Welcome to our monthly newsletter, where we highlight some of the amazing work our volunteer teams have been up to and how you can take action!
But first – a reminder that we are just 1 month away from Resistance, Resilience, and Revelry: A Climate Justice Celebration, our 10-year Anniversary Party! Get your tickets at ⭐️ 350pdx.org/party ⭐️ The party will be on Nov 2, 2023 (Thursday) from 6:00-10:00PM at The Redd on Salmon (831 SE Salmon St, Portland). Get your ticket today to join us! Costs are sliding scale.
TEAM UPDATES
Want to get involved but not sure where to start? Fill out the Volunteer Form
Fossil Fuel Resistance Team
Our team is busy fighting Zenith Energy and GTN Xpress, advocating for Clean Air Standards for Multnomah County and educating on the dangers of methane gas, fighting for clean and healthy buildings across Oregon, and supporting frontline-led fossil fuel fights nationwide.
Take action: Fight for Clean Air in Multnomah County!
Multnomah County has a huge opportunity to fight back against the gas industry and enact policies that ensure cleaner and safer air for us all to breathe. The problem? They’re stalling, and need to hear from us to take this bold action. Join us in calling and emailing Multnomah County Commissioners to say we need Clean Air Quality Standards NOW!
Chair Jessica Vega Peterson: 503-988-3308 mult.chair@multco.us
Sharon Meieran: 503-988-5220, district1@multco.us
Susheela Jayapal: 503-988-5219, district2@multco.us
Lori Stegmann: 503-988-5213, district4@multco.us
Julia Brim-Edwards: 503-988-5217, district3@multco.us
CALL SCRIPT:
“Hi _____. My name is _____ , I live in ______. I’m calling because I am urging you to use your power as our local health authority to fight for air quality standards for our community. I’m concerned about appliances that leak dangerous methane gas and toxic pollutants in the buildings in our community, and I think it’s time for the County to take bold action. Pollution from our stoves, heaters, and fireplaces can cause conditions like asthma and heart failure. Please take action on this important issue.”
Communities in the Blast Zone coming together!
Do you live in the blast zone of Zenith’s oil trains? Use this map to find out. If you do, call and write to the City of Portland and share that you live in the blast zone and are concerned for your safety. You can also pick up a yard sign to have in your front yard or apartment window to educate your neighbors about the blast zone and what they can do to #StopZenith. Send an email to stopzenith@350pdx.org to coordinate receiving a yard sign from one of our team members.
We’re also helping folks hold Neighborhood Parties to educate their community about the issue, reach out to dineen@350pdx.org and lisebethjacobs@gmail.com to learn more.
GET CONNECTED: Our next meeting is on Tuesday, October 10 at 5:30 pm on Zoom. It’s a great time to join the team! Reach out to Dineen and Melanie to get plugged in and schedule an orientation meeting: dineen@350pdx.org, melanie@350pdx.org
Forest Defense Team
The Forest Defense Team had a wonderfully busy few weeks planning for, and hosting, the Forests over Profits mobilization. While capitalist investors and false solutions peddlars (I’m talking about you, biomass energy!) talked about how to make more money from forests at their “Who Will Own the Forest” conference, hundreds of people gathered over three days to protest and also hold our own “Forests Over Profits” conference. Together, we shone the spotlight on financialized forestry and began a new era of anti-capitalist, decolonial forest defense.
And, we had fun! Thanks to all the Forest Defense team members who helped out, and the Arts Team for your wonderful tree puppets and Forest Defense is Climate Defense banners.
Our shade equity campaign is hosting another Shade Equity Social on October 16th at the Rebuilding Center. The event will focus on shifting away from the false narrative of housing vs. trees, as exemplified in Governor Kotek’s Housing Production Advisory Council (HPAC), which made troubling recommendations, suggesting that cities be stripped of their power to implement existing tree codes to facilitate speedier, more profitable housing development. While we firmly support building new, affordable, healthy housing, the HPAC proposal seems designed so that developers can improve their bottom line at the expense of community health, climate, and tree canopy equity. Join us in asking for Gov. Kotek to reject this proposal, and for HPAC to instead creatively engage the challenge of maintaining tree cover while increasing housing density.
