350PDX August Team & Campaign Update

Happy August! Here’s this month’s team & campaign update newsletter.

We hope you’re on a high from yesterday’s Zenith Energy permit denial. It’s massive news and is testament to the years of incredible work of our Fossil Fuel Resistance team, our volunteers, our staff (especially Dineen!) and our coalition partners.

350PDX August General Meeting

Join for our next General Meeting, on Monday Aug 30 6:00PM – 7:15PM, on Zoom. Register here.

We’ll kick off with a Climate Emotions Check-in, and then dive into a reportback from some folks who went out to Minnesota to the Line 3 protest camps.

Climate Emotions Check-in – Facilitated by longtime 350PDX volunteer and workshop facilitator Barbara Ford, we will take some time to reflect together and share in small groups how we are doing. You are free to share, or just to listen. We will also share some plans for other events like this, and solicit ideas for what might be fun and supportive ways to grow our sense of community.

We’ll then hear what some of our teams are up to, and any other announcements. Hope to see you there!

TEAM UPDATES

Read more about the teams and what volunteer opportunities they have on our Volunteer Opportunities page
Want to get involved but not sure where to start? Fill in the Volunteer Form

Fossil Fuel Resistance

Our Fossil Fuel Resistance Team just made a huge dent in its main campaign – stopping Zenith Energy! We sent a dedicated email about that victory yesterday which you can read here. This is AMAZING news, and the result of years of hard work by volunteers, staff, and our coalition of partners!

Our team has also been hard at work releasing the Methane Gas: Health, Safety, and Decarbonization: Setting the Record Straight report. This report, supported by 64 organizations throughout Oregon and Washington, brings together over 90 sources of research to outline the myriad of dangers of methane, fracked gas, and gas in the buildings we live, work, and gather in. From the significant health impacts that burning gas in homes has on children, to the ever-growing climate pollution generated by gas appliances, we aim to reveal the true cost of methane and fracked gas on our communities. Can you help us spread the word about this report on social media and to our City officials.

To join our team, reach out to Melanie (melanie.plaut@gmail.com) and Ana (apyz875@gmail.com).

Defund/Divest

Our team follows the money and works as part of a national coalition StopTheMoneyPipeline (STMP) to end massive support for the fossil fuel industry by financial institutions, insurance companies, and the government. Happening now? Deadline Glasgow: Defund Climate Chaos, demanding that all financial institutions stop financing and funding the corporations engaged in climate destruction and human rights abuses by the start of the Glasgow Climate Talks (COP 26) on November 1. Related work is our support of frontline resistance to fossil fuel infrastructure such as Line 3, a tar sands pipeline in Minnesota owned by Enbridge Energy. We are an ongoing resource for divestment campaigns in local educational institutions AND we are working toward a public launch in September of a Divest Oregon campaign, by a statewide coalition which includes our team.

Reach out to Jenifer (jenifer@350pdx.org) for conversation about our team, and ask to be sent our weekly team email. We meet on the 4th Thursday, 7-8:30 pm. For more go to our team web pages.

Forest Defense

The Forest Defense team has been exploring Oregon forest water issues and connecting with other organizations for a potential collaborative effort. We also look forward to working with the new 350PDX Forest Campaign Manager Brenna Bell starting in early October!

We virtually meet first and third Mondays 6pm – contact Leslie for info (lesliegrush@gmail.com)

Solidarity

Our Solidarity Team organizes in the intersections of climate justice and social justice movements through genuine partnership and coalition building. Email dineen@350pdx.org and indi@350pdx.org to join the team or for more info.

City/County Watchdog

The past month has been busy! On July 29, Watchdog teamed up with Fossil Fuel Resistance to testify at the City’s first progress report on the Climate Emergency Declaration that was passed over a year ago. We talked about the urgent need for community engagement, funding, stopping the greenwashing about renewable natural gas, and stopping Zenith. While there has been great news about Zenith, we will continue to push on the other matters. The team is also following up on new information about the City’s Clean Air & Healthy Climate Fees Proposal and we continue to collaborate with the Portland Metro People’s Coalition on the City’s Charter Review.

We meet monthly on the first Thursday of the month from 5:30-7 PM. Contact Brooke (brooke@350pdx.org) or Indi (indi@350pdx.org) for more info about the team or to join a meeting!

Creative Team

The Creative Team has some projects up our sleeves and we need more folks to help us pull them off!

Join us for a one-off thing or more regularly. Fill out this quick form to get on our roster. 

The 350PDX Community-Based Creative Team makes the climate justice movement so beautiful and compelling, it’s irresistible to join! We are writers, videographers, graphic designers, photographers, project managers, story strategists, puppeteers, actors, screen-printers… you get the idea. We help figure out a campaign’s narrative strategy, and produce gorgeous creative products that surprise and delight, while bringing the campaign’s story to life.

OTHER UPDATES

Staff

A big welcome to our newest staff member Jana Hughes (she/her) who is our new Finance & Operations Manager. Here’s a little about Jana. Feel free to reach out to say welcome at jana@350pdx.org.

“Growing up shuttled between San Francisco and Dallas, TX; Jana hitchhiked to Portland in 1992 and, like 5 generations of resilient women before her, has called Oregon home ever since.

Her early experiences with houselessness and intermittent poverty led to her focus on income inequality and the systemic damage that corporate capitalism inflicts on those outside the quest for shareholder profit. Her administrative management experience stems from one simple fact; 9-5 office jobs were the only option that overlapped with her need for childcare for her daughter.

Over the last 20+ years she has launched a local newspaper, earned degrees in Economics and History, helped found a non profit, and, during the housing crisis, saved hundreds of homeowners from foreclosure with ACORN Housing.

Jana sees the climate emergency as the last best chance for humanity to demand an end to extractive corporate capitalism and embrace holistic systems that honor the legitimacy of all people, regardless of their generational privilege.

As Finance & Operations Manager, Jana is responsible for ensuring that 350PDX’s resources are deployed in effective, accountable, and sustainable ways.When not balancing accounts, Jana can be found scouring the Oregon wilderness for pretty rocks, seeking conversations that highlight the commonalities between seemingly opposing social ideologies, or dancing off steam to 90’s hip-hop.”

In solidarity,

350PDX Staff – Chris, Chuck, Dineen, Gaby, Indi, and Jana
350PDX Board & Team Leads