After this cool, wet spring, I find it hard to imagine that this time last year we were anticipating the worst Northwest heat wave in recorded history. The 2021 heat dome shattered heat records and left 96 Oregonians dead: a stark reminder that we are not well prepared for extreme heat events. For many Portlanders, the 2021 heat dome turned climate change from an abstract concept to a deadly reality.
Devastating weather events like extreme heat will only become more common as the climate crisis unfolds, and we need to be ready. This summer, join the conversation with 350PDX and our partners for Heat Week.
Heat Week – June 26-30
Heat Week is a series of events where we’ll commemorate the lives lost to the 2021 heat wave, strategize about how to strengthen our emergency preparedness systems, and advocate for policy changes that better mitigate and prepare for extreme weather events. Learn more and join us at heatweek.org/event-schedule
We will:
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Process the hard lessons of 2021 and work on making better decisions in the next climate emergency.
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Bike through some of Portland’s long neglected neighborhoods – predominantly low-income neighborhoods and areas with more Black and Indigenous people and People of Color – which are now urban heat islands with lots of pavement, buildings, and other heat-intensifying surfaces.
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Discuss how the city’s current planning has made access to street trees and their life-saving shade is inequitable, and how we can change that.
Heat Week is hosted by local climate and social justice groups like 350PDX and governmental bodies like the Multnomah County Health Department.
350PDX’s Heat Week Pedalpalooza Bike Ride…
Tuesday, June 28 – meet at 5:00pm, ride at 5:30pm
Bike ride leaving from Lents Park (meet near the playground at SE 92nd Avenue and Steele Blvd)
Join 350PDX’s Forest Defense Team on a Heat Week Pedalpalooza Bike Ride about the inequitable distribution of street trees and shade in east Portland. We’ll discuss the impacts of extreme heat on our neighborhoods and how we can fight for equitable street tree access. The ride is just under 7 miles on fairly flat terrain, and will include a shady stop to refill water bottles and enjoy the trees. Riders of all abilities welcome!
… and 350PDX Action Night!
Tuesday, June 28 – 6:30pm-8:30pm
Colonel Summers Park (SE 20th & Belmont)
The Heat Week Pedalpalooza ride will end at Colonel Summers Park (SE 20th & Belmont), where we’re hosting a 350PDX Action Night! We’ll share food, drinks, art and actions calling on the city to prioritize planning and funding a better response to the climate emergency. And if you can’t join the bike ride, we’d still love to have you join us for the Action Night!
We’re still looking for volunteers to help with the ride and/or the action night – sign up here!
In the face of climate disasters, it’s important we keep taking action for justice. We must call for a city that provides all its residents access to safe shelter in extreme weather events and is actively prioritizing investing in life-saving infrastructure, like cooling centers and trees. In the face of an uncertain future, events like Heat Week bring us together to create better prepared and more resilient communities. The 2021 Heat Dome was a stark reminder of both the urgency and the compassion with which we must act to meet the climate crisis – I’m glad we’re in this together!
In solidarity and action,
Brenna Bell, Forest Climate Manager
