Welcome to our monthly newsletter, where we highlight some of the amazing work our volunteer teams have been up to and how you can take action!
TEAM UPDATES
Want to get involved but not sure where to start? Fill out the Volunteer Form
Fossil Fuel Resistance Team
Our team is busy fighting Zenith Energy and GTN XPress, advocating for a Fossil Free Multnomah County and educating on the dangers of methane gas, fighting for clean and healthy buildings across Oregon, and supporting frontline-led fossil fuel fights nationwide.
Today, together with our coalition partners, we delivered nearly 1,000 petition signatures to Portland City Council demanding they Stop Zenith Energy and rescind the LUCS land use permit they granted to the company. Thank you to everyone who came to the City Hall hearing on Wednesday, Sept 6, and for also supporting our friends at Bike Loud in demanding safer streets for bikers and pedestrians. Together we filled the entire City Hall Chamber room and made our demands for public safety and an end to fossil fuels loud and clear.
Did you hear about the backdoor deals that the City orchestrated with Zenith Energy? Read these recent articles from Street Roots and DeSmog Blog to learn more about how the City of Portland went behind our backs to cut deals with an oil company, all while under active litigation. This is not acceptable behavior from our city government, which should be representing the people, not polluters. This backroom deal was also a key theme of our last Rumble on the River Community Forum (the 9th in our series!). If you missed it, you can check it out on Youtube here.
Take action: Call FERC and demand they reject the GTN Xpress pipeline expansion!
The next Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) meeting is on September 21. It’s possible there could be a decision on the GTN Xpress gas pipeline expansion project, so it’s important we keep up the pressure in demanding this project gets denied. Use this toolkit here to call all of the FERC Commissioners. (Last time we did this, it made a big impact at FERC, so we really encourage folks to join us in making these calls!)
Communities in the Blast Zone coming together!
Do you live in the blast zone of Zenith’s oil trains? Use this map to find out. If you do, call and write to the City of Portland and share that you live in the blast zone and are concerned for your safety. If you’re interested in making sure your fellow neighbors know about this issue and growing the movement, host a Neighborhood Party with us! Reach out to dineen@350pdx.org and lisebethjacobs@gmail.com to learn more.
Forest Defense Team
The Forest Defense Team has been working on two major campaigns — shifting state forest policy toward carbon storage and sequestration and increasing shade equity in Portland — in addition to supporting the efforts of PNW Tribes to remove the Lower Snake River dams and restore salmon populations.
SHADE EQUITY: The team has been spending time on strategic planning for the next year, including goal-setting and some event planning. Our next Portland shade equity gathering will be on October 16th at the Rebuilding Center. Volunteers for organizing and running this event are always welcome, and many different roles are available!
One focus for our team in shade equity has been fighting the false dichotomies of housing vs. trees. A recent example is Kotek’s Housing Production Advisory Council (HPAC) making troubling recommendations, suggesting that cities be stripped of their power to implement existing tree codes to facilitate speedier, more profitable housing development. While we firmly support building new, affordable, healthy housing, the HPAC proposal seems designed so that developers can improve their bottom line at the expense of community health, climate, and tree canopy equity. We are calling for Kotek to reject this proposal, and for HPAC to instead creatively engage the challenge of maintaining tree cover while increasing housing density — On Thursday, 9/7/23, the Board of Forestry had a meeting discussing the proposal and we provided public comments.
STATE FOREST POLICY: We are closely tracking developments around the Western State Forests Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and working to ensure that long-term planning done by Oregon’s Board of Forestry (BoF) prioritizes the crucial climate benefits of mature forests.
Support the “All Our Relations” Journey and Snake River Campaign
Mon Sept 25, 6:00PM – 8:00PM, Portland Eco Trust, learn more here
We’re not hosting this one, but wanted to promote this event! From 6-8pm in the Billy Frank Jr. Room at Portland EcoTrust, we encourage you to show up in support of the All Our Relations Campaign for the Snake River Dam Removal.
