Hi everyone,

I’m starting this week’s newsletter sharing some words from local activist and teacher Suzie Kassouf. It’s a slightly longer intro than usual, but it’s important reading. 

“Yesterday as I was walking home from the protest, I had the honor of running into Kent Ford, the founder of the Black Panther Party in Portland. We talked about what’s different (some) and what’s the same (too much). He told me that in his day, the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Panther Party, and the anti-war movement all eventually united for justice and we agreed that this kind of unity is what we need today.

It has been deeply moving and beneficial for me to learn from Black leaders in my city and on the internet these past few weeks. No matter what this movement becomes, it’s clear that it must be led by the most marginalized among us – Black, Brown, poor, queer, disabled, working class, etc, etc, etc. But if these are the only people doing movement work because too many of us are afraid to speak up and step up because, “this is not our moment” then the movement will not be sustained.

@dontshootpdx posted yesterday, “There is a place for everyone in justice work. There is a place for everyone because there HAS to be a space for everyone for us to be able to take down the system. ” and I COULD NOT AGREE MORE. There is no climate justice without racial justice. Hyper extraction of resources could not have begun without the genocide of Indigenous peoples and the kidnapping and torture of Black bodies, and cannot be sustained without the destruction of Indigenous land and miles of “sacrifice zones” in Black and Brown neighborhoods. There is no racial justice without economic justice. It is no accident that Black families own ONE TENTH the wealth of white families and that racial tensions worsen when material conditions worsen.

Don’t forget that racism did not just appear. You were not born hating Black and Brown people. Black and Brown people were not born hating ourselves. Racism was INVENTED to justify and MAINTAIN the institution of slavery. Black enslaved people and white indentured servants saw themselves in solidarity with one another, would marry and form deep friendships – and, importantly, rebelled and ran away together. Early colonial governments “solved this problem” by criminalizing relationships between Blacks and whites, punishing Blacks with severely harsher punishments, and giving whites explicit power over Blacks. These efforts succeeded in creating a multi-class racial camaraderie among whites, and, as Bob Dylan says, “the poor white remains, on the caboose of the train, but it ain’t him to blame, he’s only a pawn in their game.”

We are not each other’s enemies and we are too smart this time to allow ourselves to be divided. We have enemies: Wall Street criminals, Big Pharma, Fossil Fuel CEOs, a white supremecist President and administration, milquetoast neoliberal politicians in the Democratic Party, and, ultimately, hyper late stage Capitalism that sacrifices literally all human and environmental costs for profit.

We cannot solve these problems one at a time – they are all deeply systemic. We cannot end police brutality amidst the brutality of poverty and environmental degradation. We cannot end racism while our country has less than 5% of the world’s population but ¼ of the world’s prisoners and COVID deaths (not a coincidence). We cannot end Capitalism while huge portions of our nation believes that Black and Brown people, and not this exploitative and destructive system, are responsible for their poverty. Enough. We must unite. All movements for justice are one – there is no separation. Everybody has skin in this game and everybody needs to figure out what their role is in this movement and then PLAY IT with a full and brave heart. We are the ones we have been waiting for – the time is NOW.”

Here’s your 350PDX weekly update.

Actions

• Take action to support Black lives

  Yesterday’s budget vote was just one major change on the way to defunding the police and stamping out racism in all areas of our life. There is so much more to do, so go ahead and fill in our new volunteer form to help connect you directly with meaningful action at whatever level of risk, whether that’s showing up to protest, phoning the Mayor from home, bringing supplies to protesters, pressuring your workplace to be anti-racist, and more.

• The great news we’ve been waiting for: the State of Oregon Sues FERC!

  For years, communities across the region have asked the State of Oregon to stand with the thousands upon thousands of us in stopping the Jordan Cove LNG project by challenging FERC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (otherwise known as the “rubber stamp machine”). Through years of powerful grassroots organizing led by folks in Southern Oregon, and thanks to support from volunteers and supporters like you!, that pressure is now working! Recently, the State of Oregon filed suit against FERC, legally challenging the agency on the Jordan Cove LNG project! This is a HUGE deal, and the kind of action from Governor Brown we’ve been demanding for! Can you join us and our coalition partners in sending Gov. Brown a quick thank you for standing with our communities and challenging a FERC approval? 

