 We know you are beyond worried about the climate crisis. We bet you’re also losing sleep over the state of electoral politics… You want to DO SOMETHING! Come and hang out with people who “get it” and are making a difference. Join us for a Long Overdue Meet-up & massive Get Out the Vote Card-writing Gathering next Thursday, July 25th from 6 to 9 at Wildcraft Ciderworks, 232 Lincoln St., Eugene Learn all about what 350 Eugene has been up to through These Pandemic Times and join with other democracy-heroes who are turning out the vote in November! Fun and inspiration! To begin, in an informal atmosphere we’ll hear short campaign updates, then relax into some SERIOUS CARD WRITING. All the materials are provided. There are a couple delicious food options nearby and a pay-as-you-go bar. Postcarding makes a difference and it’s fun too! If you can’t come, or prefer to write on your own… We have packets of 60 cards available for pickup in Eugene or Springfield. Just email GOTV-Deb at [email protected] and she’ll hook you up. If we all do a little, our collective impact will be huge! Bring a friend. *Please note the date change from Friday 7/26, previously published in error.*  Street Messaging Engage and Educate the Public: Keep Trees in the Ground for the Climate! Fresh air & friendly conversation When: Friday, July 26, 12:00-1:30 pm Where: Chambers St. & W. 15th We’ll display these magnificent posters on the east side of Chambers starting at 15th Ave and continuing north on Chambers. (We painted them ourselves!) Parking available along 15th Ave., west of Chambers. Bring a lawn chair if you like to sit down. See you there!  Tuesday, July 23rd, 7 to 9:00 pm - “Crown Jewels” documentary (Art House in Eugene) This new documentary film makes the case for protecting mature & old-growth forests and has a segment featuring Oregon. As we’re gearing up for the National Forest Plan reviews and public commenting period this August, this film lays out our case to protect forests for the climate. The event will feature a panel discussion with Q&A and an opportunity to write a letter to the US Forest Service calling for safeguards to ancient forests in Oregon and across the country. (Local favs Chandra LeGue & Tim Ingalsbee are featured panelists!) Learn more and get tickets here.  What Happened at the City of Eugene’s July 10th & 17th Work Sessions? The City Sustainability staff gave thorough presentations to the City Council on their outreach with myriad stakeholders this year. They also provided numerous effective and often innovative strategies that other jurisdictions are using to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But… Instead of directing staff to bring back implementing language for any specific policies, Council voted 7 to 0 to study the options more in the fall. “Delay by process!” It’s classic. Here’s the GOOD NEWS: We’re still on track and have made a lot of progress! Thanks for attending, speaking, writing emails and showing up! This summer we’ll be developing strategies with our allies to move ahead with climate action in Fall of 2024! Sign up for our newsletters here and watch our calendar for meetings and events. Eugene Demands Climate Action and we won’t stop until we get it! Save the DateWednesday, August 14th - National Forest Plans Comment-writing Party with our allies Oregon Wild and Cascadia Wildlands! Stay tuned for deets.
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 Man! It’s hot outside! As our community experiences deadly, unprecedented heat, key climate and resilience policies are being considered by the Eugene City Council this Wednesday. Please join us in calling on the Council to move forward with common sense policies to reduce emissions from homes and buildings, increase energy efficiency and resilience, and transition our community off of fossil fuels. We cannot afford to wait any longer! Take action TODAY and send the Council a strong message: NOW is the time for action. 350 Eugene, along with its amazing allies in the Fossil Free Eugene Coalition (Springfield Eugene Tenants Association, Cascadia Wildlands, Sierra Club, Beyond Toxics, NAACP and more) is pushing for a suite of policies that will increase access to air conditioning, expand subsidies for high efficiency heat pumps and support low income households to transition off of fossil fuels. Council is meeting to discuss these policies on Wednesday, July 17th, and we need your help to ensure that Eugene continues to be a leader on climate action and social justice. Can you please send an email TODAY to [email protected] urging them to take action? They have everything they need. But they need YOU / US to tell them to ACT. We’re asking them to prioritize climate, energy justice and public health by moving to direct City staff to draft ordinance and / or resolution language reflecting the following policies in 2024:
Please email the Council in advance of Wednesday's work session and then please tune in to the work session on Wednesday at 12:00 noon. Who will be the leaders and protect our climate and public health? Here's the link to the webcast. Let's have LOTS OF PEOPLE TUNING IN! According to NASA this is the hottest year ever and likely the coolest we’ll see. Eugenians are ready for these policies. Thank you for your support! Grassroots gets the goods, and it’s past time to get this done! Additionally, please send a separate email to your own councilor, if you have one. Send your email TODAY to
[email protected] with "Wednesday Climate Action" in the subject line. Thank you so much for acting on this time-sensitive issue. Cities must lead on climate!  According to both the International Energy Agency and the IPCC, in order to achieve net-zero emissions in time to halt global heating at a relatively safe level, the development of new oil and gas fields must cease immediately. Both have also stated, unequivocally, that to have even a 50–50 chance to halt global heating at the Paris target of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100, existing fossil energy infrastructure must be retired before the end of its expected lifetime. This means urgent action at every level. It’s time for Eugene to step up! We can do this. There are things each of us is doing to mitigate the extreme risks that global warming brings, from personal actions to systemic changes. In this newsletter you’ll find some very local and game-changing actions you can take to make Eugene a climate leader in July. Please lend your voice. It’s never been more important. Campaigns & Action Steps(Here's where you can plug in throughout July.) Join us Thursday, July 25th from 6-9:00pm for our first 350EUG Meet-up since Covid and a combo-card-writing party at Wildcraft Ciderworks. (More details in the GOTV section below.) Electrify Eugene - Let’s Get A Policy Over the Finish Line! Every voice matters!
