I was out of town when I got a phone call from Brock Howell of Environment Oregon who was in the middle of this protest at the time. Too bad I wasn’t able to record the audio. I could hear lots of cars in the background – honking in solidarity with the protesters. It was something to hear, if not seen.
EO, Sierra Club and Climate Solutions put this together at a gas station that sells BP petroleum products.
The environment community’s first victory of the special session is almost complete.
Today the Senate voted to approve HB 3613, a ten-year ban on offshore oil and gas drilling in Oregon’s territorial sea.
The bill now goes to Governor Kulongoski for his signature. Brock Howell of Environment Oregon says that the Governor’s staff testified in favor of the ban, so it’s likely Kulongoski will sign it.
Thursday’s green agenda in Salem includes the first hearing on a proposed bisphenol A (BPA) ban, and a possible vote on a bill to ban offshore oil and gas drilling near the Oregon coast.
Updated: 5pm
In a new report, Environment Oregon sings the praises of plug-in cars.
Whether they’re plug-in hybrids, or plug-in electric vehicles, the report says they have the potential to bring about major reductions in pollution, greenhouses gases, and lessen our dependence on imported oil. Plus, we’ll see the benefits almost immediately.
This weekend, Environment Oregon released its take on PGE’s proposal to close the coal-fired power plant near Boardman. The group has been active in the campaign to close Boardman by 2014. PGE’s most current plan is to shut it down by 2020.
The EO statement calls the announcement, “A major milestone on Oregon’s path to a 100 percent clean, renewable energy future.” And it’s generally more optimistic in tone that what we’ve heard from the Oregon Sierra Club.
But the statement includes a new angle to the debate over 2014 or 2020.
A very big story from the Oregonian. PGE says it’s thinking about shutting down the state’s only coal fired power plant in Boardman.
See: PGE moves to close Boardman coal-fired power plant early
This has been a long sought goal by Oregon environmental groups, including Environment Oregon and the state chapter of the Sierra Club. But it’s still not clear if they’ll see this announcement as a full victory.
According to the O, PGE wants to continue running Boardman for another 10 years. By doing so, it hopes to avoid paying for millions of dollars in new pollution controls. The Boardman plant is one of the biggest contributers to regional haze, and PGE was looking at a $500 million bill to reduce haze emissions 80% by 2018. The plant is also under orders to drastically reduce mercury emissions.
Just recently, a report from Environment Oregon found that Boardman is also the biggest single source of carbon emissions in Oregon.
When President Obama arrives at the U.N. Climate Conference in Copenhagen later this month, he won’t be coming empty handed.
The EPA wants to limit greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. Photo from ODOT.
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency declared greenhouse gases a threat to public health, and will start regulating them as pollutants under the Clean Air Act. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson says the agency will move forward on plans to control greenhouse emissions from cars and trucks, and from large stationary sources such as factories.
The decision is receiving, so far, unanimous praise from Northwest environmental groups.
Environment Oregon calls this the, “Most significant step the federal government has taken on global warming.”
The Center For Biological Diversity, a national group with offices in Portland says, “We applaud the EPA for moving forward to implement one of our nation’s most successful environmental laws to avert catastrophic runaway global warming.”
Seattle based Earthjustice adds, “We are heartened to see that our government is recognizing the global warming threat.”
While Congress dithers on climate change legislation, a new report says we’re actually in pretty good shape for the upcoming global warming talks in Copenhagen. The reason? The report says several states are showing strong leadership on global warming and that’s giving the U.S. a head start on reducing carbon emissions.
Although the report is national in scope, it was released locally by Environment Oregon.
Here are some of the major findings:
Capping Carbon: Six states, including California, have set caps on carbon pollution. There’s also a regional cap-and-trade program for power plant emissions in the Northeast. These efforts will cut carbon emissions by 270 million metric tons annually by 2020. Oregon tried to create a cap-and-trade system during the last legislative session, but business groups and utilities were able to kill it.
Clean Energy: 29 states, including Oregon, now require that a certain percentage of power in the state come from renewable sources. In Oregon, we’re aiming for a 25% renewable energy standard by 2025. Meanwhile, 22 states are taking concrete steps to improve energy efficiency in homes and buildings. Others, including Oregon, are looking at new rules on low-carbon fuel for cars and trucks.
States Are Leading By Example: California’s clean cars program has been adopted by 14 states, including Oregon and Washington. There’s an effort underway to make it a national program. That would mean 31 million fewer tons of carbon emissions every year, by 2020. States have also led the way on efficiency standards for appliances and lighting. The federal government is considering national standards.
More on this after the video…
The result of all these initiatives is that the United States is already on track for removing 536 million tons of carbon every year by 2020.
Meanwhile, check out the new “We’re Ready” video produced by Environment America.
With less than three hours to go, some updates to pass along about the rallies and protests planned outside Keller Auditorium.
At least three groups plan to protest outside Gore's speech tonight.
The Oregon League of Conservation Voters has joined the cause to support for former Vice-President Al Gore. Get more information on the OLCV blog page, “Drown Out The Tea Party”. Environment Oregon has sent out messages via Twitter and Facebook.
All the new posts and tweets point in one direction, the Repower America sign up page. So far, this page still says the rally starts at 6:00pm outside Keller Auditorium at SW 3rd Ave and Clay. But Andy Grow of Climate Solutions says they’re hoping people will start showing up about 5:30pm.
NOTE: Please be careful about what you read in the comment section of the blog. Some anti-Gore groups have been posting misinformation about where the rallies will be held. Until further notice, use the Repower America link as your best source.
Some of this last minute support appears to have been motivated by some anti-Gore graffiti that sprayed painted on the outside of Keller Auditorium.
At least three groups plan to protest Gore’s appearance, including MoveOnDotGore, Americans For Prosperity, and PETA.
Gore’s speech at Keller starts at 7:30pm.
Cascade Head near Lincoln City. Photo by NOAA Commander Bruce Hillard.
Saying our coast ecology is under deep stress, Environment Oregon is calling for a major expansion of the state’s system of marine reserves.
Marine reserves are sort of like state parks in the ocean. They’re areas where most major commercial activity, such as fishing and energy development are banned. But recreation activities, such as diving, boating and surfing, are allowed. So far, Oregon has set aside two areas off the coast as marine reserves and four other locations are being studied.
But Environment Oregon argues that much more needs to be done. It says establishing a larger system of marine reserves will help coastal areas recover faster from overfishing, climate change, and the impact of those summer “dead zones”. The group says that in other parts of the world, marine reserves have a proven record of increasing the population of marine plants, fish and animals.
Here’s a look at what Environment Oregon wants to see happen.
It says the legislature should move forward to establish marine reserves at the four areas still being studied. This includes Cape Falcon south of Cannon Beach, Cascade Head near Lincoln City, Cape Perpetua south of Yachats, and Cape Arago – Seven Devils near Coos Bay.
Then it suggests three other areas as future marine reserves. On that list is Three Arch Rocks, home to a colony of tufted puffins. Next is Orford Reef, where a large kelp forests provides habitat for the red sea urchin. Finally, it wants to include Mack Reef, home to a wide variety of marine species including almost a dozen types of seabirds.
Marine reserves have been a tough sell on the coast. Commercial fishermen are worried about being locked out of prime fishing grounds as more ocean territory is set aside for reserves, and offshore energy projects such as wave and tidal energy and offshore wind farms.
For more information see Environment Oregon’s report, Oregon’s Marine Treasures: The Case For Conservation.