• Sign the Universal Preschool petition to get it on the ballot

  We believe that universal preschool benefits everyone. Because it’s free for every child, universal preschool addresses a fundamental social inequity by ensuring all children are guaranteed a strong foundation on which to build their lives. We also believe that raising the next generation is low-carbon sustainable work and so is part of our vision for a thriving future with a livable climate. Multnomah County can join other communities – from Washington, D.C. to New York City to Chicago – that are already benefiting from universal preschool. Help them get on the ballot today!

Resources

• 350PDX COVID-19 Resources Page

  Check it out for the full list of resources for self care, community care, tackling bias/xenophobia, volunteer opportunities, and organizing during this time. Take a look here.

• White Supremacy Cultural Traits

  One of the ways we at 350PDX are examining how the dominant white supremacy culture in this country affects our work and lives is using this list of cultural traits, such as defensiveness, a sense of urgency, fear of open conflict, power hoarding, individualism, etc. We encourage you all, especially white folks and non-Black people of color, to read through these traits, examine where they show up in your own life, workplaces, and behaviour, and to consider the antidotes in the text that describe ways of moving beyond these traits.

• Anti-Racist and Environmental Justice Resources

  We keep a list of anti-racism and anti-white supremacy resources on a page on our website that all our volunteers should get familiar with.

• Breaking Down the Prison Industrial Complex – video series 

  Critical Resistance presents “Breaking Down the Prison Industrial Complex.” The videos in the series explore the current state of the prison industrial complex and how people are fighting back to resist and abolish it. There are more Black men in prison today than were enslaved in 1850 (source), and it is interconnected with the racial injustice of the police that we are currently fighting to defund.

• Climate Justice is Racial Justice, Racial Justice is Climate Justice

  In this op-ed, Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. of Hip Hop Caucus explores and explains why the destruction of our planet means greater harm to Black and marginalized communities.

Opportunities​​​​

• Portland Black Lives Matter Protests
  Every day @ across the city – details here

  There are protests, vigils, and marches every day and every night, with the exact location and details sometimes only becoming available a few hours before. So please check the PDX BLM events webpage for the day’s events, and show up!

• Nightly march (usually) from Revolution Hall
  Every night @ 6:00PM – 11:00PM – details here

  Every night there is a peaceful march of thousands of people to support Black lives, often ending up in a park or open space where a rally goes on until late with speakers and musicians from the Black community. Most nights the march leaves from Revolution Hall (SE 13th & Stark), but it has also left from Jefferson High School several times recently. You can check Rose City Justice’s Instagram page a few hours before the march to see the march route. Generally family friendly and with everybody wearing masks for COVID. Fill in the new volunteer form if you want to join a Signal chat (a phone app with encrypted texting) with 350PDX staff and volunteers to get details on where each night’s march will go, or to meet up with folks to march together.

• Should Police Unions Exist? Labor Weighs In
  TOMORROW Thurs June 25, 6:30PM, Online

  Join members of Portland Jobs with Justice, the Oregon Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), and other union members, leaders, and organizers for a participatory panel discussion on the existence of police unions, police brutality and Black Lives Matter. Discuss the possibilities for change that exist that hadn’t a month ago, and what role union members, unions, and the Labor movement can and should play in the movement for Black lives, and in the coming changes to our system of policing. Facebook event here.

• Estacada March Against Racism
  Fri June 26, 6:00PM – 8:30PM, Estacada High School

  In recent events, the Mayor of Estacada posted that he is not in support of BLM vigils in the community and that he would be working tirelessly to end events planned. As a response to protecting Estacada’s minority communities, folks will be joining PEACEFULLY in solidarity and speaking up for the oppressed voices.

• Arts Action during a Pandemic: From Virtual to Safe Street Actions
  Sat June 27, 2:00PM, online – register here

  Join Arts Organizer David Solnit from 350.org & Mobilization Organizer Amy Gray from Stop the Money Pipeline for an amazing arts webinar. We will share a range of examples and practical info for arts-based people power action for a Just Recovery with Climate Justice.

  VIRTUAL: How we can still make art and take action together with virtual art builds, banners, song and music choirs and videos.
  SMALL GROUP HIGH IMPACT ACTIONS: Guerrilla Projections, Street Murals, visual installations.
  HEALTH-SAFE PUBLIC ACTIONS: vigils, pickets, demonstrations, memorials–how to organize to keep safe and make it clear that we can speak out AND keep each other safe. this is open to anyone! Activists, organizers, artists and performers, and everyone who wants to work together to protect our people and planet and make a better world. Share on Facebook here.

