2026 April Newsletter!

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In this issue:

Earth Month / Forest Defense team news / Our new team: Just Transition / Make Polluters Pay town hall / Arts Team news / Book Club / Neighborhood Teams / Some extra cheer!

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Happy April – it’s Earth Month! April is a busy month of events, celebrations, opportunities to take action, and regrettably–a lot of corporate greenwashing. (A reminder to call out greenwashing when you see it! Ads from the largest local and global emitters and earth-destroyers, including NW Natural, Zenith, Amazon, and Google are certainly not genuine and deserve public shaming!)

Earth Day started as a protest in 1970 with tens of thousands in the streets demanding clean air and water. Thanks for helping to keep the roots of this holiday alive by joining us in the streets at No Kings last weekend! Read on for many ways you can take action with us this Earth Month, and keep an eye on the 350PDX Calendar. 

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 Every day in April: Support 350PDX by ordering the “Third Planet” cocktail   at Radio Room on NE Alberta – a springy beet-infused rum with apple,   ginger, and lemon on the rocks. 50% of the proceeds from each cocktail go   directly to support 350PDX’s climate justice work. How cool is that? We have   more local businesses supporting us this Earth Month, stay tuned for more   announcements about those throughout the month, including chances to win cool prizes.

Portland’s official  Earth Day Celebration is on Saturday, April 25, 11:00am – 3:00pm. Join 350PDX, Making Earth Cool, Sunnyside Environmental School, and SOLVE for the 5th annual vibrant, inclusive, and impactful day to celebrate Earth Day. We will begin with a gathering on the grounds of Sunnyside Environmental School for music, speakers, tabling, action stations, face painting, a costume competition, and lunch, followed by a parade through the Sunnyside neighborhood, featuring the 350PDX giant puppets, marching bands, singing, and dancing. Fill out this form if you’d like to volunteer at the event. You won’t want to miss this!

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Forest Defense Team

April 8, 350PDX is co-sponsoring Sierra Club Oregon Chapter’s Public Townhall: The Future of Our Wild Roadless Forests. RSVP here. Join Representative Salinas and several advocacy organizations to learn and celebrate how protecting our forests from new roads supports healthy watersheds, habitat, and many more benefits for generations to come.

March was a big month for increasing youth access to green career opportunities in underserved communities. Seasonal green job opportunities are now posted at Thrive East PDX and we’re circulating a Youth Green Jobs Guide to career counselors at East Portland high schools. Big thanks to 350PDX Forest Defense Team members Carol Pinegar and Ellen Mendoza for volunteering at the March 5 Green Jobs Open House! Over 50 youths had an opportunity to talk with nine employment organizations.

Stop by Costello’s Travel Cafe (2222 NE Broadway) after April 17 to experience the Forest Defense Team’s latest installation of forest photos and prose, creating new pathways for Portlanders to access their personal connection to state forests.

New Team Focused on Just Transition

We’re excited to announce we’re starting something new with our volunteer teams. In April, our current Fossil Fuel Resistance Team and Climate Justice Policy Team will join forces! We’ll meet twice a month, working together on issues that are actively in need of attention, and spend part of the time in small groups to track various issues related to a just and sustainable energy transition.

Our first team meeting will be on Tuesday, April 14, at 6:00pm. We’ll meet at Radio Room (which is running an Earth Month special for us!) at 1101 NE Alberta St.

When: When: 2nd and 4th Tuesdays from 6:00-7:30 pm, alternating between in person and virtual

Topics: CEI Hub, Zenith, data centers, Make Polluters Pay, transportation decarbonization, PCEF, building emissions

Whether you’ve been part of one of these teams in the past or you’re interested in joining for the first time, you are welcome! Email Cherice or Dineen with any questions or to join the team (cherice@350pdx.org, dineen@350pdx.org).

Make Polluters Pay Community Town Hall

Join advocates from the Make Polluters Pay coalition from across the state for a virtual Community Town Hall on April 7 from 6:00–7:15pm. We’ll celebrate the amazing energy of our collective advocacy, reflect on the 2026 legislative session’s failure to pass the Climate Resilience Superfund Act, and look ahead at how we’re building community power to hold big polluters accountable!

WHO: Make Polluters Pay Coalition

WHEN: Tuesday, April 7th from 6:00–7:15pm

WHERE: on Zoom

WHY: To celebrate our action-takers, build community, and continue the work!

