Sierra Club Volunteers Rally at LNG Shareholder Meeting

On May 28th, Sierra Club volunteers joined a rally against a proposed liquefied natural gas facility in Oregon. A crowd gathered outside the Convention Center in Portland where NW Natural was holding its yearly shareholder’s meeting. People carried signs that read “No Pipeline” and “Protect the Columbia River.” The crowd chanted “Protect Mt. Hood, No LNG.”

The Sierra Club opposes NW Natural’s plan to build two LNG terminals along the Oregon coast and over 500 miles of pipeline throughout the state. The proposed terminals would endanger key habitats at the base of the Columbia River and in Coos Bay; while the pipeline would threaten forests and rivers all cross the state. Click here for more in-depth information on the issues associated with Liquefied Natural Gas in Oregon.

Epic EPA Hearing in Seattle!

The Oregon Sierra Club came out in force to the EPA hearing in Seattle on May 21st to demonstrate the outpouring of public support for fast, scientifically-based, and substantial actions on climate change. The EPA had recently proposed its endangerment finding that global warming pollution is a threat to public health and welfare and they wanted to hear the public’s views, so we made sure to be there to support them.

People of all ages from little baby Maeve, to students from Corvallis and Eugene, to young professionals, to silver-haired heroes, filled three buses to Seattle. 101 of us came up from many parts of Oregon, like folks from Bend living in the shadow of the Boardman coal plant, to support our nearly 2000 of our friends in Seattle and to show the EPA and the nation that we must continue to take bold action to solve global warming.

This amazing turnout was achieved through the hard work of some very dedicated volunteers. Soon after the announcement of the hearing, the Sierra Club formed the EPA Hearing Task Force, which was comprised of folks in Oregon new to the Coal Campaign who wanted to make a big impact on global warming. Those folks, along with many other Sierra Club volunteers, worked daily to spread the news of the hearing throughout Portland by tabling at Farmer’s Markets, flyering local businesses, phoning and mailing fellow Sierra Club members, and engaging in a fun pre-hearing event with Brent Foster from the Attorney General’s office.

We were also able to get some pre-hearing media buzz through letters-to-the-editor written by Sierra Club members, articles about the hearing from the Oregonian to Street Roots, and a really great Op-Ed written by former Secretary of State, Bill Bradbury. We also had KOIN news do a piece the morning of the event right from our bus pickup location!

We had a major impact – and it is only because people took the time to get engaged and do something positive to affect change in our world.

If you didn’t get a chance to participate in this great event, don’t worry!

We have many more opportunities to build on this momentum and deliver real global warming solutions to our region and the country. There are global warming decisions happening at multiple levels of government in June – we have phonebank action nights every Tuesday and Thursday from 6 – 8:30pm at the Sierra Club office starting June 9th through the end of June to generate calls into decision-makers.

 

Other important dates:

June 9th 6:00pm – First action phone bank night.

June 18th and 19th – the Department of Environmental Quality’s decision meetings on standards for pollution controls at the Boardman Coal Plant (stay tuned for exact times and agenda).

June 23rd 7:00pm– First Beyond Coal Task Force meeting at the Sierra Club office.

For more information contact Robin Everett at robin.everett@sierraclub.org or call 503-238-0442 x307 or Cesia Kearns at cesia.kearns@sierraclub.org or call 503-238-0442 x303.

Bill Bradbury Says EPA Needs to Hear from You!

Former Secretary of State Bill Bradbury published an opinion piece  in the Oregonian today.   “The Obama Administration is working hard to put new federal rules and safeguards in place to  build a clean energy future – but they need our help,” he says.  

He even plugged the Sierra Club’s efforts to drive Oregonian’s up to Seattle tomorrow to rally in support of President Obama’s EPA decision to regulate greenhouse gas emissions because they are a danger to our public health and welfare.  

Click here to read Bill Bradbury’s opinion piece in the Oregonian.

It’s not too late to join us on the bus to Seattle tomorrow!  Click here to learn how!