• Webinar: What’s at the End of the Pipeline? Online Panel from Coos County Leaders
  Tues June 30, 5:30PM – 7:00PM, Online

  On Tuesday, June 30th at 5:30 pm, join local experts from Coos County for an online panel to dive into the proposed Jordan Cove LNG Export Terminal’s impacts on Tribal resources, estuary ecology, climate change, public safety, and the fishing industry. This is an important event to show up to to support people leading the fight on the ground against Jordan Cove LNG and hear directly from them about how this project would threaten the local community and ecosystem of Coos Bay. Share with your friends on Facebook here and register for the online panel here.

• Youth4Climate Summer Camp (virtual)
  Session 1: June 29 – July 24
  Session 2: July 27 – August 21

  Summer 2020. The world is on fire, and youth are on the frontlines of demanding change. In this pivotal moment in history, join peers in discovering your voice and your power – and take climate justice actions that make a difference. Connect with a community of passionate, like-minded students for a summer experience of active engagement and fun! Organized by San Diego 350, available to all! More info here.

  Who: High-school students and college-aged youth (two separate tracks, by age group)
  Cost: suggested price $50-$75 – no one refused due to inability to pay

• Reclaiming Connection, Backing Frontline Leadership: Listening Tools for White Climate Activists
  Wednesdays July 8, 15, 22, 29. 5:00PM – 7:00PM – online

  Racism, genocide, and other oppressions are getting in the way of a united climate justice movement. We are making progress but still struggle with these divisions.  This interactive series introduces listening tools we can use to move against racism and to support each other as we take steps to broaden our movement, and to help each other improve our ability to form good working relationships across divisions of “race” and other oppressions.

  To register or inquire, please email Margaret at margaretjwj@gmail.com, or text 503-351-4192.

• Film Screening “The Condor and the Eagle”
  Sun July 5, 4:00PM, online – register here

  Join us for a powerful event hosted by the 90+ groups of the Stop The Money Pipeline Coalition. Let’s get together virtually to watch and discuss this award-winning documentary with the filmmakers, protagonists and key-leaders of the Divestment Movement. With panel discussion with Tara Houska, Bill MCKIbben, Bryan Parras, Melina Laboucan-Massimo, Janet MacGillivray. Facebook event here.

• How White Supremacy Built Wall St
  Thurs July 9, 4:00PM, online – register here

  The United States became the wealthiest country in the world as a direct result of the land-theft and genocide of Indigenous people and the free labor of enslaved people. The sale of Black bodies (and of the cotton and cash crops they were forced to produce) was not only critical to the creation of Wall Street as a financial model, but it was also foundational to the development of modern capitalism itself.

  This webinar will explore the modern-day manifestations of that history and how the finance industry continues to use its disproportionate power to counter our struggles for racial, climate, gender, and economic justice.

  Join Stop the Money Pipeline and Take On Wall St. for this in-depth webinar on finance and systemic oppression. Facebook event 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

Hi everyone,

Thank you to everyone who has been showing up and taking action for Black lives. Portland City Council failed to pass the police budget yesterday (read more below) which gives us one more week to ramp up the pressure. Click here for all the events and marches to show up to, and see below for all the remote action you can take.

Over the last two weeks the demand to defund the police has swept the country, with an increasing number of communities advocating to take money from police and reinvest it in services like housing, community health, education, and access to jobs. In most cities, including Portland, police is by far the highest cost to the taxpayer, and has increased every year while other agencies have been cut. In the context of the renewed focus on police brutality and racism, as well as the coronavirus economic crisis, 350PDX believes now is the time to push for a large reduction in the budget of the Portland Police Department in alignment with PAALF’s demands. We’ve been getting a few emails asking about this topic, so we wanted to share a bunch of articles and resources to dig into two key questions:

What does defunding the police mean?

• Portland specific demands from PAALF and Unite Oregon
• Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter – explains defunding the police
• What does ‘defund the police’ mean? The rallying cry sweeping the US – The Guardian
• What does it mean to dismantle a police department? – Video interview
• Alternatives to Policing Flyers 
• Frequently asked questions about defunding or abolishing the police – MPD150 
• Budgeting for Safety – letter to Portland City Council we co-signed onto on May 19

What is the connection between racial justice and climate change?

