In dealing with any environmental issue, at some point you come face to face with data and statistics. Statistics for Action can help you

• Plan how to tell others about an environmental problem, using effective strategies to communicate with numbers
• Stop a potentially dangerous proposal from moving forward
• Understand environmental test results or predictions for environmental impact
• Check for errors or oversights in sampling and testing
• Learn when and how community members can have an impact during environmental testing and hazardous waste cleanup

You can make the numbers come alive. Once the people understand they are more likely to get engaged and active. —Activist

Without data and a story with numbers to back it up, your concerns can be easily dismissed. A seasoned activist recommends:

From the minute you find out that there is a proposal, you have to get some numbers. The focus of these numbers should underscore the legitimacy of your opposition and the uncertainty and adversity of what is being proposed. …The folks doing the proposing want you in the defensive/confused mode because that works to their advantage. They are going to want to discount you as an emotionally unstrung nut. If you have numbers you can lay out in a chart or a graph, you are going to have credibility from the get-go. —Activist

Use the free resources and activities on this site to help community members and environmental organizers to be more effective with data at all points in a campaign. You don't need a special background, training, or textbook. Start right away with:

• Advice for different community situations.
• Guides that list exactly where and how input from community members will be most vital during water or soil monitoring and hazardous waste cleanup planning and implementation
• Activities that show how averages, test result data, and units can influence how seriously people take a problem
• Videos and activities on health risks
• Lists of resources you can use to find data, consultants, stories, and more!

SfA resources were developed with partners, environmental organizers in nine states. The resources are designed to help you...

1. Build your own understanding.
2. Build others’ understanding.
3. Use effective strategies to communicate statistics to regulators, neighbors, and elected leaders.
4. Use data to make and support recommendations.

When you are in an issue up to your neck, it’s difficult to take what you know to someone who knows nothing. I think that numbers are a way of doing that. That’s a vehicle for accomplishing the goals. —Activist