Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility

UPDATE: SB 520 is now in ways and means! Read on for Action Items!

Over the last few years, one of the many injustices that the COVID-19 pandemic has spotlighted is how prisons fail to protect the health of adults in custody. Crowded prisons with insufficient access to masks and hygiene infrastructure have caused Oregonians in prison to become sick and die from COVID-19.People with histories of incarceration are already in worse physical and mental health according to research by the U.S. Department for Health and Human Services. 

As the Oregon legislature kicks off its 2023 session, Oregon PSR is supporting a number of bills to promote a healthy climate, environmental health, and racial justice that will make our state a healthier place to live. We are also opposing a few dangerous bills that would allow radioactive waste producing nuclear reactors and prohibit local action to replace methane gas with clean electricity. Bookmark this page for more information and opportunities for you to take action for a healthier Oregon as the session progresses. 

I will be moving on from my role as Executive Director at Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) over the next few months. I plan to stay on through mid-March to help with a smooth leadership transition, and will be available to support the new Oregon PSR Executive Director. I am excited that this is a positive change for Oregon PSR and for me. I have served in this role for 13 years, and I think it is important for healthy organizations and for the movements we work in to welcome new leadership periodically. 

Please help Oregon PSR find its next Executive Director by sharing this job announcement with your networks and especially with anyone who you think would have an interest in taking on this very rewarding position. 

Oregon PSR has received a Platinum rating from Guidestar! As an organization we believe in establishing trust with our supporters and communities, and we know that transparency is an important aspect of building trust. That is why we have taken the time to share a bunch of information with everyone ranging from financial to demographic details. We hope you will check out our GuideStar page and share it with anyone who may be interested. 

It was a good day for door knocking in Brooks, Oregon! Last month, I joined Clean Air Organizer Carina Perez in canvassing a neighborhood near the Covanta Marion incinerator. This door knocking effort is part of Oregon Physician for Social Responsibility’s Healthy Climate Program to engage people on health and air quality issues in their community.

Oregon PSR's Healthy Climate Program works towards a just transition to zero waste, and opposing the harmful and extractive systems of waste incineration. We have been active in opposing incineration of municipal and medical waste in Marion County, in opposing pyrolysis proposals in Tigard, and plasma gasification proposals in Arlington and other communities. We have also promoted expanding programs for waste prevention and reduction, reuse, recycling, composting, and community education.

Greetings, my name is Jesse Gasper Jr. I am the new Membership Manager at Oregon Physician for Social Responsibility (PSR). For the last 5 years, I’ve been observing Oregon PSR from afar. My interest started when Oregon PSR asked me to sign on to a bill in the Oregon legislature to support the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. As I learned more about the organization, I found out that Oregon PSR also focuses on Climate Change.  Aha: a green light went off, and that’s when I knew I needed to be part of this organization.  

Ballots are out and OregonPSR is excited to announce our 2022 Measure Endorsements! This midterm election Oregon has some great measures to vote for and we hope you will join us in voting for a safer, healthier and just Oregon. Oregon PSR has endorsed three measures - Measure 111 Healthcare for All Oregon, Measure 114 Gun Safety Measure, and Measure 26-228 Portland Charter Reform. Read on to learn more! 

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear powerplant (ZNPP) is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and has been strategically seized by the Russian government. As more information comes forward about the state of ZNPP we learn more about the increasing risk of a nuclear meltdown, and the extreme dangers and exhaustion faced by the workers who maintain the plant. To learn more about the ZNPP please check out the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant we have created based off of information from the National branch of Physicans for Social Responsibility.

We are excited to welcome Mickey Alford (he/they) to the Oregon PSR team! Mickey is OPSR’s new Quaker Voluntary Service Fellow, and we are thrilled to have him on our team for the next 11 months. 

As the ongoing war in Ukraine reminds us, the existence of nuclear weapons remains a threat to all life on our planet. While 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons remain controlled by the US and Russia, momentum is growing for a nuclear-free future as the majority of countries in the world have come together to create the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, making nuclear weapons illegal under international law. The first meeting of State Parties of the Treaty concluded this summer, with even some NATO-member countries surprising the world by attending.

We here in the US must do our part to work for a nuclear-free future. That is why for the past 30 years, Oregon PSR has taken the lead in organizing the Portland community commemoration of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, together with our partners, to honor the lives lost to nuclear weapons and renewing our pledge to work for nuclear justice and create a nuclear-free future.