• Defending Black Lives – short video from 350.org
• What We Must Do to Dismantle White Supremacy – 1 hour webinar from 350.org
• Climate Activists: Here’s Why Your Work Depends on Ending Police Violence
• I’m a black climate expert. Racism derails our efforts to save the planet
• Divest from Racism, Invest in Justice [Stop the Money Pipeline]

Fighting for racial justice is a crucial part of the fight to end the climate crisis, but we want to stress that even if it wasn’t, the 500 years of horrific injustice against Black communities demands that we do everything we can to fight for racial justice right now. And if you need a reminder of that, watch this powerful 6 minute video of author Kimberly Jones.

Here’s your 350PDX weekly update.

Actions

Many of you may be feeling that you want to do more for the movement for Black lives, and so we’ve made a new volunteer form to help connect you directly with meaningful action at whatever level of risk, whether that’s showing up to protest, phoning the Mayor from home, bringing supplies to protesters, pressuring your workplace to support the movement, and more.

• City of Portland: Defund the Police

  Portland City Council votes on its annual budget, including the funding for the police, next week! Can you email and phone the mayor and commissioners once per day until they pass the budget the movement is asking for? Click here for the phone and email info, bookmark the page so you can do it every day, and send it to your network!

• Multnomah County: Defund the Police

  Multnomah county also votes on its budget next week and provides a large amount of funding for the police. Demand that the City demilitarize and defund the Portland Police Bureau, and to keep the National Guard out of our community. Click here for the info. See PAALF’s demands here for more context.

• Sign the Universal Preschool petition to get it on the ballot

  We believe that universal preschool benefits everyone. Because it’s free for every child, universal preschool addresses a fundamental social inequity by ensuring all children are guaranteed a strong foundation on which to build their lives. We also believe that raising the next generation is low-carbon sustainable work and so is part of our vision for a thriving future with a livable climate. Multnomah County can join other communities – from Washington, D.C. to New York City to Chicago – that are already benefiting from universal preschool. Help them get on the ballot today!

News

• Portland City Council fails to pass budget

  Yesterday, after 732 people signed up to testify, with around 730 of them reportedly in favor of significantly reducing the police budget, the city council put forward and voted on a budget that would shrink the Portland Police Bureau’s budget by 11%, or $27 million. This number is far from the minimum of $50 million in cuts demanded by community organizations like PAALF, Unite Oregon, and the Rose City Justice Collective (who is organizing many of the nightly marches).

  Only Commissioner Chloe Eudaly voted no on the proposed budget, stating that “this moment demands bold action” and that we go further in defunding the police. The vote required unanimous support so the 3 – 1 vote budget was not passed. The council will likely vote again on a budget on Wednesday or Thursday next week, giving us time to ramp up the pressure on Mayor Ted Wheeler, Commissioner Amanda Fritz, and Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty.

Resources

• 350PDX COVID-19 Resources Page

  Check it out for the full list of resources for self care, community care, tackling bias/xenophobia, volunteer opportunities, and organizing during this time. Take a look here.

• White Supremacy Cultural Traits

  One of the ways we at 350PDX are examining how the dominant white supremacy culture in this country affects our work and lives is using this list of cultural traits, such as defensiveness, a sense of urgency, fear of open conflict, power hoarding, individualism, etc. We encourage you all, especially white folks and non-Black people of color, to read through these traits, examine where they show up in your own life, workplaces, and behaviour, and to consider the antidotes in the text that describe ways of moving beyond these traits.

• Anti-Racist and Environmental Justice Resources

  We keep a list of anti-racism and anti-white supremacy resources on a page on our website that all our volunteers should get familiar with.

Opportunities​​​​

• Portland Black Lives Matter Protests
  Every day @ across the city – details here

  There are protests, vigils, and marches every day and every night, with the exact location and details sometimes only becoming available a few hours before. So please check the PDX BLM events webpage for the day’s events, and show up!

• Nightly march from Revolution Hall
  Every night @ 6:00PM – 11:00PM – details here

  Every night from Revolution Hall (SE 13th & Stark) there is a peaceful march of thousands of people to support Black lives, often ending up in a park or open space where a rally goes on until late with speakers and musicians from the Black community. Marches have typically gone downtown or moved around NE Portland, and even took over the I-84 freeway a few nights ago. Generally family friendly and with everybody wearing masks for COVID. Fill in the new volunteer form if you want to join a Signal chat (a phone app with encrypted texting) with 350PDX staff and volunteers to get details on where each night’s march will go, or to meet up with folks to march together.

