is important. We know funding it properly is important. Yet, when was the last time you emailed or otherwise talked to your elected representatives to tell them so?

If you're at all like me and figured it was just too much effort to type up a well-researched email on infrastructure policy, or perhaps are so totally disgusted with the current state of politics in the USA that you figure the effort is futile, I'd like to introduce you to ASCE's key contact program. Signing up for the program will take you less than 1 minute, and participating in it is equally fast. If you live/vote in the USA and have time to read a social media post, you have time to make a difference with this program!

All you need to do is sign up HERE, and when there is legislation pending relating to infrastructure at the federal or state level, you receive an email from ASCE that it's time to take action. You click on the email, it automatically finds your local representative for you, and there is already a well-written and researched email included. Click send and you're done. It takes 30 seconds or less to tell your legislators that infrastructure is important! 

Comment below if you've signed up to be a key contact. And remember, if we don't tell legislators infrastructure is important, who will?



------------------------------
Stephanie Slocum P.E., M.ASCE
Founder
Engineers Rising LLC
www.engineersrising.com
------------------------------

<g class="gr_ gr_273 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="273" data-gr-id="273">Thanks</g> Shirley for your comment. The irony that I was stuck in traffic while traveling to an event to talk about infrastructure wasn't lost on any of us. Monday's discussion on WITF was also the inspiration for this post.

For those unfamiliar, on Monday we did a 1 hour Pennsylvania infrastructure episode on SmartTalk (WITF radio station out of Harrisburg PA, who is an NPR affiliate). You can listen to the entire episode by clicking HERE.

------------------------------
Stephanie Slocum P.E., M.ASCE
Founder
Engineers Rising LLC
www.engineersrising.com
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-12-2018 17:04
From: Shirley Clark
Subject: "I'm Too Busy" Advocacy: Become a Key Contact

Hi, Stephanie:

Great job yesterday on SmartTalk. Sorry you were stuck in traffic. I was trying to go in the opposite direction yesterday morning and traffic was stopped on the interstate near WITF.

I still think that we need to seriously talk to people about the cost of not doing it. I constantly hear people saying "oh, I can't afford another tax." But what we really are trying to do is shift those lost dollars into improving the infrastructure to the point of making it do the job that it needs to do in an efficient manner. I try to sell it as a shift in dollars, rather than a new tax or fee. 

------------------------------
Shirley Clark P.E., D.WRE, M.ASCE
Professor
Penn State Harrisburg
Middletown PA
(717) 948-6127
Penn State HarrisburgProfessor

Original Message:
Sent: 12-10-2018 21:50
From: Stephanie Slocum
Subject: "I'm Too Busy" Advocacy: Become a Key Contact

My state's infrastructure report card came out last month, and like the rest of the country, infrastructure funding continues to be a major issue. We know infrastructure is important. We know funding it properly is important. Yet, when was the last time you emailed or otherwise talked to your elected representatives to tell them so?

If you're at all like me and figured it was just too much effort to type up a well-researched email on infrastructure policy, or perhaps are so totally disgusted with the current state of politics in the USA that you figure the effort is futile, I'd like to introduce you to ASCE's key contact program. Signing up for the program will take you less than 1 minute, and participating in it is equally fast. If you live/vote in the USA and have time to read a social media post, you have time to make a difference with this program!

All you need to do is sign up HERE, and when there is legislation pending relating to infrastructure at the federal or state level, you receive an email from ASCE that it's time to take action. You click on the email, it automatically finds your local representative for you, and there is already a well-written and researched email included. Click send and you're done. It takes 30 seconds or less to tell your legislators that infrastructure is important! 

Comment below if you've signed up to be a key contact. And remember, if we don't tell legislators infrastructure is important, who will?



------------------------------
Stephanie Slocum P.E., M.ASCE
Founder
Engineers Rising LLC
www.engineersrising.com
------------------------------

And obviously I was the commenter via email who talked about costs that we are already paying for poor infrastructure. When I am asked about cost of improving public transit or my area of water, I usually ask them what the cost will be of missed work days due to water contamination that ends up making them or their children ill? There are great studies that show the cost of lost productivity and increased medical costs due to some of the contamination incidents. I think if we try to put the information in that way, we can convince some politicians to better explain things to their constituents.

------------------------------
Shirley Clark P.E., D.WRE, M.ASCE
Professor
Penn State Harrisburg
Middletown PA
(717) 948-6127
Penn State HarrisburgProfessor
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-12-2018 20:21
From: Stephanie Slocum
Subject: "I'm Too Busy" Advocacy: Become a Key Contact

<g class="gr_ gr_273 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="273" data-gr-id="273">Thanks</g> Shirley for your comment. The irony that I was stuck in traffic while traveling to an event to talk about infrastructure wasn't lost on any of us. Monday's discussion on WITF was also the inspiration for this post.

For those unfamiliar, on Monday we did a 1 hour Pennsylvania infrastructure episode on SmartTalk (WITF radio station out of Harrisburg PA, who is an NPR affiliate). You can listen to the entire episode by clicking HERE.

------------------------------
Stephanie Slocum P.E., M.ASCE
Founder
Engineers Rising LLC
www.engineersrising.com

Original Message:
Sent: 12-12-2018 17:04
From: Shirley Clark
Subject: "I'm Too Busy" Advocacy: Become a Key Contact

Hi, Stephanie:

Great job yesterday on SmartTalk. Sorry you were stuck in traffic. I was trying to go in the opposite direction yesterday morning and traffic was stopped on the interstate near WITF.

I still think that we need to seriously talk to people about the cost of not doing it. I constantly hear people saying "oh, I can't afford another tax." But what we really are trying to do is shift those lost dollars into improving the infrastructure to the point of making it do the job that it needs to do in an efficient manner. I try to sell it as a shift in dollars, rather than a new tax or fee. 

------------------------------
Shirley Clark P.E., D.WRE, M.ASCE
Professor
Penn State Harrisburg
Middletown PA
(717) 948-6127
Penn State HarrisburgProfessor

Original Message:
Sent: 12-10-2018 21:50
From: Stephanie Slocum
Subject: "I'm Too Busy" Advocacy: Become a Key Contact

My state's infrastructure report card came out last month, and like the rest of the country, infrastructure funding continues to be a major issue. We know infrastructure is important. We know funding it properly is important. Yet, when was the last time you emailed or otherwise talked to your elected representatives to tell them so?

If you're at all like me and figured it was just too much effort to type up a well-researched email on infrastructure policy, or perhaps are so totally disgusted with the current state of politics in the USA that you figure the effort is futile, I'd like to introduce you to ASCE's key contact program. Signing up for the program will take you less than 1 minute, and participating in it is equally fast. If you live/vote in the USA and have time to read a social media post, you have time to make a difference with this program!

All you need to do is sign up HERE, and when there is legislation pending relating to infrastructure at the federal or state level, you receive an email from ASCE that it's time to take action. You click on the email, it automatically finds your local representative for you, and there is already a well-written and researched email included. Click send and you're done. It takes 30 seconds or less to tell your legislators that infrastructure is important! 

Comment below if you've signed up to be a key contact. And remember, if we don't tell legislators infrastructure is important, who will?



------------------------------
Stephanie Slocum P.E., M.ASCE
Founder
Engineers Rising LLC
www.engineersrising.com
------------------------------