Post-Election Statement
Dear Oregon PSR Community,
This post-election period is a challenging time for many, filling us with grief and anxiety for what our future holds. Today, we reach out to validate this collective despair, a numbing shock resulting from the national election results. We encourage you to breathe - and to nourish yourself and each other. Then, once again, we will find ourselves in a place that calls us to act and organize as a community against weaponized fear, violent prejudice, vast income inequality, and alienation.
Read moreZenith Air Permit Hearing Postponed
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has announced that they are cancelling the November 19th and December 4th hearing for Texas based Zenith Energy's air quality permit. DEQ says that after receiving questions and concerns from community members (that's us and our partners!) they have determined they need more information from Zenith before continuing with the hearings.
Read moreReworld (Covanta) Marion Plans to Close Oregon Incinerator End of Year
Reworld Marion, previously knows as Covanta Marion, announced that will be ceasing operations at their Oregon incinerator facility along with the last two mass burn facilities in California by December 31, 2024. This is a huge win for Oregon PSR! We have been working for over 10 years to expose the realities of potential health risks from air toxins, green washing of waste-to-energy incinerator campaigns (which U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data says produces more pollution and global warming emissions per unit of electricity produced than coal-fired power plants), and the environmental racism around incinerators locations (Energy Justice Network). All of our hard work will pay off on December 31st, when Reworld intends to close their mass burn facility in Marion County, Oregon.
Read moreIn the News: In a First, a Gas Utility Is Sued Over Its Role in Global Warming - NYTimes
Oregon PSR and environmental justice advocates within Multnomah County have worked tirelessly to hold polluters accountable for their contributions to the climate crisis. Due to this work, Multnomah County has brought a lawsuit against major polluters such as Exxon Mobil and Shell, consultant agency McKenzie, and PNW gas utility NW Natural, along with the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine (OISM) - a non-profit research group. The quit alleges that the knew about the impacts of fossil fuels on the climate crisis and intentionally led marketing and educational campaigns that fed misinformation to the public. Specifically, the suit highlights that OISM led the misinformation campaigns with funding from Exxon and other fossil fuel companies.
You can read the full article here.
This article was originally published in the New York Times on October 10, 2024 by Karen Zraick.
Read moreIn the News: Multnomah County adds NW Natural, Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine to climate lawsuit
Samantha Paladini is our new Peace and Justice Program Manager!
We are thrilled to announce that Samantha Paladini (she/her), previously our QVS Program Assistant, is our new Peace and Justice Program Manager. Samantha will be working closely with board members Andy Harris and Elaine McKenzie to reorganize the Peace Work Group into the Peace and Justice Action Team. We hope you will join us as we organize for a more peaceful and just Oregon for all. We took the time to ask Samantha about her new position and her thoughts on rebuilding our essential Peace and Justice program.
Read on to see Samantha's answers!
Read moreNews Spotlight: Environmentalists, customers raise concerns over NW Natural hydrogen project
Oregon’s largest natural gas utility is attempting to blend low-emission hydrogen into natural gas in Portland to fight climate change, but many say it’s a bad bet
Read moreHate High Power Bills? Blame Fossil Fuels and Climate Change
Hate paying that expensive monthly energy bill? You’re not alone.
Over the past year nearly 33% of United States households had to forego basic necessities to pay energy bills, and nearly 25% couldn’t keep their home at a safe temperature because of high bills.
Most Americans have been shocked by electricity bills in recent years, especially during record heat waves when air conditioning is a necessity.
The culprit is fossil fuels, and the climate change impacts they create. New Energy Innovation research shows volatile natural gas prices, uneconomic coal plants, and the cost of hardening our power grid against extreme weather are primary reasons electricity bills keep rising.
Utility business models that reward large investments even when they’re more expensive for customers aren’t helping — 2023 was the most profitable year in the last decade for investor-owned utilities.
Fortunately, clean energy’s fast-falling prices can lower bills. States with the highest increases in wind power and solar energy since 2010 — Iowa, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas — have all seen customer rates rise slower than inflation because they reduced exposure to fossil fuel costs.
Government officials and utility regulators must protect customers from electricity price spikes and ensure households don’t have to choose between groceries and paying their bills. Clean energy can help, along with smart utility reform that prioritizes customers.
Urban Geography of Environmental Justice and the Social Determinants of Health
An interview with Oregon PSR Board Member Patricia Kullberg, MD, MPH
OPSR had the pleasure of speaking with one of our board members, Patricia Kullberg MD, MPH to learn more about the social determinants of health, a modern lens to approach public health by taking into consideration intersectional factors that contextualize health issues within a given community. Join us as Patricia debunks the old fashioned “bad genes, bad behavior, and bad luck” philosophy and begin to understand how underserved communities experience disproportionate health disparities through social determinants.
Read more