Welcome to our monthly newsletter, where we highlight some of the amazing work our volunteer teams have been up to. But first, an upcoming action opportunity:

City Charter Canvass from the 350PDX office

Sat, Nov 5th, 1:00-4:00pm — 350PDX office, 3625 N Mississippi Ave – RSVP here.

Join 350PDX and Portlanders United for Change on November 5th at 10:30 am-12:30 pm and/or 1-4 pm from the 350PDX office, 3625 N Mississippi Ave. We’re excited to work with you to amplify the voices of Portlanders in every corner of the city for a more representative and accountable city government, and a more hopeful future for all of us. Training will be provided! Info and RSVP here.

Read on to learn about our teams’ accomplishments, how you can join a team, and opportunities to take action!

TEAM UPDATES

Read more about the teams and volunteer opportunities Volunteer Opportunities page
Want to get involved but not sure where to start? Fill out the Volunteer Form

Fossil Fuel Resistance Team

This month, our team released a report we’ve been working on titled Methane Gas: Health, Safety, Economic, and Climate Impacts: a case for equitable electrification. It’s authored by local organizers and experts and signed by 76 organizations across the region. The report serves as a framework for why it’s so crucial for our communities to transition away from buildings powered by methane gas and move to equitably electrify. The report counters the confusion created by gas utilities’ purposeful misinformation campaigns targeted at elected officials and the public, and includes over 100 citations of evidence and research on the dangers of methane in our communities. It’s essential the information contained in the  report reach the masses so that we can push back against the promotion of methane gas in order to protect our communities and our climate.

TAKE ACTION: Tell your local city and county leaders we need action to protect our communities from harmful methane gas!

We’re also starting to get involved in a new campaign: stopping the GTN Xpress. 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.

TAKE ACTION: Learn more about the campaign to stop GTN Xpress and send a message to our Oregon Senators Wyden and Merkley here.

GET CONNECTED:  Join us for the next community forum in our series: Rumble on the River: What’s Up with Zenith Energy and the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub in Portland? on Wednesday, November 16th from 6:30 – 8:00 pm at St. Luke Lutheran Church (4595 SW California). See the all-start panel lineup (all new from the last forum!) and more information here. No need to RSVP, just show up!

Defund/Divest Team

Our team follows the money, working as part of the national coalition StopTheMoneyPipeline (STMP). We call on financial institutions, insurance companies, and the government to divest from the fossil fuel industry. Most of the 350PDX Defund/Divest Team is working to Divest Oregon: Reinvest in a Fossil-Free Future, a statewide coalition we founded – now nearly 100 organizations and hundreds of individual members strong! Divest Oregon’s latest news is that we are working with legislators, unions (OEA, SEIU, AFT and others) and a broad group of  stakeholders to craft divestment legislation for the 2023 session — and we have submitted the Legislative Concept (first step in the legislative process)!

Since we released Risky Business: Oregon Treasury’s Fossil Fuel Problem, which is a good source of info about Divest Oregon’s work, we have realized that the Oregon State Treasury has invested over half of the PERS fund in private, and secret, funds. We have managed to obtain the Climate Risk Assessment commissioned by the Treasury in 2021 and, even in the heavily redacted version we received, it is clear that action needs to be taken to address climate degradation and the shift in the energy sector. We are continuing public pressure on the Treasury and developing litigation as well as legislation. If you want to be engaged in Divest Oregon, or receive Divest Oregon action and meeting announcements, join the coalition’s mailing list.

GET CONNECTED:  There are no monthly meetings of the 350PDX Defund/Divest Team at this time. But the team is still active! The Defund/Divest Team is engaged in multiple efforts to divest local educational institutions. Reach out to Jenifer (jenifer@350pdx.org) for a conversation about our team and to receive our weekly Defund/Divest team email. Click here to join the Divest Oregon team!

Forest Defense Team

The state forest policy sub-team encourages 350PDX members to vote climate this election! It is crunch time for ballots, so please remember to vote on time. The outcome of the governor’s race could have a significant impact on whether climate-smart forest policies, like the Habitat Conservation Plan for Western Oregon state forests, move forward.

