Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility

We are excited to introduce you to our newest staff members: David De La Torre, our new Healthy Climate Program Director, Samantha Hernandez, our Climate Justice Organizer, and  Jackie Lamars, our new Program Assistant. Once you get a chance to meet them, you’ll see why we are so thrilled to have them on our team. We also bid a fond farewell to Damon Motz-Storey, our outgoing Healthy Climate Program Director, and Katy Morrow, our 2020-2021 Program Assistant. Continue reading to learn more about staff transitions at Oregon PSR.

As we celebrate our 40th anniversary throughout 2021, Oregon PSR staff and Board members have been taking the opportunity to look back at our rich history and talk to members who have been among our organization’s leaders throughout the years to learn more about our significant achievements and milestones.

More than 60 organizations collaborated on a recently released report titled Methane Gas: Health, Safety, and Decarbonization to set the record straight on the environmental and health impacts of so-called "natural" gas, which powers appliances in many of our homes. On September 14th, we hosted a Health Impacts of Gas Appliances webinar for attendees to learn more about why the fracked gas industry is detrimental to our climate and to the health of our communities. Three of our featured speakers are co-authors of report.

We did it! In response to years of organizing by Oregon PSR members and partners, the City of Portland today denied a Land Use Compatibility Statement, declaring that Zenith’s oil-by-rail storage and transfer facility in NW Portland is inconsistent with the City’s land use rules.

On August 17th, more than 50 health professionals, public health advocates, and water protectors rallied outside the US Army Corps of Engineers’ office in the Lloyd District of Northeast Portland. The attendees delivered a letter signed by over 300 Oregonians calling on President Biden to revoke permits for Line 3, a tar sands oil pipeline being built by Canadian corporation Enbridge through Anishinaabe treaty territory in Minnesota. The rally occurred at the same time as a dozen other actions across the country, including in St. Paul, Minnesota. Our sincere thanks to everyone who joined us in solidarity with water protectors and other health professionals across the country opposing Line 3.

Wildfires fueled by climate change are becoming more intense in the Pacific Northwest. Preparation and adaptation to these climate disasters is vital to building climate resilience and protecting our health. Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility (Oregon PSR), Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN), and Neighbors for Clean Air (NCA) hosted a webinar in June of 2021 titled Our Health in Wildfire Season to explore these issues.

Thanks so much to everyone who joined us for our August 6th, 2021 Hiroshima and Nagasaki memorial ceremony and the We Hold Sacred exhibit! Even with our audience size limited as a precaution relative to the ongoing pandemic, we were so honored to share an evening of remembrance of the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and all those negatively impacted by more than 76 years of nuclear injustice, as well as a celebration of the nuclear justice movement, especially as led by Black, Indigenous, and people of color individuals and communities, with our fully vaccinated and masked attendees.

Oregon PSR and our community partner organizations have begun planning the annual Portland-area memorial of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which this year will be held on Friday, August 6th beginning at 6:00 PM at the Japanese American Historical Plaza at Waterfront Park in downtown Portland (NW Naito Parkway & Couch Street).

We are experiencing temperatures in the upper 90’s and even higher throughout Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, and wildfires are already burning throughout our state and region. While no one wants to repeat the severe air quality crisis of last summer, we also know that it is essential to be prepared.