Top Ten Achievements of 2020-2021
Oregon Environmental Council works year-round to protect Oregon's water, air, land, and communities. This year was a special one. We made Oregon a better place through our participation in state-wide coalitions, tireless bird-dogging of rulemaking processes, deft strategy in the legislative session, and hosting welcoming educational programs. This work is is a reflection of our donors. Take a moment to revel with us in these outstanding accomplishments. Then consider supporting this work, so we can add to our accomplishments in the days, weeks, and months ahead.
1. Passed ...
Removing Barriers to Safe Home Cleaning Products
Many popular and inexpensive home cleaning products contain toxic chemicals. There are alternatives, but they can be expensive or require extra steps. What happens when those barriers are removed? OEC partnered with Hacienda CDC to find out.
Hacienda CDC Eco- Healthy Home Survey
In the Fall/Winter of 2020, socially distanced, in-person focus groups and bilingual online surveys were held in Hacienda CDC’s housing communities to listen to residents' concerns about toxic chemicals in the home. COVID-19 hit the Latino/x community particularly hard, and the increased ...
Summer isn’t the only time to worry about woodsmoke
As we roll into fall, many people start cleaning out their wood-burning stoves and fireplaces to start heating their homes, or just to get that cozy ambiance. What many people don’t realize is that, when a lot of people are burning wood in their homes, the cumulative effect on air quality can be similar to a wildfire. OEC has been advocating to reduce harmful air pollution from urban wood fires and to provide healthier options for those that rely on woodburning as a primary heat source.
Specifically, OEC has been working closely with Woodsmoke Free Portland and the ...
Without TFKA expansions, OHA forced to choose 5 chemicals to regulate
There’s thousands of potentially harmful chemicals in products that are marketed to kids. As of now, OHA can regulate just a few of them. We need to change that.
In 2015, OEC’s advocacy lead to the passage of a groundbreaking law, the Toxics Free Kids Act (TFKA), which required manufacturers of children's products sold in Oregon to report certain products containing High Priority Chemicals of Concern for Children’s Health (HPCCCH) (“high priority chemical list”), and ultimately phase them out. However, the chemical and toy industry successfully limited the ...
OEC Partners With Hacienda CDC to Expand Access To Eco-Healthy Home Kit
The average American spends 90% of their time indoors, and this has only increased for Oregonians during the winter months with the new COVID-related shutdown restrictions across the state. How do you maintain your home to protect against viruses, while also minimizing the amount of toxic chemicals you come across in cleaning products in a healthy, affordable manner?
OEC has partnered with Hacienda CDC, a community development corporation that provides affordable housing for Portland's LatinX community, to help provide tailored solutions to those challenges. We know ...
Gas Stoves Are Creating Unsafe Levels of Indoor Air Pollution
According to a growing body of research, tens of millions of Americans are exposed to unsafe levels of air pollution in their homes. The culprit? Your gas stove. A study released by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) last month concluded that carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), emissions from gas cooking can exceed the national levels set by the Environmental Protection Agency, and can seriously pollute your indoor air.
Gas stoves emit a number of pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), formaldehyde (HCHO), and ...
This Earth Day, Pledge to Stop Burning Wood for Public Health
What do Earth Day, wood smoke and COVID-19 all have in common? The answer lies in air quality. With most of our nation’s in-person Earth Day festivities cancelled or moved to a digital format, and the state’s at-large shelter-in-place policy, many people may not be thinking that much more needs to be done to protect Oregon’s air quality.
After all, our world’s air has become significantly cleaner, due to a slowdown in economic activity, right? While this may be currently true, the necessity of improving our air quality in the long-term cannot be under-estimate...
Guide to Green Disinfecting
As fears of the COVID-19 pandemic ramp up, news reports of people hoarding cleaning supplies have dominated the headlines. Here at OEC, we want to remind our readers not to panic. Seriously, please don’t. You do not need to stock up on bleach, disinfecting wipes, or hand sanitizers that have harmful additives to be able to clean or disinfect properly. Rather, regardless of whether there is a pandemic or not, you can still utilize the tried and true solutions creatively, and be more diligent about your own personal cleanliness to keep you and your home healthy and ...
In with the New Decade, Out with the Old Method of Heating!
As we close off the last decade and enter into the new year, one can’t help but reflect on what changes we can make in our homes and what policies we can support to protect our health and environment to meet our 2020 and 2050 climate goals. Something as simple as switching out your method of heating may make all the difference in your neighborhood’s air quality, as well as combat climate change. This new year, you can resolve to clean the air by phasing out your use of a wood stove or fireplace and committing to cleaner ways to heat or create ambience in your home. ...
New Year’s Resolution: Keep It Green In 2020
Want to make some changes in 2020 that are better for you and Oregon? Here are a few ideas to help you get your year started off right.
Take a look at the numbers: The first step to knowing where you stand is to measure and track resource use. Calculate your water footprint and carbon footprint to discover new ways to save.
Change up your routine: Start off small with one new thing. Get to work or run an errand by bus, train, or bike. Make one meat-free meal a week or try a more environmentally friendly version of your normal household or personal care produc...