• Voices of a Hidden Empire: Panel on Militarism & Climate Crisis
  Sat June 13, 8:00PM – 9:30PM @ Online – RSVP here

  Join the Earth Day to Tax Day Coalition for their third webinar “Voices of a Hidden Empire: International Experiences of Militarism and Climate Crisis” on Saturday June 13th at 8pm.

  They will be joined by panelists from around the world exposing the direct effects of militarism and the climate crisis, and how the US military is used against their people.

• Racism, Protest, and Law Enforcement: Historical Context for Contemporary Times
  Thurs June 18, 12:00PM – 1:00PM @ Online – RSVP here

  “Images of anti-racist and of anti-government protesters have filled media feeds during recent weeks, making us eager to consider the historical context for such uprisings. Bringing together scholars who have studied the physical and economic displacement of Black Americans as well as the Black Power movement and white supremacist organizations, including their interactions with the police, this program will offer perspective on the news of today.”

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

Hi everyone,

Big news! Zenith Energy abandons plans for new Portland pipeline. Zenith is the company that has been bringing Canadian tar sands into our city on oil trains and loading onto ships in NW Portland for export. After a year of public pressure the City of Portland is standing firm against this company, and Zenith blinked in calling off its plans. In possibly related news, a credit agency downgraded Zenith’s credit rating – it could be on the verge of default – and Warburg Pincus is considering selling off Zenith. They are stilling planning to expand their rail and unloading facilities, supposedly for “biofuels” and so the fight to stop Zenith for good is not over, but this is an important step that shows the power of our collective movement!

Here’s your 350PDX weekly update, starting with the good news.

• New York Rejects Williams fracked gas pipeline

  Multi-year campaign wins as New York State denies key water permits to $1 billion project. This dangerous and risky pipeline would’ve transported roughly 400 million cubic feet of fracked gas from the state of Pennsylvania to New York City every single day.

  Last spring, President Trump passed an executive order that would make it easier for the pipeline to be built. Its denial sends a signal to frackers and fossil fuel project backers everywhere that we don’t need more fossil fuel infrastructure in our country. The denial was “with prejudice” which means that Oklahoma-based Williams Company cannot reapply for this permit. The project is now effectively dead. A great victory for people power. Well done NY!

• Catch up on the Jordan Cove fracked gas pipeline fight

  Rogue Riverkeeper has put together this Spring review of what has been going on in the campaign to stop the southern Oregon pipeline, and how the pandemic has been impacting the campaign on both sides. Check it out here.

COVID-19 Resources

• Request Support Form / Offer Support Form

  Our biggest priority right now is making sure folks in the 350PDX community can get the support they need. Please use the request support form if you would like food and other supplies delivered to you, and the offer support form if you would like to volunteer to help. It is being run by an all-volunteer grassroots network that has sprung up to provide mutual aid across the city.

• 350PDX COVID-19 Resources Page

  Check it out for the full list of resources for self care, community care, tackling bias/xenophobia, volunteer opportunities, and organizing during this time. Take a look here.

Actions

All these actions and more are listed on the new 350PDX Actions page! Done all these actions already? Share them with the people in your life!

• Call the Federal Reserve Chairman about the Fossil Fuel Bailout

  The Trump administration just gave fossil fuel companies their complete wish list of changes to the new federal loan program, without adding any requirements to aid workers. While first responders work without hazard pay or PPE gear, polluters are looking for a lifeline from taxpayers for their failing, climate-wrecking industry.

  We’re asking you to call Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell and tell him not to bail out big oil — click here to get talking points and get connected to Powell.

• Tell Congress: Pass the REWIND Act

  As Trump and Mnuchin contemplate sending taxpayer dollars to prop up the faltering, failing, morally bankrupt oil industry and its multi-millionaire and billionaire CEO’s and shareholders, Congress must respond. The REWIND Act can help: it prevents the Trump administration from using CARES Act funds to bailout fossil fuel corporations, and blocks several executive actions the President has taken or may attempt to take to benefit the fossil fuel industry at the expense of our health and welfare. Click here to send a message to your Senators and Representative asking them to support the REWIND Act.

• Tell DEQ: No more oil trains on the Columbia River

  The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is currently accepting comments on the draft air pollution permit for Global Partners’ Port Westward facility, also known as the Columbia Pacific Bio-Refinery. Located in the Columbia River estuary, Global Partners’ crude oil transloading facility threatens public safety, salmon, and clean water. Learn more about how oil trains endanger Columbia River communities, then tell DEQ to keep oil trains off the Columbia. Deadline June 5!

