Dearest Bloggers,
I’m sitting in my hotel room after my first full day of BlogHer 2012, and I can’t help but be inspired to write you a love letter. Yes, you have caught me in a rare moment of sentimentality, so lets just go with it.
Last night I met dozens of bloggers with whom I interact with on a daily basis via email, Twitter, Facebook and the web. I have your faces memorized from the small headshot that appears on my Tweetdeck. I frequently see your names on our Safe Chemical Blogger list…but little did I know how powerful it would be to meet and talk with you face to face.
You inspire me. You help change the world we live in to be a better place. The cool thing about my job is that I get to see how all of the blog posts, organized events, phone calls, email action alerts and Stroller Brigades add up to move our elected leaders to do the right thing.
Just last week we had a historic vote in Congress, where they passed the Safe Chemicals Act out of committee; a vote that hasn’t happened in over 36 years. You helped make and shape history.
I heard from many of you that you often wonder if the posts you write make a difference. Many of you have written endless posts on the importance of passing laws in Congress to protect our families from toxic chemicals. Hundreds even.
Despite being a slow process, the blogs pays off. You’re not alone in your home office, writing in a solitary world. You are participating in a large and sophisticated network striving to decrease chronic disease, clean up our environment and hold elected officials accountable.
You have helped get us to where we are today. More people know that toxic chemicals are found in common household products, the workplace, our neighborhoods and drinking water. More people know that our laws aren’t protecting us. “BPA” has rapidly become a household term. The public is learning about toxic flame retardants and our weak laws that let them on the market.
I think about the courage and creativity it takes to start a blog. Where do you begin? You’re putting yourself out there in the world in a way that most people don’t.
Here at Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families we have a family of bloggers. Many write about topics ranging from the environment, health, food, parenting and politics. We share content and I work to keep them in the loop on what is happening in Congress. We’re a team. A team that works together towards a better tomorrow.
So this is an open call for other bloggers who care about the future health of this country, the environment, and influencing the political process to join our blogging family. If you’re interested please email me here.
Regardless of what kind of blogger you may be, if you are out in the world creating content, writing, sharing and shaping people’s lives, thank you. Thanks to all the women I met at BlogHer.
I am honored to meet so many of you face to face this week and can only hope to have our partnerships flourish. For those of you whom I have yet to tweet and meet, please contact me. I’m sure in due time, I’ll fall in love with you too.
Sincerely,
Lindsay Dahl, Deputy Director
Follow me on Twitter: @Lindsay_SCHF and @SaferChemicals