City/County Watchdog Team
The City/County Watchdog team works to make sure we have local policies rooted in environmental justice and climate action. Thank you to everyone who sent in a letter supporting the PCEF Climate Investment Plan: it unanimously passed the city council on September 26! This plan centers equity and creates clarity in how $750 million of PCEF funds will be allocated over the next 5 years.
This month, we have suggested actions you can take to support strong climate justice policy at the city, agency, state, and federal levels. Together, we are making a huge difference for our region and our world.
By Oct 13: Send in a comment to the Department of Environmental Quality about the Climate Protection Program
The oil and gas industry is trying hard to weaken or roll back this important program that would cut pollution in half from stationary polluters, and that would help ameliorate environmental injustice through its Community Climate Investment provisions. NW Natural and other methane gas utilities in Oregon, as well as other oil industry companies, are suing Oregon to try to stop the CPP. We need to make sure the CPP rules remain strong and stay focused on reducing emissions and increasing equitable public health outcomes. Send this letter to the DEQ today to show there is strong support from Oregonians for the CPP, not the polluters.
Take action with Divest Oregon!
350PDX is one organization of a 100-member statewide coalition making up Divest Oregon. Our staff are working with Rep. Khanh Pham to draft a bill for the 2024 legislative session to remove carbon-intensive investments from the Oregon State Treasury’s portfolio, including its PERS retirement investments. In the meantime, we are also encouraging Treasurer Read and the Oregon Investment Council (OIC) to choose to invest our state’s funds in ways that are good for the planet and the economy. Sign a petition we will deliver with Divest Oregon to the OIC and Treasurer Read.
Support Indigenous Leadership to Restore the Lower Snake River!
Last week, we supported an Indigenous-led “All Our Relations” Snake River campaign event stop in Portland, hosted by Save Our Wild Salmon, Native Organizers Alliance, and other groups. This tour around the Pacific Northwest drew attention to the plight of the salmon and their ecosystems along the Snake River. Four dams must be removed to restore essential salmon habitat before it’s too late. Send this letter today to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.
GET CONNECTED: Want to get involved? Email Cherice (cherice@350pdx.org) to join us for our next monthly meeting or to learn more. You can also reach out to Cherice to get involved in 350PDX’s policy advocacy.
Arts Team
This past month, the Arts Team held two art builds preparing for the September 26 protest at World Forestry Center. We revised our tree puppets and made new ones. Drummers arrived at the protest to give cadence to the important speeches we heard. We also made 25 beautiful posters saying Forest Defense is Climate Defense, and gave our Methane monster puppet new life as a DRAX monster in a street theater skit.
GET CONNECTED: Reach out to Donna (murph1949@aol.com) to learn more and get involved with the team! There’s lots more to do! Please join us at our next artbuild this Sunday, October 8, and 1-3:30pm, followed by a meeting. We’ll finish our bird puppets, make climate bags, organize supplies, and practice drumming.
Creative Team
The Creative Team uses storytelling to make the climate justice movement irresistible. This month, we finished gathering submissions for a writing and art contest we’re hosting with the Breach Collective, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Here Together Oregon — Flash Futures PNW: A Climate Fiction & Art Contest. Now we’re working on selecting submissions to add to a zine that we’ll be publishing in the spring! We’re also working on supporting the 350PDX 10th Anniversary Party, new materials for the Outreach Team, and more.
GET CONNECTED: Fill out this form to get on our creative roster, or reach out to Julia at julia@350pdx.org to get involved with the team.
