Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility

It is with great pleasure that Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility announces our twelfth annual Greenfield Peace Writing Scholarship. Any 11th or 12th grade Oregon high school student may enter by submitting an original essay, poem, or narrative work (maximum 600 words) in response to the following question: "How would an effective movement for climate justice benefit immigrant communities?"

Entries may be submitted online (preferred, see below) or sent by email or postal mail. A panel of judges comprised of local writers, activists, and distinguished community members will select the winning entries. The first prize winner will receive a scholarship award of $1,000, the second $750 and the third $500. Oregon PSR will host an awards ceremony in late April in Portland at which the scholarship winners will be honored.

Students from underrepresented communities are encouraged to apply.
All entries are due by 5:00 PM on Monday, March 2nd, 2020.

Enter your online submission HERE.
For email and postal mail submissions, please see INSTRUCTIONS AND ENTRY FORM.

Please help us in announcing this opportunity to all 11th and 12th-grade students and their teachers, counseling departments, student and parent groups, and school officials. We very much appreciate your help in spreading the word about this scholarship opportunity.

Download the scholarship flyer and share with any students who may be interested in participating, or contact us for more information.

Get started with a few resources: 

Climate Change, Migration, and Displacement
Let’s Talk About Climate Migrants, Not Climate Refugees
"People are Dying": How the Climate Crisis has Sparked an Exodus to the US
Blog: Immigration Justice is Climate Justice

Oregon PSR's Healthy Climate Action Team member Patricia Kullberg, MD, MPH was a featured speaker at the rally to #StopJordanCove LNG in Salem on Thursday, November 21st. She spoke of a vision of healthy communities connected to the land and water, free from the threat of fossil fuel terminals and pipelines.

On Thursday, November 21st, nearly 750 people from across Oregon and northern California, including Indigenous community members, impacted landowners, young people, and many others came together to demand that Governor Brown stop the proposed Jordan Cove LNG project and Pacific Connector fracked gas pipeline. The proposed Jordan Cove Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) export terminal in Coos Bay, as well as the proposed 229-mile Pacific Connector fracked methane gas pipeline, is an extremely hazardous fossil fuel project that would threaten our clean air, clean water, a stable climate, and the health of our communities. If approved, this project would constitute the largest single greenhouse gas pollution source in Oregon.

On November 7th, National PSR hosted the Visionary Leaders Awards Reception and Symposium in Washington, DC. The awards recognize individuals and organizations for their exemplary efforts in advancing nuclear weapons abolition and addressing environmental risks to human health, including the catastrophic consequences caused by climate change, through collaborations that strengthen PSR’s mission.

Among this year’s honorees were Kelly Campbell, Executive Director of Oregon PSR, and Regna Merritt, our recently retired Healthy Climate Program Director. Kelly was also a panelist at an afternoon symposium of Women Leaders on Nuclear Disarmament and Climate Disruption.

There’s a big air pollution problem in Oregon coming from the Covanta Marion waste incinerator between Salem and Woodburn, the largest industrial source of air pollution in Marion County. Right now, the state of Oregon is considering renewing a key air quality permit for Covanta Marion and is taking comments until November 18th, 2019. The proposed permit would allow the incinerator to increase their emissions of fine particulate matter, which works its way into the smallest parts of our lungs and leads to inflammation and increased chance of respiratory disease.

Take action: Tell Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to deny pollution increases at the Covanta Marion waste incinerator.

Dear Oregon PSR Supporter,

This has been a year of transition, growth, and transformative partnerships for Oregon PSR. When I look back at the past year, I am proud to see how we’ve strengthened authentic partnership with communities most impacted by the injustices of climate chaos and nuclear weapons. At the same time, we’ve had more elected officials reaching out to us for our input on policy, as well as more health professionals finding a home for their activism within Oregon PSR. In the face of the overwhelming challenges of our times, I am convinced that Oregon PSR has a critical role to play in building movements for a healthy future.

As 2019 nears an end, the call for action to address climate change has never felt clearer. Worldwide, July 2019 was the hottest month ever recorded. We heard the anguish of storm-battered island communities and despaired as huge sections of Brazilian rainforest — the lungs of our earth —burned at the hands of a far-right regime. Southern Oregonians and Southwest Washingtonians live with the frightening possibility of massive fracked gas projects in their communities. In response to these and other threats to our climate, tens of thousands took to the streets in September as young people throughout our region joined Swedish youth climate activist Greta Thunberg in striking for a livable future for all.

Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility has released a fifteen-page report outlining the reasons why the Columbia Generating Station (CGS) nuclear power plant on the banks of the Columbia River in Eastern Washington must have a plan for decommissioning within the next 5 to 15 years. The CGS is a 35-year-old General Electric boiling water reactor similar to the one that melted down in Fukushima, Japan in 2011. Nuclear reactors of this type have never operated for longer than 50 years, and as reactors get older, the chances rise of a failure due to wear-out as well as increased costs from maintenance needs as parts get older and require replacement and repair.

It is with great pleasure that Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility announces our twelfth annual Greenfield Peace Writing Scholarship. Any 11th or 12th grade Oregon high school student may enter by submitting an original essay, poem, or narrative work (maximum 600 words) in response to the following question: "How would an effective movement for climate justice benefit immigrant communities?"