Protest the “Who Will Own the Forest” Conference
Wed Sept 27th, 8:00AM – 2:00PM, Portland World Forestry Center, learn more here
On Wednesday, September 27 from 8am-2pm — we are converging at Portland’s World Forestry Center for a demonstration confronting Wall Street capitalists and putting them on notice that managing forests to maximize profits and stall climate action will be met with increasing resistance.
Join the “Forests Over Profits” Conference
Thurs Sept 28th, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, location TBD, learn more here
On Thursday, September 28 from 10am-5pm — join the Forests Over Profits conference in Portland (more info on location coming soon). In contrast to the corporate ‘Who Will Own the Forest?’ conference, we’ll come together to elevate real solutions and the need for fundamental systems change in the face of capitalist exploitation and the climate & biodiversity crises.
KBOO Community Radio Locus Focus — with Brenna Bell
Mon Sept 11th, 10:00AM – 11:00AM — tune into KBOO radio, or listen to the recording here
This Monday, Sept 11, from 10AM-11AM, tune into Locus Focus on KBOO-FM 90.7 to hear 350PDX Forest Climate Manager Brenna Bell discuss the importance of trees for climate resilience, carbon storage, and mitigating heat islands. Brenna also discusses the importance of putting forests over profits.
City/County Watchdog Team
The City/County Watchdog team works to make sure we have local policies rooted in environmental justice and climate action.
For instance, we’ve been continuing to track the implementation of the City Charter reform Measure 26-228. After receiving little support and a lot of public push-back, Ryan and Gonzalez are thankfully no longer moving forward with their proposals to reduce the number of City Council seats or change ranked choice voting. However, they are still calling for the mayor to have more power, so we will need to keep up the fight to defend the charter reforms we voted on last fall.
Learn more about City Charter reform measure implementation, and get involved here: Transition Overview and Timeline | Portland.gov. You can also help advocate for a strong Climate Investment Plan, which will be used to guide the investment of PCEF funds to achieve major carbon reductions in ways that benefit those most impacted by the climate crisis — there will be opportunity for public comment. Stay tuned for more info!
GET CONNECTED: Want to get involved? Email Cherice (cherice@350pdx.org) to join us for our next monthly meeting or to learn more. You can also reach out to Cherice to get involved in 350PDX’s policy advocacy.
Arts Team
The 350PDX Arts Team has a plateful of actions and ideas for September, including our monthly art build this Sunday, Sept 10 from 1-4pm in the 350PDX office. Let Donna know if you can join us – at murph1949@aol.com. We’ll be pasting beautiful poster art for next week’s Youth Climate Strike March, as well as helping our Forest Defense Team spiff up our forest tree puppets for their action at the Western Forestry Center September 27-28. Go Forest Defense Team!
We also need puppeteers for the Youth Climate Climate March (Friday, Sept 15) and the for the Forest Team action. Please let Donna know if either or both of these fun events sound compelling to you. We need you!
GET CONNECTED: Reach out to Donna (murph1949@aol.com) to learn more and get involved with the team!
Creative Team
The Creative Team uses storytelling to make the climate justice movement irresistible. This month, we’re continuing to promote a new writing and art contest we’re hosting with the Breach Collective, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Here Together Oregon — Flash Futures PNW: A Climate Fiction & Art Contest.
Submit a short piece of writing or visual art to Flash Futures PNW: A Climate Fiction & Art Contest
Now through Sept 30. Cash prizes for the top three winners in each category, and the opportunity to have your work published in a zine!
Submit a a short piece of writing (under 1000 words, in any genre or visual art) to the contest responding to this prompt: “What do you imagine for the future of climate justice work in the Pacific Northwest? Tell us a story (through visual art or in writing) about what that work could look like in the future – 10, 50, 500+ years from now. We invite you to dream boldly!”
GET CONNECTED: Fill out this form to get on our creative roster, or reach out to Julia at julia@350pdx.org to get involved with the team.
SW Team
Welcome to our southwest neighborhood team, which includes neighborhoods on the south and west sides of Portland, from PSU to Hillsdale, Multnomah Village, Beaverton and Lake Oswego.
