This Guide
Your assignment asks you to write a short, cogent, letter to an elected official addressing the local, state, or national environmental issue of your choice. This guide will help you identify:
- background research about your chosen topic either from secondary sources like journal articles or data/evidence from government reports
- an elected official or government entity appropriate to your chosen topic
Find Articles
- Academic Search Ultimate
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This is a multidisciplinary collection of articles from scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers and other sources.
Tip:
Need the PDF/full-text?
Use Article Linker to search for full-text across all databases. If the article isn't available, choose Request via ILLiad or use interlibrary loan to request a copy from another library.
- GreenFILE
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Article database focusing on the relationship between human beings and the environment, includes scholarly and general-interest titles, as well as government documents and reports.
Tip:
Using Google Scholar?
Sync your Google account with USU. This will get you past paywalls for articles USU subscribes to by having you login with your A# and password.
Find Books & Journals
- Library Catalog
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Find print and electronic books available from USU Libraries, as well as videos and other materials.
Tip:
Need a book we don't own?
Use interlibrary loan to request books, articles, and more from other libraries.
Introduction to Government Information
- Finding Government InformationEssential links and information about how to access materials produced by U.S. federal agencies, bureaus, and offices.
- Reading Government CitationsInformation about how to read and find citations to government information like bills, laws, statutes, codes, and regulations.
There are several different levels of government, each with many different branches. Who you choose to reach out to may depend on what level of government you'd like to reach out to.
- Federal Government - The U.S. Federal Government implement laws that apply to everyone in the United States.
- State Government - State governments implement laws that apply to everyone in their state. State can make laws that are more specific than federal law, but they cannot violate federal law.
- Local Government - Local governments, like counties and cities, implement laws that apply to everyone within their boundaries. Local governments can make laws that are more specific than federal and state laws, but they cannot violate them.
For more information about levels of government, see this document.
For further information about Utah local government structure and authority, see this document. Please reach out to the Government Information Librarian if you'd like assistance with local governments in other states.
Find an Elected Official
- Members of the U.S. CongressLook up a legislator and see their past votes, sponsorships, and links to their personal pages
- Utah State LegislatorsLook up or browse for a state level legislator
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