43 results for tag: climate

August Climate Good News: 7 Reasons to Have Hope

...it takes 7 POSITIVE THOUGHTS to overcome the power of one negative thought, so here are 7 reasons to take heart and feel hopeful. Read and repeat as necessary to keep impending gloom at bay:

Paul Hawken’s Project Drawdown: Mathematics Springs Eternal

Guest Blog Post, David Michael Smith, SAGE Hope doesn’t usually equate with the empiricism of mathematics, but I left a recent lecture by Paul Hawken with a renewed optimism about the future of planet earth after hearing his explanation of Project Drawdown’s “new math” approach to climate change. Hawken, a well-known entrepreneur, author and environmentalist, has been at the leading edge of climate change research for decades. His appearance in Portland, as a Visiting SAGE, was part of a series of speakers brought to town by Senior Advocates for Generational Equity (SAGE), an organization dedicated to leaving earth a better place for ...

Healthy soil for a healthy climate

“We stand, in most places on earth, only six inches from desolation, for that is the thickness of the top soil level upon which the entire life of the planet depends." When R. Neil Sampson wrote these words in 1981, climate change was barely on the radar screen. Today, we understand that soil health is key to protecting our climate. 2,300 gigatons of carbon are stored in the top three meters of the Earth's soil. That's more than the total amount in the atmosphere plus all of the vegetation on Earth. When we disrupt the soil through farming or development, carbon is released into the atmosphere. It's a big problem, but ...

Phone bank for volunteers to join the clean energy movement: Oct. 8

Did you know that Oregon sources about one-third of its energy from coal-fueled power plants? It doesn't have to be this way! You can help. Next Thursday, we'll be meeting over pizza here at OEC for a phone bank party. Why? There is an exciting ballot measure petition about to be launched! The initiative will call for Oregon to get away from dirty coal, embrace clean, renewable energy, and cut carbon pollution. Why are we calling people? We need your help growing our base of active volunteers to join us in making sure this initiative gets on the ballot. That's our call to action: volunteer. To review: coal=gross, clean energy=beautiful, volunt...

The collective consciousness shift: your monthly dose of climate goodness

It's that time again. Time to put away our newly-altered Atlas to reflect shrinking ice sheets and turn away from the barrage of stories on drought and wildfires, stories that seem to point to a rapidly changing world. Yet while climate change is certainly a big deal, it's also true that in the media if it bleeds, it leads. Hence we see the repeated publication of the shocking, the tragic and the scary. That's why we've created a special forum here to, at least on a monthly basis, document the positive when it comes to climate change. The good is there; the movement is building. We just have to dig a little deeper than the headlines to find proof of ...

Statement on President Obama’s Clean Power Plan

President Obama got to the heart of the issue when he stated: “climate change is not a problem for another generation.” We must act now. At Oregon Environmental Council, we work collaboratively with individuals, businesses, health providers and elected officials to advance innovative, collaborative solutions to Oregon’s most pressing environmental challenges. Climate pollution threatens our economy, our health, our natural resources, and harms our way of life. Dangerous climate pollution is currently pumped into Oregon’s air and water, and President Obama’s Clean Power Plan helps correct that. The plan sets the first-ever carbon pollution ...

Climate Stability and Justice Needed for Oregon: A review of HB 3470 and looking forward

During the 2015 legislative session, Oregon Environmental Council was proud to join with environmental, health, communities of color and business partners concerned about climate pollution to help advance the Climate Stability and Justice Act (HB 3470). The Act would enforce Oregon's existing limits on climate pollution with a firm timeline for putting a comprehensive action plan in place to guarantee Oregon achieves its climate goals. This creates certainty for both businesses and the environment. Everyone knows what targets we’re aiming for and has a voice in developing the action plan. The proposed Climate Stability & Justice Act is very ...

A note from the Emerging Leaders Board on “The Time is Now: Renew Oregon”

We’re not just an advisory board of entrepreneurs, strategists and community leaders lending our expertise to support of OEC’s mission. We’re also professionals, parents, aunts and uncles, daughters and sons. We’re Oregonians who were born in this beautiful state and people who moved here because we love this state so much. To safeguard our future, we must act on climate now. That’s why we created this video, narrated by best-selling author of “Wild”, Cheryl Strayed, to call for climate action. We care about climate change for so many reasons, but particularly because we're the first generation to experience the effects of climate ...

It’s getting hot in here, but we can’t take off all our clothes.

In the poetic (and somewhat censored for appropriateness) words of the great Nelly, this Portland heat wave makes me be all like: "I was like, good gracious... It's gettin' hot in here (so hot) So take off all your clothes I am gettin' so hot, I wanna take my clothes off." But alas, as responsible adults we cannot do that—no matter how much this relentless heat makes us want to do crazy things. And craziness in the heat is no joke—some studies have linked the rise in violent crime to increases in hot weather. There are about 2.6% more murders and assaults in the US during the summer than other seasons of the year, and violence rates ...

Clean Fuels: Fact vs. Myth

What the Clean Fuels Program does: Guarantees climate pollution reductions from transportation fuels by 10% over 10 years. How it works: Oil importers (all petroleum comes from outside of Oregon) must reduce their carbon footprint by investing in lower carbon fuels. All fuels are judged on their lifecycle climate impact. The cleanest fuels, such as waste grease biodiesel or biogas collected from landfills, are encouraged the most. Higher carbon fuels, like natural gas, may have a niche role to play, but won’t be the dominant fuel. Oil companies also have to report on their carbon intensities and account for any increases in pollution if they ...