Send a Comment to FERC to Stop the GTN XPress Fracked Gas Expansion Project

For years, we’ve been successfully 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. TC Energy is proposing this as an expansion because they know our movement is too powerful to propose a brand new pipeline — but the impact is just as dangerous to our climate and our communities. 

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is making a decision on this project on February 16 – so we need to get as many comments in as we can before then. Please refer to our partners at Rogue Climate for information on how to send in a comment to FERC. It takes another couple minutes because you’ll have to create an account, but it’s a really meaningful and important action to take. Please send in a comment to FERC as soon as possible, and once you do, then send a message to our Oregon US Senators — they should be publicly opposing this project. 

Apply for Portland Clean Energy Fund Roundtable – by this Friday, Jan 6

DEADLINE: THIS FRIDAY, Jan 6, 5pm (although note that the deadline for some roundtable topics has been extended to Jan 13)

The City is calling on members of the community to support drafting a Climate Investment Plan, which will help shape its investments around climate justice goals related to the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF). They are calling on people to apply to support the Climate Investment Plan drafting by being part of topic-specific roundtables. Roundtable members convene for two meetings, and in-person attentance is encouraged although virtual participation is possible. Read more about the topic areas and apply here to join a roundtable- by THIS FRIDAY, Jan 6.

Don’t Shoot PDX’s event: Reclaim Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Mon, Jan 16, show up at 1pm — 700 North Rosa Parks Way, Portland (map)

Join Don’t Shoot PDX for their 9th Annual March for Human Rights and Dignity. There is a call for all Common Unity Groups to show up in solidarity. Please read the March Accessibility and Safety Guidelines if you are planning to attend the March — Don’t Shoot PDX encourages everyone to read it in full before attending any of their events. Learn more here.

Rumble on the River #4: What’s Up with Zenith Energy & the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub in Portland?

Tues, Jan 17, Doors & Info Tables 6:00pm; Panel 6:30 pm — at Havurah Shalom (825 NW 18th Ave, Portland) – learn more here

Join us for the 4th in our series of community forums: Rumble on the River: What’s Up with Zenith Energy & the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub in Portland? A coalition of 22 neighborhood, river and climate advocacy organizations sponsor this series of forums to increase public awareness of the safety, health and seismic risks associated with the Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub and Zenith Energy. Each forum is different in its approach to examining the 6-mile stretch of aging tank farms that line the North Reach of the Willamette River within a seismic liquefaction zone. In addition to the existing and potential harms of the CEI Hub, the panelists will also discuss the City’s recent and unexpected approval of the Land Use Compatibility Statement for Zenith Energy, which lies within the Hub.

Panelists include: Bob Sallinger (Conservation Director for Portland Audubon), Melanie Plaut (M.D., 350PDX & Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility), Barbara Bernstein (Host of KBOO Radio’s Locus Focus and Audio Documentarian), Jay Wilson (Past Chair, Oregon Seismic Safety Policy Advisory Commission Former Resilience Fellow, National Institute for Standards and Technology), Josie Moberg (J.D., Climate Justice Legal Fellow at Breach Collective), Michael Pouncil (Current Chair of the Portland Harbor Community Advisory Group

350PDX January Action Night (in-person)

Thurs, Jan 19, 6:00-8:00pm (although you can join us early at 5:30pm for a New Volunteer Orientation) — at the 350PDX office (3625 N Mississippi Ave, Portland)

Join us for our monthly 350PDX Action Night, an in-person gathering at our office! We’ll have a new volunteer orientation, food and drink, action stations, team tabling, and more! A note on COVID: This will be a masked indoor event, but with eating and drinking. The main room is large and has windows to the outdoors, but there may be lots of people fairly close to each other. More info and RSVP form here (note that we will be providing more in-depth accessibility information soon).

Update on Indigenous elders who were evicted from their homes in the Winnemucca Indian Colony

Last month, Indigenous elders were wrongfully evicted and banished from their homes in the Winnemucca Indian Colony (Paiute and Shoshone lands, Nevada). Attorneys from ​​Water Protector Legal Collective (WPLC) and Nevada Legal Services (NLS) had requested to stay the eviction and banishment orders. But on Dec 28, the Inter-Tribal Court of Appeals of Nevada (ITCAN) denied the stay and ordered them to leave the homes they have lived in for decades. WPLC and NLS attorneys will continue to fight the eviction, and the fight isn’t over. Read the full update from WPLC here.

REQUEST FOR SUPPORT:

Many Indigenous elders and residents who were evicted have nowhere else to go. They are requesting support to help with temporary housing. Please make a donation at CashApp: $defendWIC (or DM @neweneensokopa if you need to use a different app). Learn more at linktr.ee/ElderProtectors and @neweneensokopa