Register here

Arts Team

Our March Artbuild, attended by an eager group of climate activists and artists, was one of the highest Artbuild turnouts in years! We screenprinted, repaired puppets, painted a banner, and worked off some of the distress we’ve felt due to recent news. And then, on March 28, a crowd of 50 Arts Team puppeteers marched across the Burnside Bridge for No Kings. At Waterfront Park, we joined our Mourning Mothers puppets’ powerful display of grief over the current state of our world. More photos and video here.

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April 12, from 1:00-4:00pm, we’ll have another Artbuild to create the last puppet in our current space (3639 N. Mississippi Ave). Please join us, and please let Donna know if you’ll be there, so we can plan!

And then–help bring our puppets to life at the Earth Day Parade on April 25! The more puppeteers we have, the more puppets that get to march! It’s a fun and important way to make a stand for climate justice. Reach out to Donna Murph1949@aol.com

Donna, Lauren, Dannika, Allison

Book Club

The 350PDX Book Club meets every month on the first Wednesday of the month at 6:30pm. Every other month is in person and the others are virtual. Reach out to books@350PDX.org with any questions or to join our list, and please RSVP so we can inform you of any meeting changes!

Join us on Wednesday, June 3 at 6:30pm for our next non-fiction in-person meeting. We’ll discuss Eight Bears: Mythic Past and Imperiled Future by Gloria Dickie, a global exploration of the eight remaining species of bears―and the dangers they face.

Save the date for our other upcoming meetings:

  • Wednesday, May 6 at 6:30pm (Virtual) – Book to be selected in April

  • Wednesday, July 1 at 6:30pm (Virtual) – Book to be selected in June

Do you like to talk about books and climate justice? We are seeking volunteers to help facilitate! Contact books@350PDX.org to learn more.

SW Neighborhood Team

The Southwest Neighborhood Team includes neighborhoods on the south and west sides of Portland. We work together to raise awareness of the climate emergency.

Our street corner demonstrations continue weekly in February, every Friday from 3:00-4:00pm. at SW Garden Home & SW Oleson Rd. We gain attention with our climate action signs in a highly visible location. Street parking is available or reach us via bus or bike. We have extra signs to share!

Join our monthly Zoom meeting on Monday, April 20, from 6:30-7:30pm.  We’ll be discussing plans for tabling at Portland Sunday Parkways in May. To get involved, please contact Pat Kaczmarek at patk5@msn.com.

Washington County Team

Our next gathering will be our regular monthly online meetup at 6:30pm on Tuesday, April 14. We are excited to host Robin Straughn, Sustainability & Resiliency Manager for the City of Hillsboro. Robin will walk attendees through the recently approved Climate Action Plan for Hillsboro and answer questions.  We continue to converse with the City of Hillsboro regarding a second Electrification and Sustainability Fair in Hillsboro/Washington County in July.


We always welcome newcomers to our events and to our monthly online meetings (6:30pm on the second Tuesday of the month). For the link, join us here or contact us at 350washco@gmail.com.

Brooklyn Climate Action Team (BCAT)

BCAT brings Brooklyn neighbors together to take on the climate crisis — one hyper-local action at a time.

Averaging 15 neighbors per session, BCAT’s NET Training Study Group builds real momentum. Neighbors gather to work through the program’s training videos and prep for the city’s in-person NET certification. April‘s session filled up quickly, with more neighbors already lined up for the next one.

Go-Bag packing events are returning this spring, tentatively in May. Details on timing and location coming soon — start thinking about what you might need to refresh or build your emergency kit. BCAT is also exploring a volunteer partnership with a local community garden. Are you a resident of the Brooklyn Neighborhood and want to get involved? Reach out at bcat@350pdx.org.

New Milwaukie Neighborhood Team! Join Us!

Do you live in Milwaukie and want to take action for climate justice with your neighbors? There’s a group currently forming a neighborhood team and they’d love to connect with others in Milwaukie who want to help start the team, or who are interested in joining once it’s formed. To get connected, sign up here.

Some Extra Cheer! 

🔆 A federal court struck down President Trump’s attacks against the Endangered Species Act, restoring key values of the bedrock environmental law to the status it held for decades before the first Trump administration attacked the bedrock environmental law. More here!

