Take Action Now
Here are the most effective quick actions you can take right now to fight for climate justice. Want to get more involved?
Climate change is scary, but there are meaningful actions that anyone can take to fight back. Help us build the just, resilient world we all deserve by signing the Pledge of Action! Whether you are brand-new to the movement or a seasoned activist, we want you to join us by taking the pledge.
Timeframe: ASAP
The urgency of the climate crisis requires bold and meaningful action at every level of government. Right now, we have an opportunity to create important change across all of Oregon in the 2023 Legislative Session, which runs from January to June.
350PDX enters the 2023 State Legislative session ready to support and advocate for bills that nurture the type of changes we need for a more climate-stable future. 350PDX’s Priority Bills span many different facets of state policy — from housing and land use to financial transparency and climate resilience — but all share a core value of furthering climate justice.
It is essential that our Senators and Representatives hear from us often, in as many different ways we can contact them: emails, phone calls, legislative meetings, constituent coffee days, lobby days in Salem, and more. Please join us in contacting your Oregon State Senator and Representative to highlight these important bills and ask that they are made a priority this session. Your voice as a constituent matters greatly, so use it!
Check out our 2023 Oregon State Legislative Session Priorities to see the most up-to-date information on bills we’re supporting and how you can get involved in getting them passed!
Then, join us in taking action and email this Climate Justice Legislative Package to your legislators, urging them to support these bills this session.
Timeframe: ASAP
Sign the Petition & Write to Congress: Restore Federal Recognition for the Chinook Indian Nation
In 2001, the Chinook Nation obtained federal recognition from the U.S. government. However, celebration turned into heartbreak when the U.S. government rescinded this recognition eighteen months later.
The Chinook Indian Nation was essentially declared nonexistent in the eyes of the government. The nation has been unable to access programs and resources to which federally recognized tribes are entitled. Over the last 20 years, the lack of federal recognition has cost $200 million dollars, opportunities for youth, and countless lives.
Congress has both the power and authority to recognize tribes. We are calling on our elected officials to do what’s right and end this humanitarian crisis. Stop the genocide. Federally recognize the Chinook Indian Nation.
ASAP
After years of massive public opposition to Zenith Energy’s dangerous oil-by-rail operations, the City’s recent decision to quickly and quietly approve a Land Use Compatibility Statement (LUCS) guaranteeing five more years of dirty oil trains in our communities is a serious breach of public trust.
Join us in demanding the City of Portland reconsider the approval of Zenith and include public input. Oil-by-rail’s significant impacts on public health, safety, and the climate crisis demand further investigation.
Background
We’ve co-hosted three “Rumble on the River” community forums on Zenith Energy’s oil-by-rail operations and the CEI Hub –– a six-mile stretch of old tank farms located in NW Portland. The hub holds more than 90% of all liquid fuel in Oregon and is on an earthquake liquefaction zone — meaning that in the event of an earthquake, local communities would face huge threats to their health and safety. The CEI Hub is also home to a Zenith Energy oil terminal and oil-by-rail operations. Check out videos of the forums below:
ASAP
Tell your local city and county leaders we need action to protect our communities from harmful methane gas!
Recently, a new report was released that details the public health impacts of methane gas in our community’s homes, apartments, and buildings. The report, Methane Gas: Health, Safety, Economic, and Climate Impacts, is authored by local leaders and experts in our community and 76 different organizations across the region signed on in support of its findings.
Join us in sharing this crucial information with your local City and County elected officials and policy makers. We need our political leaders to stand up for the climate and our health by making a just transition away from gas. As this report shows, research supports the rapid electrification of Pacific Northwest buildings as an affordable way to help meet Oregon’s carbon reduction goals and keep our communities healthy and safe. Thank you.
Timeframe: ASAP
Take action to stop the GTN XPress pipeline expansion
For years, communities in the Pacific Northwest have been standing up to fossil fuel corporations. Now, TC Energy (the company behind Keystone XL) is trying to quietly expand the GTN pipeline with an additional 150 million cubic feet of gas per day while also adding a new gas compressor station in Morrow County, OR. This proposed expansion project is called GTN XPress. GTN XPress is expected to result in more than 3.24 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year. The increased pollution would be the same as adding 754,000 passenger vehicles on the road per year until 2052. Over the holidays, Oregon Senators Merkley and Wyden came out in opposition to the GTN XPress, after many of us had been urging them to do so! This is an important step in the right direction for our campaign.
