Are Electric UTVs the Future of Agriculture?
What comes to mind when you hear the word “EV”? Sleek, shiny sedans plugged into charging stations across the urban landscape? Monochromatic motor vehicles whirring down the highway in near silence? The clean future of commuter culture?
If “rugged terrain,” “agriculture”, and “farm work” aren’t words that spring to mind, you aren’t alone. But OEC – and plenty of others – envision a future for electric vehicles that spans far beyond that city-centric view of them that so many of us hold.
Meet: the Polaris Ranger XP Kinetic. From a distance, ...
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 ...
Oregon Clean Grid Summit: Q&A With Attendees
Last month, OEC, Renewable Northwest, and our partners in the Oregon Clean Grid Collaborative (OCGC) joined in person with a diverse group of clean energy stakeholders from across Oregon for the first annual Oregon Clean Grid Summit. The summit brought together 120 community leaders, industry experts, and federal and state officials for a dialogue about how to reliably, equitably, and affordably deliver clean energy to households and businesses in Oregon.
This all-day, in-person event offered insights into the role of regional energy market and transmission developm...
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: 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 ...
Join Us This Summer at the Transportation Roadshow!
State legislators are hosting a 12-stop statewide listening tour this summer on major transportation issues. We need your voice! Our transportation system should be safer, greener, better maintained, and more affordable for all Oregonians. Your testimony during these public hearings will impact how legislators shape the future of our transportation infrastructure! Your participation will also help OEC deliver stronger climate-smart legislation for our state in 2025.
Background
As things currently stand, Oregon is struggling to raise enough money to fund our transportat...
Make Your Voice Heard for the Future of Oregon Groundwater!
When you think about water in Oregon, you might think about the Rogue River, Pacific Coast or Malheur Lake. However, some of the most important bodies of water in our state aren't visible to the naked eye: they're under our feet.
Almost 90% of our state’s public water systems rely at least in part on groundwater ecosystems. Snow and rain collect into aquifers made of underground layers of sand, fractured rocks and other permeable materials, forming the groundwater so crucial to Oregon communities.
Right now, big changes are on the horizon for Oregon groundwater. You ...
Ara Vickers: Meet the New ELB!
Hello friends,
People are more receptive to tackling climate change when they are given actionable, positive climate news, rather than through threats of inaction. If you’re like me, and are entrenched in climate change research, then framing climate change and other environmental disasters in an optimistic context sounds at best challenging and at worst absurd. After all, the earth is on fire and we need to act! Yet, most people respond defensively when they receive negative climate change information. Of course, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t share critical ...
Oregon’s Climate Protection Program (CPP) Is Under Attack
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