350PDX Weekly Update – Good Grief – Oct 9 2019
Hi everyone,
In our increasingly chaotic climate, feelings of grief, stress and burnout can be common. Long term emergency work is exhausting and often discouraging in our culture where denial has become delusion, and justice, for those in the margins, is challenged daily from the nation’s leaders. Our consumer culture has commodified and isolated us. That’s why we’re happy to introduce a weekly ‘good grief’ support group – 10 Steps to Personal Resilience in a Chaotic Climate. Every evening on Thursdays starting Oct 17 7pm. See more details here.
Copyright Rick Rappaport 2019
Here’s your 350PDX weekly update!
Requests
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Join our On Call Task team
Are you sometimes available to do quick easy tasks? Things like writing thank you cards, helping with events, data entry, going to the post office, etc. I’m looking for 10-20 people to be on an On Call Task team who I can reach out to when things pop up. You’re not committing to actually doing the things right now, I’ll just email out to the 10-20 people every so often and you can say ‘yes I’m free!’ if you’re free! Interested? Let chris@350pdx.org know!
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Fundraiser to Send Native Protectors to Mauna Kea
Solidarity with indigenous communities is essential to our fight for climate justice. They are seeking funding for organizers to respond to the call from Mauna Kea to all indigenous folks to join them in their stand. https://www.plumfund.com/community-crowdfunding/send-native-protectors-to-mauna-kea.
Updates
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Holding the Thin Green Line – A New Radio Documentary by Barbara Bernstein
A new 4 part radio documentary by local climate KBOO presenter (/climate hero) Barbara Bernstein dives into the fossil fuel fights of the Pacific Northwest and the communities fighting these projects. Check it out here.
And I highly recommend that you tune in to her regular KBOO show ‘Locus Focus‘ on Monday mornings 10am (or listen online whenever here). It’s a great resource to learn about Jordan Cove, Zenith tar sands, Kalama methanol and all the other fossil fuel projects we’re fighting against. All the previous shows are online and often feature local activists including 350PDX volunteers!
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Hothouse Earth – New documentary by local filmmaker / 350PDX volunteer
Check out a new documentary made by local filmmaker Gary Houser – “The Great Paradigm Shift On Climate That Must Quickly Occur If There Is To Be Any Chance of Sustaining Life As We Know It”
Opportunities
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Public Forum on Fossil Fuel Infrastructure and Risk
Mon Oct 14, 6:30PM – 8:00PM @ St Johns – Water Pollution Control Laboratory (6543 N. Burlington Avenue) – RSVP here
Wear red! Multnomah County is hosting another public forum with Commissioners Meieron and Jayapal on the risks from fossil fuels at the Critical Energy Infrastructure hub (CEI) in St. Johns on October 14th.
These forums are aimed at gathering community input ahead of the County’s risk assessment of oil and gas terminals at the CEI hub. It also comes in advance of the County’s planned resolution opposing fossil fuel infrastructure. Join us in voicing our concerns about pollution and risk from the oil and gas tankers on the river, like the Zenith oil terminal. Share your ideas for how a managed decline of fossil fuels might benefit our communities, and help call for a just transition paid for by the polluters!
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SAVE the DATE: Multnomah County Briefing on 100% Renewable Energy Resolution
Tues Oct 15, 10:30AM – 12:00PM @ 501 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland
Join us for a briefing on Multnomah County’s progress toward achieving the targets laid out in the County’s landmark 100% renewable energy by 2050 resolution. Utilities Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, and Northwest Natural will provide updates to the county on their progress. Show up to show your support for strong, meaningful action for a just transition to 100% renewable energy and to hold these utilities accountable. RSVP here. Share Facebook event here.
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Testify at City Council Mtg, Re: Beaverton Climate Action Plan
Tues Oct 15, 6:00PM @ Beaverton City Hall, 12725 SW Millikan Way, Beaverton
Beaverton City Council is tentatively voting on the final version of the Beaverton Climate Action Plan at their 10/15 City Council Meeting, please show up and testify. We want the city to see that many people support action to address the climate crisis and that we will hold them accountable and make sure they act to cut emissions. The draft Beaverton climate action plan has been posted with a survey link: https://www.beavertonoregon.gov/399/Sustainability. Any additional comments can be made to: mailboxmayorgreen@beavertonoregon.gov. Share Facebook event here.
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Metro 2020 Transportation Funding Task Force meeting
Wed Oct 16, 5:30PM – 8:00PM @ Metro Regional Center, council chamber, 600 NE Grand Ave, Portland
Metro is the region’s planning organization, responsible for long range land use planning and maintaining the Portland-area urban growth boundary. Metro is also responsible for planning the region’s transportation system, though it is a separate organization from TriMet, which operates most of the region’s buses and the MAX Light Rail system. Metro is currently overseeing a $652.8 million regional bond for affordable housing, passed in November 2018.
Metro is now preparing a transportation improvement measure for the November 2020 ballot. Referred to as Metro 2020, this measure will propose approximately $20 billion in funding for transportation improvements in the Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas county region. A transportation task force has been meeting to determine the corridors, programs, and projects that will receive improvements. The more people showing up to these meetings, the more scrutiny and pressure we can exert to make this a green new deal for transportation, instead of billions of dollars for fossil fuel car infrastructure! Write a letter to submit as written testimony, sign up to testify, or just show up in support. Wear red! Contact Jessie – jessielucidamaran@gmail.com – with any questions.
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Goal Zero Tour 2019
Sat Oct 19, 10:00AM – 4:00PM @ Throughout NE / N Portland
Residential buildings account for almost a quarter of all energy usage in the state of Oregon, and zero energy home design is an important strategy in climate adaptation. Join Solar Oregon, Passive House Northwest, Earth Advantage, Green Hammer, and the Home Performance Council of the HBA for this finale event of Sustainable Building Week 2019. Explore a mix of new and retrofit homes and learn all the surprisingly simple, accessible, and innovate strategies that homeowners use for getting to zero. This open-house style tour from 10 am – 4 pm will feature net zero, ‘path to net zero’, and zero energy ready homes in N, NE, and SE Portland. Bike, scooter, bus, or drive between a dozen homes on a 5 mile diameter circuit through the city. Facebook event.
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350PDX General Meeting – Climate Strike – What Next?
Mon Oct 21, 6:00PM – 8:00PM @ 350PDX, 1820 NE 21st Ave, Portland
The Sept 20 PDX Climate Strike was a huge success and marked the debut of two new tactics – 1) the strike, and 2) the climate festival.
— What went well?
— What can we do better?
— What’s next?
Join us for a 350PDX General Meeting to brainstorm these questions, and start figuring out what’s next for the climate strike movement!
Thank you all for the work that you do, and for being part of this uplifting and unyielding movement,
Chris – 350PDX Volunteer & Communications Coordinator