Now, it’s important that we make our voices heard to FERC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, during the agency’s open comment period. Comments to FERC are due by February 16. Learn how to submit your official comment to FERC in opposition to the GTN XPress project here.
Timeframe: anytime – it’s not actually specific to summer, and we’re going to change the name soon to reflect that!
350PDX Summer School
A free, self-paced, online course that explores the fundamentals of the climate justice movement. 25 video lessons (90 minutes total) take you through three sections:
- People Power 101
- Climate Justice 101
- Finding Your Place In The Movement
Available throughout the summer of 2022 (and beyond) so folks can skill themselves up in the slow summer months when other things – like actions, events, team meetings – tend to be less frequent.
Click here to enroll in the course.
Anytime
Join the 350PDX Creative Roster
Our Creative Team uses art and storytelling to make the climate justice movement irresistible.
This team does the whole creative process, from developing the story (or the narrative strategy) of our campaigns, to figuring out the most strategic way to get the story out to the right audiences, to producing all the banners, videos, songs, performances, creative direct actions, social media campaigns, press releases, webpages, animations, poems, and whatever else that will get our message out there.
The creative roster is our list of folks with creative skills that we can call on when we have a one-off need. Next time we need a songwriter or a photographer we’ll look through the roster and reach out to a few people who have those skills to see if they are free to help! Sign up here.
Deadline: ASAP
Wall Street CEOs: Stop Funding Climate Chaos
Wall Street banks and insurance companies are the largest financial backers of corporations expanding their fossil fuel operations. Since 2015, six US Banks have loaned nearly $500 billion to the 100 corporations most aggressively expanding fossil fuel operations. Insurance giants AIG, Travelers, Liberty Mutual, and Chubb are among the top ten insurance providers to the oil and gas industry.
Send the CEOs, executives, and top decision-makers of each of these corporations a message: they must pass policies prohibiting support for any company that is continuing to ignore climate science and expand its fossil fuel operations.
Deadline: ASAP
Take Action with Divest Oregon!
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 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 85 organizations, including 350PDX, fighting for our state to divest from fossil fuels and invest in our future.
Learn ways to take action with Divest Oregon!
Become a donor!
350PDX is a grassroots, volunteer led organization. Our supporters not only lead our campaigns and programs, but are foundational pillars in our funding. By making a gift to 350PDX, you are investing in the longevity of our organization and the role we play in building our local climate movement! Anything, from $10, to $20, to $100 helps us fund the movement, and lets us keep our focus on our campaigns instead of fundraising.
Thank you for your support and commitment to climate justice! Donate here.
Do a Facebook Fundraiser for 350PDX
Facebook can be a great tool for the climate movement. A movement grows through personal connections – when people see their friends involved it paves the way for themselves stepping in. By setting up a Facebook Fundraiser you can let your social network know why you care about the climate crisis, and encourage them to take a small first step into climate action – by donating. A birthday fundraiser raising $350 can be super effective at growing the movement! See our guide to Facebook Fundraisers here.
Get trained up on movement skills
There is a world of learning out there. We are standing on the shoulders of the movements and activists who came before us.
We encourage 350PDX volunteers to be on an ongoing journey of learning through their time as activists. Our trainings page has dozens of prerecorded trainings and resources for you to get skilled up, and also shows any upcoming live trainings we’re putting on.
Join the 350PDX Mailing List
We are building a people’s movement to fight for climate justice. Will you join us?
We send a weekly update with all the latest news and opportunities in the Portland climate justice movement, and occasional other action alerts and general emails throughout the month. Join the mailing list here.
Check out our monthly update
Each month we send out a update about what all our teams and campaigns are up to. This is the best place to learn what we are working on, and how best to get involved in our teams and campaigns. Read most recent update here.
Any questions? Email action@350pdx.org.