SW Team
Welcome to our southwest neighborhood team, which includes neighborhoods on the south and west sides of Portland, from PSU to Hillsdale, Multnomah Village, Beaverton and Lake Oswego. The SW Team completed a successful yard sign campaign in September. We distributed 75 signs at two events. Recipients were local residents who support Climate Action Now!
Street corner demonstrations
These demonstrations continue weekly to raise awareness of the climate emergency. These sign-waving events at various locations in Southwest neighborhoods are a great way for you, your family and friends to participate in the climate movement. Commit to just one hour a week to make a visible statement in your community.
Our street corner demonstrations in October will be from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. every Monday at SW Barber and SW Bertha. Some parking is in the Burlingame Fred Meyer lot or take the bus or ride your bike. We have extra signs to share.
Group Presentations
Does your group or community organization need a dynamic presentation on climate change issues? Our ‘How to Save our Planet’ series consists of four one hour programs that include video segments and discussions focused on changes that can slow and eventually stop human induced global warming. The programs include:
- How to Save Our Planet
- How to Replace Fossil Fuels
- How to Rewild Our Planet
- How to Save Our Oceans
To schedule a presentation, please contact Pat Kaczmarek at patk5@msn.com.
GET CONNECTED: Join our next monthly meeting on Monday, October 9th, from 6:30-8:00 p.m. on Zoom. A link will be sent out to SW Team members prior to our meeting. To get involved in our outreach actions, please contact Pat Kaczmarek at patk5@msn.com, or check out our new web page for more information at https://350pdx.org/
Washington County Team
Our team hosts monthly sign waving and film events, table for climate justice in the neighborhood, and lots more! October is a busy month for us – stay tuned for more information and reach out to get connected.
GET CONNECTED: We always welcome newcomers to our regular monthly 6:30pm second Tuesday (online) meetings and at all our events. Our next team meeting is October 10 at 6:30pm (learn more on the 350PDX calendar). If you are in Washington County and would like to receive updates from us, please sign up HERE. You can also like our Facebook page for updates.
Brooklyn Neighborhood Team
Last month we took part in the big neighborhood event of the summer, the Ice Cream Social, where we enlisted dozens of new people to join our BCAT100, our list of 100 folks from the Brooklyn neighborhood who will commit to taking action once per month. We have 58 people on our list so far!
We’ve been spreading the word about Zenith Energy and distributing yard signs throughout Brooklyn. We’ve also been supporting a new cargo bike sharing scheme in the neighborhood, to help folks moving into the new apartment buildings not need to rely so much on cars. In October we’ll be focusing back on clean air issues in Brooklyn in anticipation for Multnomah County action on gas hookups in new residential buildings.
GET CONNECTED: Join our Brooklyn Climate Action Team mailing list here to get 1-2 emails a month with local action alerts. Know someone in our neighborhood? Forward this email onto them! Any questions, contact chris@350pdx.org.
Outreach Team
We’re relaunching our Outreach Team: a group of folks trained up and ready to do a variety of outreach activities, such as tabling in the community; putting posters up around the city; giving out flyers outside big events; wheatpasting; giving community presentations; and hosting house parties. Any of these activities interest you? Let kiera@350pdx.org know and we’ll loop you in!
GET CONNECTED: Join our in-person Quarterly Outreach Training on Oct 12 from 6-8pm – learn more here.
You’ll learn how to talk about 350PDX and the climate justice movement, and best practices for flyering, wheat pasting, tabling, community presentations, and house parties. For the last half hour, we’ll be posting upcoming event flyers around a 2 block radius of our office.
In solidarity,
350PDX Staff
350PDX Board & Team Leads
P.S. UAW auto workers still need our support! Tomorrow (Saturday October, 7) you can participate in a national day of action in your community:
- If you’re near a striking UAW location, show up in a red shirt and walk the picket line with auto workers! Find nearby picket lines here.
- If you’re not near a UAW picket line, join or host a car dealership canvass!
- On Saturday, October 7, take a picture of you, your community, friends, and family participating in an action and post it online with the hashtag #StandUpUAW.