• 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?

Opportunities​​​​

• Indigenous Land & Water Protectors Webinar
  TOMORROW Thurs May 28, 2:00PM – 3:30PM @ Online – Register here

  Across the Pacific Northwest, Indigenous land & water protectors are fighting back against the threat of oil & gas exports through their traditional lands. From Wet’suwet’en territory to the Klamath River and beyond, these battles to protect communities from the harm of the fossil fuel industry are connected.

  On Thursday, May 28, from 2-3:30PM PST join Indigenous leaders from across the region for a discussion about their communities’ fights against fossil fuel export projects including the Coastal Gas Link pipeline, Jordan Cove LNG, Tacoma LNG, and the Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline.

  Speakers include Ka’ila Farrel-Smith (Klamath-Modoc Artist), Kanahus Manuel (Secwepemc and Ktunaxa), Brook Thompson (Yurok Tribal member), Dakota Case (Puyallup Water Warriors), Thomas Joseph (Hoopa), and a representative from the Gidimt’en Camp. Facebook event here.

Art & design by Ka’ila Farrell-Smith

• Jobs with Justice 2020 Virtual Summer Solidarity Celebration
  TOMORROW Thurs May 28, 6:00PM – 7:00PM @ Online – Register here

  Join Portland Jobs with Justice for their annual summer celebration with inspiring worker stories and musical entertainment, livestreamed on their website or on Facebook.

• Portland DSA Training – Building an Escalating Campaign
  Sat May 30, 2:00PM – 4:00PM @ Online – RSVP here

  From Portland Democratic Socialists for America – “Whether you’re a workplace troublemaker or a neighborhood leader, we win our demands with smart campaigns. Join us for this essential training from the guidebook “Secrets of a Successful Organizer” on what makes a successful organizing campaign, including choosing the right issue, the right target, and the right tactics. Prepare to make a GAME PLAN for your next fight!”

• The Long and Twisted Tale of Jordan Cove LNG – Zoom Documentary Slideshow Premiere
  Fri June 5, 6:30PM – 8:00PM @ Online – RSVP here

  Barbara Bernstein & Damon Motz-Storey host with Rogue Climate, No LNG Exports, Power Past Fracked Gas, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility are excited to invite you to a Zoom premiere on Friday, June 5th from 6:30-8:00 pm presenting “The Long and Twisted Tale of Jordan Cove LNG,” a slideshow that accompanies Part Two of Barbara Bernstein’s “Holding the Thin Green Line” radio documentary series. Please join us for a viewing of the slideshow (57 minutes) plus a Q&A session immediately afterwards with impacted landowners, community organizers and land and water protectors who are featured in the documentary.

  Panel Speakers: Taylor Tupper (life-long Klamath County resident and individual tribal member), Stacey McLaughlin (impacted landowner), Larry Mangan (impacted landowner), and Allie Rosenbluth (Rogue Climate).

  This slideshow was conceived originally to show at community gatherings to educate the wider public about what’s at stake for the people of Southern Oregon – as well as our entire region – and the planet – if the Jordan Cove LNG Export Terminal and Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline get built. This slideshow puts faces to the people whose stories are told in the radio documentary and shows the landscapes that would be destroyed by this fracked gas pipeline and export terminal. But until the COVID-19 pandemic is over we are resorting to Zoom to create these community gatherings. Facebook event 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

Hi everyone,

The King of the Climate Deniers, Lee Raymond, has been demoted at JPMorgan Chase. It’s always empowering to see such direct positive results of our campaigns. In a big victory for the national Stop The Money Pipeline campaign of which 350PDX’s Defund/Divest team is a central player, and just a few weeks after our Digital Chase Takeover on Earth Day, it was announced Friday that Lee Raymond will no longer serve as the Lead Independent Director of Chase’s Board. As the New York Times reported this is a big win for us ― and in particular, our coalition partner, Majority Action, who devised and led this campaign. We’re not done yet, he’s still on the board for now, but this is a crucial step forward. So congratulations Sue and Jenifer and the rest of the Defund / Divest team! They’re always looking for new volunteers to join the fight, and you can sign up to volunteer here. Read Bill McKibben’s take on this amazing news 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. Let’s start with some more good news this week!

