Solar Wine Is Better Wine
Last month, OEC’s Senior Campaign Manager, Jacqui Treiger, and Emerging Leaders Board member, Marlee Eckman (that’s me!) joined Solar Oregon on their Annual Solar Wine Tour to learn about the mutually beneficial relationship between solar power and vineyards.
Our first stop was at Our Table Cooperative, a regional co-op in Sherwood Oregon, to check out their “agrivoltaic” system. I learned that agrivoltaics is the dual use of land and solar energy for the production of agriculture. In practice, that means placing solar panels in farming fields!
Now this may ...
Exploring Resilience on the McCord Creek Falls Trail
Early in the morning on May 31 a group of OEC members and staff met up in a parking lot in the Columbia River Gorge. We gathered together to hike the Elowah Falls and Upper McCord Creek trails, led by long-time OEC member and Trailkeepers of Oregon volunteer Peter Reagan. Peter worked to rebuild the trail after the area was devastated in the Eagle Creek Fire in 2017. The air was crisp as we loosened up our muscles and enjoyed a final cup of coffee at the trailhead. The forecast promised a dry day in the 60s—perfect weather for a hike!
As soon as we gained enough ...
New Staff Q&A: Ben Brint
OEC is excited to announce our new Senior Climate Program Director, Ben Brint!
Ben brings a deep knowledge of climate policy and a wealth of experience in a variety of sectors to the role. After working at various tech companies in the private sector—including at Lyft, where he supported a first-of-its-kind electric vehicle ride sharing program—he found his calling for climate advocacy, and returned to school to get his Masters of Public Policy from UC Berkeley. He is dedicated to propelling OEC's climate initiatives forward, and protecting our state from environm...
Member Q&A: Bethany Shetterly Thomas
OEC member Bethany Shetterly Thomas wears a lot of hats. She is Board President and founder of Earth Day Oregon, co-founder of Ecology in Classrooms and Outdoors, and served on OEC’s Emerging Leaders Board (ELB) from 2015-2018. In all of her different roles, she's been steadfast in her focus on protecting Oregon's environment, and spreading love for our state's great outdoors to Oregonians of all ages.
OEC recently sat down with Bethany to chat about her love for our state’s great outdoors, and her long history of impactful environmental work in Oregon. We dive into ...
Pass Senate Bill 88: Get Junk Fees Out of Utility Bills
Oregonians are struggling with skyrocketing utility bills. At the same time, the state’s largest utilities have raised rates by almost 50% in just four years while making profits, and passing unnecessary costs on to consumers. Our utility bills are covering their costs for expensive lawyers, lobbyists, marketing, and industry association fees.
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New Staff Q&A: Crystal Weston
OEC is excited to introduce our new Environmental Health Program Director, Crystal Weston!
Crystal hails from California originally, but has been a proud Oregonian since 2003. Throughout her time here, she has worked in all corners of the public health sphere – from the Oregon Health Authority, where she addressed nitrate contamination, to the University of Oregon, where she focused on substance abuse prevention and harm reduction. Her wide-ranging experience in identifying solutions to environmental health concerns in our state make her the perfect person for the ...
New Staff Q&A: Max Light-Pacheco
OEC is excited to introduce our new Community Engagement Manager, Max Light-Pacheco!
Since graduating from U.C. Davis (in his home state of California), Max has worked for Americorps, the Nature Conservancy, the Phoenix Zoo, and one•n•ten, a nonprofit serving LGBTQ+ youth in Arizona. His work is driven by a lifelong love of nature, a passion for community, and a deep understanding of where the two intersect. This knowledge of people and planet makes Max an invaluable addition to our team.
Give Max a warm welcome the next time you see him out in the world repres...
New Staff Q&A: Kristopher Fortin Grijalva
OEC is excited to introduce our new Transportation Program Director, Kristopher Fortin Grijalva!
Hailing from Southern California, Kristopher grew up connected to his community by transportation, walking, biking, and bussing his way around town from elementary school through college. This experience – coupled with a deep love for writing – led him to a 13-year career in journalism and transportation advocacy in the Greater Los Angeles area. His background spent fighting for clean, equitable transportation options made him the perfect person for the role.
To ...
New Staff Q&A: Tatiana Cardoza
OEC is excited to introduce our Communications and Marketing Script intern, Tatiana Cardoza! From her start in early June, Tatiana is already helping OEC elevate our environmental work.
Tatiana recently graduated from Portland State University, where she double majored in Business Marketing and Business Analytics. With this background and expertise, she joined OEC’s Communications team to help us parse data, explore trends and develop strategies to enhance our environmental impact. Her fresh outlook and ability to organize complex information into actually digestible ...
Adapting to Heat: A Texan’s Guide for Oregonians
In Texas, our summers were always hot. But not this hot. It was 81° the day I left Austin for Portland in late February of this year – what would have been a normal summer day, but in the midst of winter.
Just a few months later, record breaking heat waves have already scorched parts of Oregon, Texas, and the nation. McCaffrey and Eagle Point, OR, are battling wildfires. Last weekend, more than 39 million Americans were under an Excessive Heat Warning. Many homes in western Oregon weren’t built with centralized cooling and efficient heat pumps, and weatherization ...