🔆 350PDX’s Communications Director’s film “Roost 2020 PDX” premieres at The Portland EcoFilm Festival on April 30. What begins as a traditional natural history documentary about Portland’s crow roost becomes a chronicle of a city navigating a year of immense turmoil and unexpected beauty. More info and trailer here.

Thank you for reading our monthly newsletter. We hope to see you soon!

With gratitude,

Cherice, Dineen, Irene, Jessica, and Noelle

 

Launching the 2021 Art Sale!

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Today we are launching our annual end of year art sale fundraiser! 

All pieces in this sale have been generously donated by staff, volunteers, or supporters of 350PDX, and 100% of the proceeds go towards helping us hit our end of year fundraising target of $80,000.

The sale starts today and goes until December 18th, so we can make sure to have all the art delivered before the holidays.

Check out the art sale here

We’re still looking for more art for the sale, and will keep adding pieces until early December! Want to contribute a piece? Click here for more info.
Can you help spread the word?

  • Forward this email onto friends and family
  • We’ve got two flyers here that you can print and put up in coffee shops and community bulletin boards in your neighborhood!
  • Share these posts on Facebook, and Twitter.

 

In solidarity,

Chris (Volunteer Manager, 350PDX) and the 350PDX Arts Team

P.S. We’re doing volunteer-powered free pickup/delivery in the Portland metro area! Want to volunteer helping deliver art? Contact chris@350pdx.org.

Art and artists wanted! For end of year art sale

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I’m excited to announce we’ll be doing our end of year art sale fundraiser for the second year running! We’ll be selling donated pieces of art with all proceeds going to 350PDX to help us hit our much needed end of year fundraising target of $80,000.
Are you an artist? Do you have artist friends or family? We are looking for donations of anything from oil paintings to postcards, sketches to sculptures, climate themed or totally unrelated. Price range can be anywhere from $5 – $500 (or more), although last year our best selling items by far were in the $20-$100 range. Please forward this email onto anyone you think might be interested!
If you’re interested in donating a piece, or have any questions, please reach out to artsale@350pdx.org.
Info we’ll need from artists:

  • Name of the piece
  • High resolution picture of your art
  • A suggested price
  • A small description – including dimensions, whether it is framed, year it was made, etc.
  • A link to your website/Instagram (optional!)
  • Your phone number and address so we can coordinate pickup/delivery
Deadline: November 14 to launch the art sale website. But we can also add pieces to the sale through mid-December, so it’s OK if you can’t make that deadline.
Interested in volunteering to help make this art sale happen? Liaising with artists, managing the website, helping deliver pieces? Let me know too! We could do with all the help we can get to make this a big success.
Thank you!
Chris – 350PDX Volunteer Manager
P.S. Thank you to Lauren Sullivan on the Arts Team for the great flyer!

Tell Wyden – No Fossil Fuel Subsidies

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On Sept 13 the House Ways and Means Committee released an outline of proposed revenue-raising legislation for the Build Back Better Act. The draft text contains various tax reforms to fund President Joe Biden’s priorities and would end key international tax breaks for fossil fuel companies.

But it fails to eliminate domestic fossil fuel subsidies.

This is a key moment, and with over 500 allied groups and 50+ members of Congress strongly on our side, we can win. Sen. Schumer has already expressed strong support for ending subsidies, and he and Sen. Wyden (as well as President Biden) have positioned themselves as champions on the issue — this is their opportunity to prove it.

Can you email or call Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, to ensure fossil fuel domestic subsidies are eliminated in the budget reconciliation package? 

Sample script:

“Hello, I’m calling/emailing for Senator Ron Wyden. My name is xxx, I am an Oregon constituent, and I am calling to ask you to ensure that fossil fuel subsidies, both nationally and internationally, are eliminated in the budget reconciliation package. Thank you”

Feel free to add a reason too, e.g. “because my tax dollars shouldn’t be going to subsidize the biggest polluters on the planet”.

202-224-5244 ; Email here

Tom Goldtooth, Executive Director of the Indigenous Environmental Network stated:

“Ending all fossil fuel subsidies is a top line strategy to end the climate crisis. One of the key solutions for building a just transition is to shift fossil fuel funding to Indigenous, Black, Brown, and other people of color communities confronting climate and environmental injustice. By failing to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies, Chairman Neal and the Ways and Means Committee are ensuring billions of dollars of public money to flow to the biggest polluters on the planet at the expense of Indigenous Peoples rights, livelihoods, and well being. On behalf of our communities, all life, Mother Earth, and future generations, it is imperative that we stop the egregious cycle of corporate welfare for fossil fuels, end fossil fuel subsidies, and Keep It In The Ground!”