Sierra Club Endorses Destination Resort Reform Legislation

For Immediate Release:   May 18, 2009

Contact:
Merry Ann Moore, (541) 549-2468 merryann@bendcable.com
Ivan Maluski ivan.maluski@sierraclub.org (503) 449-2270

Sierra Club Endorses Destination Resort Reform Legislation 

Destination resort reform is still less than certain as the 2009 legislative session enters its final weeks. One bill that will decide much about the future landscape and natural resources of Oregon has just been endorsed by the Oregon Chapter of Sierra Club, which represents 20,000 conservation-minded Oregonians.

HB 2227, a statewide destination resort reform bill, has passed the House and is awaiting action by the Senate Environment & Natural Resources Committee. Despite broad local support for more rigorous standards and enforcement of resort rules, the legislature’s Central Oregon delegation is opposing HB 2227. Representatives Judy Stiegler and Gene Whisnant voted no on the measure, and Sen. Chris Telfer has expressed opposition. And Alan Unger, representing the Deschutes County Commission, also submitted testimony opposing the bill.

“The statewide destination resort reforms contained in HB 2227 are essential and should be brought to the full legislature for a vote,” says Juniper Group Sierra Club member Merry Ann Moore.  “It will help assure that future resorts are built on the model of Central Oregon’s Sunriver and Black Butte Ranch, which are genuine visitor-serving facilities, instead of the Pronghorn model which is really a gated luxury golf community for second home owners.”

HB 2227 gives career land use experts at the Land Conservation and Development Commission the time and authority to examine and enact sensible resort reforms. It also protects Oregon’s economy and jobs, by preserving the waterways and landscapes that draw thousands of visitors, stimulate local economies, provide limitless enjoyment for residents, provide critical wildlife habitat, and serve as vital fish nurseries.

An ODFW study found that in Deschutes County in 2008, $20 million was spent on travel-generated expenditures for fishing, $6.7 million for hunting, and $42.8 million for wildlife viewing, for a total of $69.5 million. This includes spending on fuel, lodging, groceries, meals, retail purchases and other travel expenses. In comparison, the resort lobby calculates $28.7 million in tax revenue for all Deschutes County resorts COMBINED (Sunriver, Caldera Springs, Black Butte Ranch, Eagle Crest, and Pronghorn) in 2006. And this figure does not consider the hefty infrastructure costs (road improvements, utilities, emergency services) that resort development means for county taxpayers.

HB 2227 also protects farmland from development pressure by putting lands served by irrigation districts off-limits to resorts. This is important for insulating farm lands from development pressure, and assuring there is adequate water to serve existing farm uses. Swalley Irrigation District supports this part of the bill because it will prevent the water rights from irrigated lands being transferred to developers, which takes farmland out of production and forces the burden of district costs on the remaining farmers. These costs rise dramatically, since the district must pipe open rural canals at a cost of $1 million per mile when development happens adjacent to farms. (Developers aren’t required to pay for these costs.)

“Oregon needs to get back to the principles of smart growth and building within urban growth boundaries,” notes Ivan Maluski, Conservation Program coordinator for Sierra Club Oregon. “At a time when our country is beginning to recognize the need to live more sustainably, reduce carbon footprints by driving less, eat local foods, restore endangered fish, protect habitat, and plan for expected global warming impacts such as water shortages, we need to rethink resort policies. HB 2227 is a good step in this direction.”

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ROAD TRIP! – HELP THE EPA FIGHT GLOBAL WARMING!

The Environmental Protection Agency has just announced its finding that carbon dioxide is a threat to the public health and welfare. They are holding a public hearing regarding this proposal and we need to show our support for swift action! This is our first major opportunity since the Presidential election to demonstrate clear, decisive, overwhelming support for bold federal action on global warming.

This is the critical first step for the EPA to begin regulating carbon dioxide from coal plants, cars, and other major sources of global warming pollution.

What: EPA Endangerment Hearing When: Thursday, May 21. Hearing from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Rally at noon.

Where: International Promenade Bell Harbor International Conference Center at 2211 Alaskan Way, Pier 66 Seattle, WA 98121

Why: If there has ever been a time to show up and demonstrate that we the people want action on global warming, this is it!

Transportation will be provided, stay tuned for details. For more information and to RSVP contact Robin Everett at robin.everett@sierraclub.org or call 503-238-0442 x307.

Click here to Sign up!