350PDX Weekly Update – Earth Day Done – Apr 25 2020

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Hi everyone,

So that was the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Not quite what we were expecting, but with pouring rain on Wednesday maybe we were lucky to not be doing a massive outdoor festival in East Portland like we initially planned.

You can watch our PDX rally here, edited to remove breaks to make it more watchable. We had thousands of people watch live and afterwards, and the highlights for me were definitely the two poems by Mia Sedory (starts at 0:04:00) and Lana Perice (starts at 1:14:00), two local high schoolers.

Then on Thursday we had the Digital Chase Takeover, where people across the country posted thousands of educational reviews of Chase Bank branches on Yelp, Yellow Pages, and other websites to highlight their dominant role in funding climate destruction. It’s not too late to write your own, check out the brilliant action toolkit here.

Nationally the Earth Day Live 72 hour livestream reached over 4 million people!

Thank you so much to everyone involved, especially Jenifer and Sue from our Defund/Divest team; Dineen, Dallas, Chuck, Ashley, Lucy from our staff; and Ale (OPAL); Simeon (APANO, Pacific Climate Warriors); Joseph (Anakbayan); Edin, Lara, and Allyson (all Sunrise PDX); and everyone else on the Earth Day steering committee.

In the coming weeks and months we will be unrelenting in our fight for YouthPass, the Oregon Green New Deal, and for Chase to defund the fossil fuel industry, as well as all our other ongoing campaigns. Thank you for being with us.

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In these financially unstable times, organizations like 350PDX are vulnerable. We hope you are looking after yourselves and your community first, but if you’re able to, please consider becoming a sustaining donor to help us get through this crisis and make sure pandemic solutions are climate solutions, and the society we rebuild is one based on community, solidarity, and clean energy. Donate monthly here. Anything helps, truly! 

Until May 5th, the first month of donations for new sustainers will go towards the Oregon Worker Relief Fund.

The Oregon Worker Relief Fund gets dollars in the hands of Immigrant Oregon workers who are being left out of the Federal Stimulus package. 100% of the donations will go directly to community members in need who cannot access unemployment insurance benefits. Learn more about the fund here.

Check out the 350PDX Actions page for all the actions you can take right now. It’s different every week and there are 6 actions on there right now!

Here’s your 350PDX weekly update.

COVID-19 Resources

Actions

All these actions and more are listed on the new 350PDX Actions page!

  • Build a Neighborhood Pod

    In the midst of a pandemic and economic crisis, we’re required to stay at home and physically distance from one another. But we need support more than ever — one way to give and get support in this moment is to set up a hyper-local, 350PDX support network on your block. If you’ve already done this, make sure to let us know so we can connect you with other pods in your area!

    Read more about our neighborhood pods or jump straight to our guide to starting a pod on your block.

  • Tell Congress that New LNG and Fracked Gas Pipelines are not Essential during COVID-19

    A couple weeks ago the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a key permit for the Jordan Cove fracked gas project. While the pipeline company is still missing all three of the key Oregon state permits it needs for construction, this federal approval should still be challenged. Last week 29 members of Congress called on FERC to declare a moratorium on the approval and construction of new fracked gas pipeline projects and Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) export facilities for the duration of the FEMA-declared public health emergency.

    Will you send an email to tell Oregon’s Congressional Delegation to urge FERC to halt approvals and construction during the coronavirus outbreak? Click here to send an email now.

  • Allow Digital Signature Gathering for Citizen’s Initiatives During COVID-19 State Of Emergency

    A better future is possible on the other side of this crisis, but we need your help to strengthen the democratic process. In-person signature gathering is impossible to conduct safely during the coronavirus pandemic, and we need a legally valid digital option for signature gathering in this critical moment. Please sign and share this petition to establish an emergency digital option today! Sign the petition here.

  • Make sure you’re registered to vote! Last day Tuesday 28th April

    As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, 350PDX cannot endorse candidates running for elected office. We do, however, strongly encourage people to exercise their voting rights and participate in the democratic process. We encourage all of our volunteers, donors, and members of our movement to vote in the May primary (voting ends May 19!) Many of our local races are not competitive between Democrats and Republicans, which means that the winner of the May Democratic primary will very likely win the November election. So if you want a choice in your elected officials, make sure you are registered to vote in the primary, and have the correct address listed, before Tuesday, April 28th.

  • Online Training: Building a Nonviolent Direct Action Campaign

    Join Eileen Flanagan, a highly experienced national activist, for this online course which will teach you the basics of nonviolent direct action campaigning. With proven methods of building people power, campaigns shake up the status quo through tactics that range from fasting and boycotts to noncooperation and civil disobedience. If you’re feeling discouraged, this is the perfect time to build your strategic skills in the methods of Gandhi, King, and suffrage leader Alice Paul. The course will begin Thursday, May 7th and run the four Thursdays of May from 4 to 6 PST. Costs $29 – sign up here.

News

  • US judge cancels permit for Keystone XL pipeline from Canada

    Less than two weeks after construction finally started on the Keystone XL oil pipeline, a U.S. judge canceled a key permit Wednesday. This comes after years of delays and is a major setback for TC Energy, the company behind the pipeline. The pipeline would stretch from Canada to Nebraska bringing tar sands oil from Alberta and connecting with pipelines there to reach the Gulf Coast.

  • Oregon Supreme Court rules campaign contribution limits are legal in Oregon

    The Oregon Supreme Court on Thursday said limits do not violate the state constitution, a major ruling that clears the way for controls on campaign donations in metro-area races and potentially signals an end to Oregon’s distinction as one of the biggest money states in American politics. This has been years in the making and represents a huge step forward for our democracy here in Oregon!

Opportunities​​​​

  • 2020 Greenfield Peace Writing Scholarship Awards Ceremony
    TONIGHT Sat Apr 25, 5:30PM – 7:30PM @ Online – info hereOregon Physicians for Social Responsibility present their annual awards ceremony. Join the high school student winners of their 2020 Greenfield Peace Writing Scholarship, and Keynote Speaker, Wendi Garcia, for an online event reflecting on the intersections of climate justice and immigrant justice. Thank you to the 80 Oregon high school 11th and 12th-grade students who responded to the question “How would an effective movement for climate justice benefit immigrant communities” this year. This online event is free and open to the public and will feature readings of the winning entries and keynote remarks by environmental activist and political asylee Wendi Garcia.
  • Intro to Project Drawdown
    Wed Apr 29, 7pm @ Online – Send RSVP to Mogsaway@yahoo.com with “Drawdown” in the subject line.On April 29 at 7 pm the NE 350PDX Team will host a Zoom presentation by Pachamama Alliance Portland introducing Project Drawdown’s upbeat, game-changing compendium of ways to reverse global warming. The session will include oral presentations, slides, video clips, music and breakout sessions. It will focus on the information presented in Paul Hawken’s monumental best-selling work, Drawdown, The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming, which presents 80 individual well researched methods by which the climate crisis can be brought to heel, if they are scaled up on individual, neighborhood, town, state and national levels. Find more info here.

Thank you all for the work that you do, stay safe, and we’re all in this together,
Ashley, Chris, Chuck, Dineen, Lucy – the 350PDX staff

350PDX Weekly Update – 1 week until Earth Day – Apr 16 2020 Earth Day Rally Illustration 350PDX Weekly Update – May Day – Apr 29 2020