Our yard sign campaign will be active at two events to distribute signs to residents who support Climate Action Now! Come on by and sign the pledge to get your Free yard sign. These are also great for sidewalk sign waving and climate marches. Help make this the season of Climate Action Now!
- On September 10th we will be at SW Sunday Parkways (our tent will be on Capitol Highway in Multnomah Village near Neighborhood House from 11AM to 4PM).
- On Sunday, September 17th, we will be at the Hillsdale Farmers Market from 8AM to 1PM.
Does your group or community organization need a dynamic presentation on climate change issues? Our ‘How to Save our Planet’ series consists of four one hour programs that include video segments and discussions focused on changes that can slow and eventually stop human induced global warming. The programs include How to Save Our Planet, How to Replace Fossil Fuels, How to Rewild Our Planet, and How to Save Our Oceans – to schedule a presentation, please contact Pat Kaczmarek at patk5@msn.com.
Street corner demonstrations continue weekly to raise awareness of the climate emergency. These sign-waving events at various locations in Southwest neighborhoods are a great way for you, your family and friends to participate in the climate movement. Commit to just one hour a week to make a visible statement in your community. September sign waving events will be from 4:30 to 5:30PM every Monday at SW Garden Home and SW Olesen Road. Easy parking is at the Garden Home Recreation Center, or take the bus or ride your bike. We have extra signs to share.
GET CONNECTED: To get involved in our outreach actions, please contact Pat Kaczmarek at patk5@msn.com. Join our next monthly meeting on Monday, September 11th, from 6:30-8:00 p.m. on Zoom. You can also learn more about the team here.
Washington County Team
This month:
- We will have special guests at our September 12 monthly online meeting, including Kathryn Duvall, Oregon Environmental Caucus Chief of Staff and Portland EcoFilm winner, Suzie Hicks the Climate Chick
- Join us for our monthly sign wave on Saturday, September 16. We’ll be aligned with the September 15 #FFF Fridays for Future action worldwide. (Sign waving events take place from 11am to noon on third Saturdays monthly at NE Cornell and 25th in Hillsboro)
- Also we’ll be tabling at the Forest Grove Trash Bash from 10am to 1pm on Main St in Forest Grove.
- We are planning our next public educational film event for the afternoon of October 21st in Hillsboro
- Our Pollinator Garden at Bagley Park in Hillsboro is in full bloom and worth a visit to see so many happy bees!
Recent activities
- On Tuesday, August 20, we hosted an EV Cruise In at the Tuesday Market in Hillsboro. About a dozen EV owners came to educate the market goers about the cars. And a charming bright red historic Corbin Sparrow (only 289 of these cars were made in the late 1990s!) won best in show among all of the classic and EV cars on display
GET CONNECTED: We always welcome newcomers to our regular monthly 6:30pm second Tuesday (online) meetings and at all our events. Our next team meeting is Tuesday, September 12, at 6:30pm (learn more on the 350PDX calendar). If you are in Washington County and would like to receive updates from us, please sign up HERE. You can also like our Facebook page for updates.
Brooklyn Neighborhood Team
This month we’re gearing up for the big neighborhood event of the summer, the Ice Cream Social on Sun Sept 10. There, we’ll be recruiting new folks to join our BCAT100, our list of 100 folks from the Brooklyn neighborhood who will commit to taking action once per month. We’ll send a monthly email out with the actions folks can take, and we’ll start showing up to in-person actions together! We’ll also be giving out Stop Zenith yard signs, and gauging our neighborhood’s interest in various mutual aid activities. Join our Brooklyn Climate Action Team mailing list here to get 1-2 emails a month with local action alerts. Know someone in our neighborhood? Forward this email onto them! Any questions, contact chris@350pdx.org.
Outreach Team
We’re relaunching our Outreach Team: a group of folks trained up and ready to do a variety of outreach activities, such as tabling in the community; putting posters up around the city; giving out flyers outside big events; wheatpasting; giving community presentations; and hosting house parties. Any of these activities interest you? Let kiera@350pdx.org know and we’ll loop you in!