TAKE ACTION: You can also help by sending a letter or postcard to the Oregon Board of Forestry (2600 State Street, Salem, OR 97310) expressing your support for the Habitat Conservation Plan using these talking points. We have heard from Board members that we are being out-organized by the timber industry, so we need your voice now, more than ever.

The shade equity sub-team was recently represented by many members (Brenna, Darlene, Felice, Scott, and Tyler) at a meet and greet with ODF and the Board of Forestry. It was a great event, MC’d by our friend Dr. Vivek Shandas, where various community and governmental stakeholders were able to share what excites them about shade equity work.

Additionally, our shade equity team is celebrating a win! Over the summer, we encouraged Portland Commissioner Rubio to allocate city resources to maintain street trees and she recently championed a five-year plan allotting $40 million of PCEF funds for shade equity. Thanks to all who sent a postcard to Commissioner Rubio or attended our Heat Week Pedalpalooza ride. Altogether, we are making change happen!! Really wonderful work. We plan to keep up the pressure to see it through, and would love to see you at a soon-to-come shade equity social and “hack-a-thon”!

Also stay tuned for a team tree planting day!

TAKE ACTION: Join our friends at Oregon Wild for a forest defense action on Nov 17 at 11:30am at Terry Shrunk Plaza. We’ll rally to promote federal protections for mature and old-growth forests on National Forests and BLM Lands. There will be a petition to sign, tabling options (reach out if you want to be involved), and a couple speakers including our own Brenna! Sign up here!

GET CONNECTED: The next Forest Defense team meeting is on Monday, 11/7/22 6-7:30pm, via zoom. Contact 350PDX Forest Climate Manager Brenna (brenna@350pdx.org), or co-leads Felice (felice.kelly@gmail.com) or Tyler (tyler@350pdx.org) for meeting details.

City/County Watchdog Team

With one week until the election, we’re at full steam in support of Charter Reform Measure 26-228, which will be on the ballot for Portlanders to vote on Nov 8th. We’re hosting the final canvass of the season at our office this Saturday, Nov 5 – click here to RSVP!

Phase II of the Charter process is also reaching a boiling point – In October, the Charter Commission voted on the amendments they’ll ask the City Attorney to draft for November’s public hearings, including:

  • Establishing a citywide Climate Commitment. This reform includes making environmental justice a core value of the City, requiring the City to create and update climate action goals, and aligning future City decisions with these values, goals, and the decline of fossil fuels.

  • Committing the City to participatory budgeting. This reform would distribute no less than 1% of the General Fund – over $6 million dollars in this year’s budget – through a participatory process open to the public beginning in 2026.

  • Eliminating the Charter prohibition on mandatory weatherization. This reform would mark the end of a Charter section that’s tied the City’s hands on weatherization policy for over 40 years, freeing the City to begin creating climate-smart and equitable weatherization standards for existing buildings.

We’re celebrating so many things our team has fought for this year making their way into the drafts. However, this campaign is not yet over – Commissioners are seriously considering a binding directive to phase out fossil fuels as a City, but we need one more Yes vote to adopt it. We have two more hearings coming up this month to convince the Charter Commission to take this step and we’d love for you to join us!

TAKE ACTION: Ask the Charter Commission to commit to a binding, just fossil fuel phase-out for Portland!

GET CONNECTED: Want to learn more about charter review or get involved with the 350PDX Watchdog team? Email indi@350pdx.org.

Creative Team

The Creative Team uses storytelling to make the climate justice movement irresistible. This month, we’ve continued working with the Forest Defense Team to design messaging for their shade equity campaign, helping them utilize strategies to empower folks in taking action. We’ve also continued supporting Divest Oregon and the Gas-busters campaigns in their messaging strategies. Help us out by sharing the 350pdx.org/methane webpage with info on the campaign and how we phase out “natural” gas in Multnomah County. Please also share around our Gas-busters video — “Natural gas is the new lead paint“!

Next steps for the Creative Team include onboarding new members, organizing trainings on Story-Based Strategy, and creating training materials around 350PDX’s approach to messaging strategy.