WE DID IT! City of Portland denies permit for Zenith Energy!

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Today, after over three years of dedicated grassroots organizing, the City of Portland has listened to thousands of us and denied the land use permit for Zenith Energy’s crude oil facility. WE DID IT!

In an unambiguous statement this morning, the City declared that Zenith’s oil-by-rail storage and transfer facility is inconsistent with the City’s land use rules, and denied them from receiving a crucial Land Use Compatibility Statement (LUCS). Now, Zenith must stop transporting tar sands and crude oil entirely. By denying the LUCS, the City concluded that Zenith’s oil-by-rail operations are inconsistent with our own land use goals, following years of policy commitments to reduce carbon emissions, address the climate emergency, and oppose oil trains.

In his statement on the denial, Commissioner Dan Ryan wrote “It is time to stop kicking our declarations down the road of intention—and start acting with the urgency needed at this critical time in history.” We couldn’t agree more.

For over three years, thousands of community members (like you!) have been fighting this crude oil facility, everywhere from the streets, the river and train tracks, to the courtrooms and City Hall. The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, 20 Oregon state legislators, and 46 neighborhood organizations all separately submitted letters and statements demanding this permit be denied. Tens of thousands of people marched in the streets, signed petitions, and made calls.

When we organize, we win. This announcement is yet another example of how when people come together, we can stop the fossil fuel industry from continuing to destroy our climate, our communities, and our shared future. Grassroots organizing works.

Zenith thought this permit would be a simple and easy box to check, one they’d get by just putting their fancy lawyers in front of City officials. But we didn’t allow it. Together with our amazing coalition partners (shout out to Columbia Riverkeeper, Breach Collective, CedarAction, Willamette Riverkeeper, Portland Harbor Community Coalition, Families for Climate, NAACP Portland, Portland Youth Climate Council, Stand Up to Oil, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, Oregon Sierra Club, XRPDX, Sunrise PDX, Portland Audubon, and more!) we shined a light on this process and made this an issue the City could not ignore. You helped us to that. We did this together. Read the response from us and our amazing coalition members here.

Want to keep fighting and winning against the fossil fuel industry?
Sign up to join our Fossil Fuel Resistance team!

Support our successful work stopping the fossil fuel industry from destroying
our communities and our climate here!

No oil trains or tar sands in Portland! Take action to Stop Zenith.

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No tar sands or oil trains in Portland! Take action to Stop Zenith!

A critical moment is upon us! We need you to join us to stop Zenith Energy from continuing to put our communities at risk with its dangerous oil-by-rail operation.

In a matter of weeks, the City of Portland will make a critical decision that will impact the immediate health & safety of Portland’s residents and the integrity of the climate. The City will decide whether Zenith’s facility in NW Portland is consistent with the City’s land use goals. The obvious answer: It’s NOT!

Years of your hard work and advocacy have led to this decision point. Now more than ever, we need you to use your voice to demand that the City of Portland deny any new permits for Zenith. In the face of the climate emergency, Portland has the opportunity to say “NO!” to this dirty oil company and assert our vision for a sustainable city—one that values community and environmental health over profits for fossil fuel companies.

It’s critical that any decision on this dangerous fossil fuel project be throughly investigated, including an analysis of the risk and harm to existing land uses, health and safety, and tribal resources.

Now is the time to mobilize and we need you to join us. Here is the most important thing you can do to help us stop Zenith:

  • Call Portland City Council Members to demand they say no to Zenith oil-by-rail and to conduct a thorough tribal consultation process:
    • Dan Ryan
      Dan Ryan oversees the Bureau of Development Services (BDS), which will make the decision regarding Zenith’s Land Use Compatibility Statement (LUCS).
      CommissionerRyanOffice@portlandoregon.gov
      503-823-3589

      Mingus Mapps
      MappsOffice@portlandoregon.gov
      503-823-4682

      Ted Wheeler
      mayorwheeler@portlandoregon.gov
      503-823-4120Jo Ann Hardesty
      joann@portlandoregon.gov
      503-823-4151

      Carmen Rubio
      Comm.Rubio@portlandoregon.gov
      503-823-3008