• Portland launches 100 new car-free streets for biking and walking

  More people than ever have been going outside and using the neighborhood Greenways to exercise, or just get some fresh air, while physically distancing. And so the City of Portland is rolling out 100 new car-free streets across the city – the Slow Streets Safe Streets initiative. This is a great example of a glimpse of a new, more sustainable, and people-focused future that this pandemic is revealing to be possible.

COVID-19 Resources

• Request Support Form / Offer Support Form

  Our biggest priority right now is making sure folks in the 350PDX community can get the support they need. Please use the request support form if you would like food and other supplies delivered to you, and the offer support form if you would like to volunteer to help. It is being run by an all-volunteer grassroots network that has sprung up to provide mutual aid across the city.

• 350PDX COVID-19 Resources Page

  Check it out for the full list of resources for self care, community care, tackling bias/xenophobia, and organizing during this time. Take a look here.

Actions

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

• Call the Federal Reserve Chairman about the Fossil Fuel Bailout

  The Trump administration just gave fossil fuel companies their complete wish list of changes to the new federal loan program, without adding any requirements to aid workers. While first responders work without hazard pay or PPE gear, polluters are looking for a lifeline from taxpayers for their failing, climate-wrecking industry.

  We’re asking you to call Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell and tell him not to bail out big oil — click here to get talking points and get connected to Powell.

• Tell Congress: Pass the REWIND Act

  As Trump and Mnuchin contemplate sending taxpayer dollars to prop up the faltering, failing, morally bankrupt oil industry and its multi-millionaire and billionaire CEO’s and shareholders, Congress must respond. The REWIND Act can help: it prevents the Trump administration from using CARES Act funds to bailout fossil fuel corporations, and blocks several executive actions the President has taken or may attempt to take to benefit the fossil fuel industry at the expense of our health and welfare. Click here to send a message to your Senators and Representative asking them to support the REWIND Act.

• Tell DEQ: No more oil trains on the Columbia River

  The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is currently accepting comments on the draft air pollution permit for Global Partners’ Port Westward facility, also known as the Columbia Pacific Bio-Refinery. Located in the Columbia River estuary, Global Partners’ crude oil transloading facility threatens public safety, salmon, and clean water. Learn more about how oil trains endanger Columbia River communities, then tell DEQ to keep oil trains off the Columbia.

• 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?

Opportunities​​​​

• Unjust Care: Pandemics & Race
  TOMORROW Thurs May 14, 10:00AM – 11:30AM @ Online – Register here

  Part of the Oregon Environmental Justice Pathways Summit. This webinar will shed light on the racial impacts of COVID-19, noting historical patterns observed during pandemic-like situations and how communities are shaping a caring response to a public health crisis in place of an efficient government plan. The webinar panel will be moderated by Haley Case-Scott, Climate Justice Grassroots Organizer with Beyond Toxics and the NAACP Eugene/Springfield. Share Facebook event here.

• Universal Preschool Now! Parent Organizing Meeting
  TOMORROW Thurs May 14, 7:30PM @ Online – Register here

  350PDX endorsed the Universal Preschool Now! campaign which will be on the ballot for Nov 2020 in Multnomah County. They have a kickoff meeting for parents coming up – “Are you a parent burdened by the high cost of childcare? Do you want to see free, universal preschool in your community? Then we need you to join the Parent Organizing Committee! Attend our first meeting this THURSDAY May 14th at 7:30 PM to learn how to plug in to this exciting campaign.”

• One World Films and Conversations: We Are All Related Here
  Sat May 16, 2:00PM – 4:00PM @ Online – RSVP here

  Join 350.org Washington County virtually online for another thought-provoking film and conversation. We hope for a great turnout and conversation just like our past film events. Bring your friends and family and let’s explore issues and talk! We Are All Related Here (50-minutes) is a documentary film that tells the story of the Yup’ik people of Newtok, Alaska, who are being forced to relocate to their village due to the erosion and flooding they are experiencing as a result of global warming. We meet some of the people The New York Times, The Guardian and NPR are calling America’s “climate refugees,” and learn about the history and culture of the Yup’ik people of Newtok, who are being forced to relocate their village due to the erosion and flooding they are experiencing as a result of global warming.