GET CONNECTED: Fill out this form to get on our roster and receive the Creative Team newsletter!

Arts Team

The 350PDX Arts Teams job is to give important visual and audio support to climate actions. In October, we spiffed up our forest of tree puppets for the TIAA Forest Defense rally. We also made a large banner for the protest, as well as smaller signs. In November, we will continue working on our new large Mother Earth puppet!

Our upcoming work includes making signs and banners for the Forest Defense rally on November 17. We’ll have the tree puppets again and some beautiful new screen printed signs. We are planning two art builds this month as we get ready for 350’s Arts Fundraiser throughout November and December. We will also continue to practice our drumming homemade drums and tambourines.

GET CONNECTED: Our art builds are November 6 and November 13, at the 350 offices. Contact Donna (murph1949@aol.com) for more information about art builds and the arts team.

SW Team

Welcome to 350PDX’s SW Team! Our members live in southwest neighborhoods from PSU to Beaverton, West Hills to Lake Oswego and in between. In addition to engaging in specific actions, we strive to continually deepen our knowledge on topics of relevance to state and local policies and various climate justice organizing efforts.

The rainy season has – thankfully – begun. But since that often means only a slight drizzle, we are continuing with sign-waving on southwest sidewalk corners where many car drivers can see us.

TAKE ACTION: We are now out with signs on Mondays, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Please check the 350PDX calendar for details and locations. If rain is heavy, email Emily (address below) an hour in advance of our start time to confirm whether we’re going ahead, or canceling.

GET CONNECTED: Contact emilypolanshek@msn.com to get on our email list, talk by phone or get together to learn more about our small but vibrant team! We meet on the second Monday of each month from 6:30-8:00 p.m. on Zoom. At our next meeting, on Monday, Nov. 14, our main topic is a presentation for activists on methane. Please contact Emily if you’re interested in receiving the zoom link so you can join us on the 14th.

Washington County Team

Our team sent out more than 500 postcards to climate motivated voters to ask that they VOTE! We will have another GET OUT THE VOTE sign waving event this coming Saturday on November 5th. It will be at the usual place & time: NE 25th & Cornell in Hillsboro at 11 am. So please join us! We also will be waving signs at the same corner on election day to encourage people who haven’t turned in their ballots to do so. We expect to be joined by some local candidates and elected officials.

The Washington County Team is continuing two local campaigns. One is to encourage the Washington County Board of Commissioners to complete drafting and take action on an overdue County Climate Resolution. We are writing to the Commissioners to encourage them to take their best bold action asap.

The second campaign is to encourage the City of Hillsboro not to participate in a lawsuit pushing back against recently adopted DLCD Climate Friendly and Equitable Communities rules. The City Council complains that the State shouldn’t meddle in City process to help all of our citizens participate in best practices to fight climate catastrophe, and they don’t want to spend their money on climate action. We think the City should be responsible in partnership with the State – and should count themselves lucky they aren’t going to have to fork out the $50 billion plus that Florida will be paying in climate disaster costs from Hurricane Ian.

TAKE ACTION: We thank 350PDX for lending us a recent hand to get the word out on these issues. And we WELCOME anyone who would like to help us take ongoing grassroots action on these fronts! We need to keep submitting public comments and letters to the editor to local papers. Please send an email to debbygactivism@gmail.com for more details.

GET CONNECTED:  We normally meet on second Tuesdays monthly, but this month members have decided to reschedule our meeting due to it being Election Day eve. So please stay tuned to our Facebook page for updates on that. We always welcome newcomers to our 6:30pm second Tuesday (online) meetings and at all our events. Find our meeting and events listings on the 350PDX calendar. Email 350WashCo@gmail.com to attend. Everyone is invited to join in all of our events. Please “like” our Facebook page for updates.

In solidarity,

350PDX Staff – Anissa, Brenna, Chris, Dineen, Eloise, Emily, Indi, and Julia
350PDX Board & Team Leads

Weekly Newsletter: Take Action for City Charter Reform! Art wanted for the 350PDX Art Sale!