We expect “history to be made” at the July 17th work session! Don’t miss it. Note: You can always access / watch the live city council meetings & work session webinars via this link. Thanks for showing up and / or tuning in! ICYMI: To see the vital work of local and national legal & energy experts who are driving our transition off dirty fossil fuels, watch the Kicking Gas panel recording from this year’s Public Interest Environmental Law Conference panel by the same name. It will tell you how important our work in Eugene has been for getting clean energy policy enacted in our region! Meet-up with your Eugene Climate Buddies this Friday! Friday, July 5th at 6:00 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church at 13th & Chambers An Evening with Bill McKibben Watch Party Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org and The Third Act, will be in Portland this Friday evening. He’s been speaking truth to power about global warming for decades and he’s bringing the climate & democracy movements together! Perfect timing! Eugene is hosting a live-screening. Donations are accepted at the door; light refreshments will be served. Join us at the local Eugene Watch Party!  Here’s his latest inspiring (& short video) : Bill McKibben on Climate Crisis: How we got here and what we can do now. Engage and Educate the Public about Electric Vehicles! Fresh air & friendly conversation.  Here are the dates, times, and location for our next two sign events. When: Thursday, July 11 & Friday, July 26, 12:00-1:30 pm Where: Chambers St. & W. 15th Signs will be displayed on the east side of Chambers starting at 15th Ave and continuing north on Chambers. Parking available along 15th Ave., west of Chambers. Bring a lawn chair if you like to sit down.  Get Out the Vote - We’re getting people to the polls because it’s SUPER IMPORTANT! Thursday, July 25th from 6pm to 9pm - Postcard-writing Party & Meet-up at Wildcraft Ciderworks (232 Lincoln St., Eugene) The Center for Common Ground, a non-partisan, people of color-led voting rights organization organizes the Reclaim Our Vote campaign. Their mission is to empower underrepresented voters to fully participate in elections. The Reclaim Our Vote campaign has set a goal of sending out 500,000 postcards a week! Our part is 5,000 postcards (total) to be sent to registered Black voters in Arizona (WE CAN SO DO THIS!) We write colorful informative handwritten postcards to voters of color in targeted voter suppression states. Data show that voters who receive the cards are more likely to get to the polls! Since this campaign is non-partisan, we can provide postage! You are all invited to a "Card Writing Party" to join with other writers for fun and inspiration! If you prefer to write on your own… I have packets of 50 or 100 cards available for pickup in Eugene or Springfield. Just email me at [email protected]. If we all do a little, our collective impact will be huge! All the materials are provided. We’ll combine a short 350 / Climate Meet-up / Update with some very serious postcard-writing in an informal, relaxed atmosphere. Bring a friend. It’s an open bar with a couple delicious food options on site or nearby. Postcarding makes a difference and it’s fun too! "The pen is mightier than the sword!" Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1839) Forest Defense is Climate Defense  On June 13th over a dozen banner drops were executed over I-5 and in Portland, more than 120+ folks rallied at the regional headquarters of the US Forest Service & Bureau of Land Management, and delivered a letter from more than 70 organizations, calling on the Biden Administration to halt logging of mature & old growth forests. You can see our local action photos here and the Portland rally here. Stay tuned: This year all National Forest Plans are being reviewed and will be open for comment later this summer. We plan to submit a record 750,000 comments with all our national partners in August to ensure biodiversity, wildfire community hardening, and climate are considered in their plans! ACTION: What you can do now
Fracked Gas Resistance The Gas Transmission Northwest (GTNXP) compressor and pipeline expansion is currently on "hold". Trans Canada says it cannot afford the project if it cannot spread cost over its entire customer base. But FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) says they can only charge the customers who are receiving the fracked gas. Time will tell - but a delay sometimes turns into a "WIN!" TIPS FOR SUMMER: Our good friends at Electrify Now really understand how to breakdown and explain the many emerging & exciting clean energy solutions with their wonderful webinars! Here are their tips for summer, complete with some Funky Heat Pump Music! Electrify Now tips for summer.  Join Electrify Now for their webinar "Electric Yard Care - Ditch the Gas" on July 2 at noon. Learn the benefits of switching your yard care tools to electric: less noisy, easier to operate, shareable batteries, and so much more! Click here for more information and to register. Is it time for Eugene to join hundreds of other cities who are committed to pollution-free yard care? One hour of a 2 stroke engine's emissions equals a 1,100 mile car trip. Interested in cleaning the air from gas pollution and reducing sound pollution in our city? Stay tuned!  We made this world. We can remake it. We know what needs to be done and the solutions are here. Grassroots action gets the goods: we stick to the science, critique the status quo and demand solutions now.
Join us for July climate action! Thank you! |