25 results for tag: oregon

How’s your Walktober?

Let’s face it: adopting new healthy habits can be challenging. Sometimes it takes a little nudge to turn good intentions into action. If you've been meaning to try walking to school, work or other activities, "Walktober" is a great time to start! Hundreds of schools across Oregon have walk-to-school community programs offering support, supervision, and maps for safe and reliable routes. See who's walking. For adults, check out the links to special walking events this month, as well as walking groups, assembled by Oregon Walks. If you need more incentive, check out these step-tracking apps that help you earn donations for your miles. ...

How the Oregon Rebate for Electric Cars Works

In the next year, new rebates for electric cars will be available thanks to hard-fought work by OEC (and our partners) this last legislative session. While you're planning your next EV purchase, we thought we'd share a little more about how it will work, who it will impact and why it's important (hint: clean air + better cost/mileage = ? ). VIDEO: Oregonians eligible for rebate when they buy an eco-friendly car in 2018 (KPTV)  Policy analyst Josh Goldman with the Union for Concerned Scientists explains the basics. https://blog.ucsusa.org/josh-goldman/how-the-oregon-rebate-for-electric-cars-works Goldman walks through which electric ...

Calling all who breathe. Call your State Senator!

NOW is your chance to celebrate science by insisting on it, right here in Oregon. Call your State Senator today.

A Report Card for our Climate: Oregon Gets Graded

Wonder how Oregon is doing at meeting climate and clean energy goals? A new, visually-compelling Clean Energy Report Card grades Oregon’s progress toward a clean energy economy, and shows a suite of solutions which will create good paying jobs, make the air cleaner and promote healthy communities. The Report Card also provides inspiring examples of clean energy solutions--like how Pendelton has become a leader in solar installations. It includes surprising facts, including that transit projects create 70% more jobs compared to highway projects. It underscores that Oregon needs several solutions working together to accelerate the clean energy ...

REPORT: Oregon Faces Climate Threats; We Are Committed to Solutions

The Oregon Climate Change Research Institute just released their third Oregon Climate Assessment Report, and the results are foreboding. Off the top, it clearly states the problem: “burning fossil fuels to run our factories, heat our homes and drive our cars produces heat-trapping gasses that unequivocally warm the planet.” The report presents compelling evidence as to how our state is already experiencing the effects of climate change, and the various threats that lie ahead. Key takeaways: A majority of Oregonians are concerned about climate change: Two-thirds (67%) of Oregonians believe that climate change is happening (Howe et al., 2015). ...

Bend Sports Shop Goes Electric

We love ourselves a good clean energy story - especially local ones that show how making the switch can save money and make lives better! Here's a great example from Pine Mountain Sports in Bend, Oregon. They recently purchased an electric car as their new shop vehicle, making skiing trips to Mt. Bachelor more affordable, and taking their commitment to environmental stewardship to a whole new level. Check out the reasons they went electric, and why this is an easy switch you can make too: "In August of 2016, Pine Mountain Sports bought a 100% electric car as our new shop vehicle. It’s not a Tesla. It’s a Nissan Leaf. It goes 80 miles on an ...

The Force Awakens at OEC

Today, the 7th installment of the iconic space opera, Star Wars, is being released in theaters worldwide.  The saga continues as a rebel force driven in pursuit of justice takes on a well-resourced and powerful Galactic Empire. The rebels may have won an epic victory against the archaic ruling system, but the struggle continues.  It was a long time ago in a galaxy far far away... But wait—is there a disturbance in the force right here in Oregon? Could the Empire of the oil industry face a real challenge from the noble Jedi Council—er, Oregon Environmental Council?  In 2015, The Council helped ensure that Oregon's clean fuels standard will ...

What’s old is new: opposition edition

By Danny Schaffer More than 40 years after its passage, the bottle bill remains one of Oregon’s most celebrated laws – elevating the state’s image as a national leader for environmental policy. The bill is also an enduring source of pride for the Oregon Environmental Council, which played a key role in its passage. As a fledgling organization, launched just five years earlier, the bottle bill’s success solidified OEC’s reputation as an effective voice for principled yet pragmatic environmental policies. The bill, not surprisingly, was bitterly opposed by the beverage and container industries which dreaded that it would become a model ...

Climate Good News — The Tony Bennett Edition

My day started by standing in line for coffee behind a man singing perfectly in tune to the Tony Bennett song playing in the background. His delightful energy inspired this post, as if to say "today's the day we focus on the good!" So let's celebrate some climate victories that make us want to fill our hearts with song! Arctic drilling prospects frozen: Earlier in October, the Obama administration canceled plans to sell any new Arctic drilling leases and refused to extend leases previously sold. This big move comes after Shell already halted its failed $7 billion hunt for oil amid numerous setbacks. Some say the victory should be attributed ...

OEC supports ballot measure to fund “Cherriots”

The public transportation system serving Salem-Keizer residents has a great name – “Cherriots” – conjuring up images of beautiful horse-drawn carriages, but Cherriots has been struggling for years to meet the community’s needs. In fact, if you want to take the bus on the weekend or after 9:00 PM, tough luck! Part of the problem is the fact that Oregon lags far behind other states in supporting the daily operations of its local transit systems. From Basin Transit Service in Klamath Falls to TriMet in the Portland metro area, bus drivers and rail operators are getting people the places they need to go and creating broader community benefits, ...