Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility

Great news! The City of Eugene voted this week to move forward with several measures advancing the transition away from gas in homes and buildings. The motions include one directing staff to draft ordinance language to mandate that all new homes be constructed 100% electric by June 1st, 2023; a second advancing conversations to transition new commercial and industrial construction to require all electric; and a third seeks to formalize Eugene’s goal of electrifying all existing residential and commercial buildings by 2035. 

Sign our petition to the Multnomah County Commissioners and the Office of Sustainability encouraging them to begin the steps of phasing out of methane gas from all new construction of residential and commercial buildings in Multnomah County, and of justly phasing out of gas appliances in existing buildings for the health of our community.

Combustion of fossil fuels, including methane gas, produces harmful air pollutants and particulate matter both indoors and outdoors. Studies have shown that gas stoves can produce elevated levels of nitrogen dioxide, a toxic gas whose health effects in children may include increased risk of asthma, aggravated respiratory symptoms, and more detrimental health effects.

Homes and buildings are where people live, learn, work, and play. With electrification comes the opportunity to create a just transition to homes and buildings that are safer, healthier, and more resilient, and powered by renewable energy. Dozens of cities, including New York, Seattle, Denver, and San Francisco, have already said no to methane gas in new buildings. The Eugene City Council recently voted to mandate that all new homes be constructed 100% electric by June 1, 2023. It's time for Multnomah County to follow suit.

Sign the petition.

Sign up to testify for the Portland Fossil Fuel Terminal Zoning Amendment (FFTZA) hearing this Thursday, June 30th at 2:00 PM. This landmark law will ban new or expanded bulk fossil fuel infrastructure and we need your support!

As we move towards a more solar- and wind-dependent energy grid in the United States, the need for energy storage is expected to increase dramatically. Since solar and wind power systems are dependent upon the sun shining or the wind blowing, their reliability hinges upon storing energy when generation is higher than demand and releasing it when demand is higher than generation. Currently, the two leading technologies for this wide-scale level of energy storage include pumped hydro energy storage and battery systems. A recent academic review of both systems highlights their individual strengths: 

The Oregon State Treasury needs to change its investment strategy, concluded a new report which Oregon PSR co-sponsored called "Risky Business: Oregon Treasury's Fossil Fuel Problem." The report details the investments in fossil fuels made by the Oregon State Treasury that are known to the public, and outlines how continued support of the fossil fuel industry by the state exposes Oregonians to climate and health risks, economic cost, and financial risks. "Risky Business" reveals how the Oregon State Treasury has at least $5.3 billion invested in fossil fuel companies with over $1 billion invested in the coal industry alone. A great place to find a summary is on Divest Oregon's Report webpage.

Thanks to the generous support of donors like you, Oregon PSR surpassed our Earth Day Challenge matching pledge in April, raising over $10,000 to support our climate work. Thank you so much! As we celebrated a holiday in honor of protecting our environment, as well as our significant victories for healthier communities and a healthier climate over the past decade, we also acknowledged the growing impacts of devastating climate chaos and injustice and the many challenges ahead.

We have some exciting news to share: Five of our incredible Healthy Climate Action Team volunteers have stepped up to issue a $5,000 matching challenge in honor of Earth Day on April 22nd. We need your help to meet their generous match by the end of April.

Will you support our work for a healthy climate in honor of Earth Day with a financial contribution today, knowing that your donation will be matched 1 to 1?  

On April 20th, we hosted Let’s Talk Trash, an online discussion of Oregon PSR’s campaign to oppose trash incineration in Marion County and beyond. We explored the health effects of waste incineration, how we can eliminate the burning of trash in Oregon, and a zero-waste system that reduces trash and pollution while protecting and putting the health of Oregon’s communities first.

NW Natural is seeking to raise an additional $81.8 million, which would result in an average 11.8% increase to residential gas bills in Oregon. This is in addition to the average 13.2% increase that residential customers saw in November 2021. This request is to cover, in part, increases to executive salaries, increases to investor profits, subsidies for fossil fuel infrastructure, and advertising expenses.

NW Natural has asked the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) to approve this rate hike, and the Commission needs to hear from all of us before making any decisions. Please sign our petition before March 30th to tell OPUC why they shouldn’t let this happen.

Many Oregonians and NW Natural customers are experiencing financial hardship during these unprecedented times. The compounding impacts of fossil fuel-induced climate change, together with the COVID-19 pandemic, have placed an enormous burden on some households to pay for living expenses, including utility bills. Low-income households are more vulnerable to the financial impacts of higher utility rates. This proposed rate increase would force these already energy-burdened households to spend a greater portion of their income on utility bills, leaving less income for other necessities such as food and health expenses.

Sign the petition today!

If you would like to submit your own written public testimony, you can also email your thoughts to [email protected] by March 31st. Here is a NW Natural Rate Hike Online Action Toolkit you can use to write your testimony.

Oregon PSR members and our allies have been part of three recent webinars all exploring aspects of why nuclear power is not a climate solution. We invite you to watch these to learn more about the inherent problems with nuclear power.