• The Green New Deal: A proposal to address climate change and inequality
  Thurs May 21, 6:30PM – 8:00PM @ Online – RSVP here

  Speakers: Mark Darienzo and Rachel Slocum, volunteers in the 350PDX Green New Deal team

  The Green New Deal is a vision to address the climate and inequality crises by using public investment to rapidly reduce emissions, improve collective well-being, and overcome historically-rooted disparities. Speakers will discuss the origins of the Green New Deal, show a short video, and propose what the nation needs to do to make it reality. This conversation, co-sponsored by the Vernon and Humboldt Neighborhood Associations, is a opportunity for everyone on a local level to discuss this effort, ask questions and envision what this movement could bring to our communities.

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

Hi everyone,

Our fight for climate justice isn’t solely about reducing carbon emissions in the atmosphere. It’s about providing justice and a livable future for all. To win the policies that will get us to that future, such as a Green New Deal, we need to align with other movements fighting for justice, like the movements for racial justice, economic justice, and social justice. Finding intersectional solutions that move forward all of these movements, like the brilliant Portland Clean Energy Fund, is both the right thing and the effective thing to do, because we can win more transformational policies if we have broader and stronger support behind them.

May Day, this Friday May 1, is historically a day of direct action for workers’ rights and economic justice. During the difficult and uncertain times we are in right now with the pandemic, we are experiencing massive job losses and unemployment that is unprecedented perhaps even by the Great Depression, and there is incredible need for holding bad bosses accountable who are not providing adequate health and safety equipment and training or adequate pay for workers on the front lines of the pandemic economy. That’s why it is more important than ever that workers are organizing, taking action, and fighting for justice.

So please consider standing in solidarity with workers this May Day, and help strengthen the ties between the climate and economic justice movements. Join Portland Jobs with Justice for a May Day of Digital Action with events and calls to action on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter all day long in support of front line healthcare workers, grocery workers, postal workers, queer workers and undocumented workers through tactics like petition signings, mutual aid, call ins, and Twitter storms. See more information below, or on the Jobs with Justice Facebook page.

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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.

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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

• Request Support Form / Offer Support Form

  Our biggest priority right now is making sure folks in the 350PDX community can get the support they need. Please use the request support form if you would like food and other supplies delivered to you, and the offer support form if you would like to volunteer to help. It is being run by an all-volunteer grassroots network that has sprung up to provide mutual aid across the city.

• 350PDX COVID-19 Resources Page

  Check it out for the full list of resources for self care, community care, tackling bias/xenophobia, and organizing during this time. Take a look here.

Actions

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

• 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.

• 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.

Opportunities​​​​

• Intro to Project Drawdown
  TONIGHT Wed Apr 29, 7pm @ Online – Send RSVP to Mogsaway@yahoo.com with “Drawdown” in the subject line.

  Tonight at 7pm 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.

• PMPC – Unite Oregon Candidates Forum
  TOMORROW Thurs Apr 30, 6:00PM – 8:00PM @ Online – RSVP here

  Portland Metro People’s Coalition (PMPC) and Unite Oregon host this forum of candidates for Portland City Council, Commissioner Position 2. This is a time of great fear and loss, but also one of opportunity for structural change at the local level that prioritizes community needs. Through the lens of the coronavirus crisis, Unite Oregon and the PMPC will be asking candidates about their positions on their shared issues, including immigrant and refugee rights, police reform, a district attorney for the people, the right to rest for the houseless, universal preschool, stronger tenant protections, campaign finance reform, public utilities like municipal broadband and municipal bank, and cleanup of the Willamette River that prioritizes frontline communities. Participating candidates include Julia DeGraw, Margot Black, Loretta Smith, Polo Catalani, and Sam Chase. Share on Facebook here.

• May Day of Digital Action – Jobs with Justice
  Fri May 1, 9:00AM – 4:00PM @ Online – Get updates here

  Join Portland Jobs with Justice for a 2020 May Day of Digital Action with events and calls to action on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter all day long in support of front line healthcare workers, grocery workers, postal workers, queer workers and undocumented workers through tactics like petition signings, mutual aid, call ins, and Twitter storms. Economic justice = climate justice! Facebook event here.

  9:00AM – Call to Action in support of Oregon healthcare workers

  10:00AM – JwJ Virtual May Day Rally livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/jwjpdx/

  11:00AM – Call to Action in Support of local grocery workers

  1:00PM – Call to Action in Support of LGBTQ food service workers

  3:00PM – Call to Action to help save the U.S. Postal Service

  5:00PM – Call to Action in support of undocumented workers in Oregon

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