350PDX Weekly Update – Take action to Divest Oregon!
Hi everyone,
Over the past few years, it has become increasingly clear that fossil fuel investments are risky and dangerous. There has been a wave of organizations and states divesting from fossil fuels, most recently the State of New York. Still, the Oregon State Treasury remains heavily invested in fossil fuels. Not only is the Treasury jeopardizing our state’s financial future by holding onto risky investments, but they are actively fueling the Climate Crisis. We’ve already seen the impacts of the crisis – from wildfires to droughts to heat waves. We’ve seen how Black and Indigenous People and People of Color, working people, and other marginalized groups are bearing the worst of these impacts.
Divest Oregon is a grassroots coalition of over 80 organizations, including 350PDX, fighting for our state to divest from fossil fuels and invest in our future. We’re calling on our legislators to take the first step towards divestment by passing the Treasury Transparency Bill, which would ensure the Treasury makes its investments and climate risk analyses transparent to the public.
Join Divest Oregon in taking action to pass the Treasury Transparency Bill. Email or sign up to virtually meet with your legislators today!
Transparency is the first step towards accountability, and simple good governance. We deserve to know where our money is being invested and how those investments put our communities at risk. Then we can start reinvesting in a more just, equitable future for all. Take action today!
Take Action!
For quick actions like petitions, check out our Take Action Page. See here for our broader Volunteer Opportunities.
Stop War Crimes in the Philippines and Stand with Indigenous Land Defenders
US Representative Susan Wild wrote a letter calling for sanctions on some of the worst human rights abusers in the Philippines. 350PDX and our partners at Kalikasan Solidarity Organization and the International Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines are calling for Oregon legislators to sign on to the letter. There is no climate justice without human rights. Join us in standing up against state-sanctioned fascist violence against environmental justice activists in the Philippines: Click here for a phone script to call Senator Merkley and Representative Blumenauer!
Take action to support Wet’suwet’en land defenders
Right now, Wet’suwet’en Indigenous rights are under attack: Canadian paramilitary troops flew into Indigenous lands in support of fossil fuel giant TC Energy, and their 417-mile fossil fuel pipeline — without the consent of hereditary chiefs. For the past twelve years, the Wet’suwet’en have asserted their sovereignty to stop fossil fuel companies from trespassing on their lands, and they have won. This community organized against two more huge pipelines and defeated them, and we know they can win. Banks from the U.S. to Japan to Canada, including the #1 worst banker of fossil fuels JPMorgan Chase, are funneling BILLIONS in loans to TC Energy, the company behind Coastal GasLink. We can support the Wet’suwet’en by fighting back against the financial backers of this climate-killing pipeline – take action today!
Keep up the heat on OPB! Our public radio shouldn’t air fossil fuel ads
Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is still running advertisement and sponsorship ads for NW Natural – a fossil fuel company trying to sell the public dangerous and greenwashed fracked gas. When OPB promotes the use of fracked gas through ads that ignore harms to our communities, they lose our trust as listeners. OPB already refuses to air ads from tobacco and weapons companies — why are fossil fuels getting a free pass? Join us in writing to OPB to ask them to stop airing ads for the fossil fuel industry!
Updates
Past Seven Years Hottest On Record
It’s official. 2021 ended as the fifth hottest year on record, with temperatures averaging 1.1-1.2C above pre-industrial levels. The Climate Crisis is here, but there’s still time to change course and save our future! Read the full BBC article here.
Ocean Warmth Sets Record High in 2021
Greenhouse gas emissions are indeed heating up the planet, as shown in 2021’s record high for average ocean temperatures. This increased heat in the oceans is to blame for those December tornadoes we saw in several states, and will likely cause future unusual weather events. Read the full Washington Post article here.
The Fossil Fuel Industry Rigged the American Economy
Billions of subsidies have long held up the fossil fuel industry, and 2021 was no different. During the pandemic, the Federal Reserve corporate bond relief program favored the fossil fuel industry despite the fact that it has been in steady decline. It’s time for our federal government to pull back subsidies from this dying industry and stop funding the Climate Crisis. Read the full article from Evergreen Action here.
New Storytelling Project Tracks the Fracking Boom in the Permian Basin
“In this six-part series, we explore the ongoing oil, gas, and petrochemical boom in the Permian Basin and Gulf Coast. It is a story of runaway toxic infrastructure, environmental injustice, and climate overshoot.” Read the full storytelling project here.
Opportunities
Don’t Look Up Discussion with Climate Odyssey Team
Thur Jan 13, 7:00-8:30pm, virtual
Demand Essential Wages for Essential Workers!
Tues Jan 18, 2:00-3:30pm, Stanton Yard (PBOT) 2835 N Kerby
Show City workers that we have their backs! Demand Essential Wages for Essential Workers! DCTU, the council of unions representing some 1280 workers at the City of Portland, has reached an impasse with the City of Portland over wages that do not keep up with inflation. Workers have now been without a contract for over a year. Jobs with Justice, DSA, and DCTU led a joint rally this past Saturday, and thanks to the overwhelming support of the community over 300 people showed up! Let’s come together again in support of the workers who provide the critical services that we count on for every aspect of City life. Learn more and RSVP here. You can also support the DCTU Solidarity Fund here.
Defining Abolition: Black People Liberate Themselves
Sat Jan 22, 10:00am-3:30pm, virtual
The MLK Racial Justice Campus Collaborative is hosting a virtual Racial Justice Teach-In in honor of the legacy and work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The event will focus on the history, theory, and practice of abolition, with the understanding that white supremacy suppresses social imagination; Black people liberate themselves. Rooted in Black/African Diasporic feminisms, abolition has defined anti-oppression, anti-colonial, and anti-racist organizing nationally and globally. In keeping with the abolitionist tradition, this event seeks to create a space where Black community activists can convene to envision a world liberated from white supremacy, colonialism, and racism. Learn more and sign up here.
Portland Black Lives Matter Protests
Throughout the week @ across the city – details here
Join the 350PDX staff collective!
We’re hiring a Grants & Operations Manager and a Development Manager! Priority application deadline is Feb 1, 2022. Both positions are full time (all of our full-time positions are 30 hours/week) and salaried at $47,000-$49,000 per year (pending 2022 budget completion, although we have pay equity across all positions). 350PDX’s uses a a non-hierarchical staff collective model that aligns with our values of distributing power and sharing accountability. We are a relatively young, dynamic, volunteer-driven grassroots organization with thousands of supporters. We regularly engage hundreds of people to volunteer and take action for climate justice. Learn more and apply at 350pdx.org/job-opportunities!
We’re thrilled to announce that we exceeded our year-end fundraising goal by raising over $100,000! We wanted to give another round of appreciations to everyone in the 350PDX community for your support. Thank you for all your work this year for climate justice. Together, we’ll take on even more in 2022.
This know this is a difficult time for many, and we hope that you and yours are staying safe and healthy.
In love and gratitude,
Brenna, Chris, Dineen, Gaby, Indi, Jana, Julia – the 350PDX staff
