 With elections right around the corner, it’s difficult to think of much else. So much is at stake. And with climate progress so slow and the accelerating global heating & biodiversity crises so perilous, we must do everything we can to protect our democracy so we can protect what we love, our only home: Earth.  We’re Getting Out the Vote! Our amazing GOTV Team has written & mailed out approximately 12,000 postcards! Wow! Working alongside scads of local groups here and across our country, we’ve sent the message that THIS ELECTION is the most important of our (and perhaps anyone’s) lifetime! Thanks for your dedication, the many donations for stamps, and the hours and hours of writing. (Thanks also to those super heroes who are phone-banking & door-knocking in swing states!) 350 Eugene Vote Climate Street Messaging Join us this month on the streets of Eugene to display signs and banners with a Vote Climate message. It’s a time to visit with other climate concerned voters and engage the public with our message. Stand next to or hold our signs or banners and wave at our fellow citizens who are driving, biking and walking by. When: Thursday, October 24 from 3-4:30 pm Where: Corner of E. 30th Ave & Hilyard St & East of Hilyard along 30th Meet in the southeast corner of the Albertson’s parking lot just before 3:00, or look for the signs and banners at that corner and east on 30th Avenue whenever you arrive. When: Halloween! Thursday, October 31 from 3-4:30 pm You are welcome (but not required) to come in costume and even bring a “Vote Climate” sign to go with your costume. (Example: for Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz: Vote Climate by Nov. 5… from Oregon to Kansas and beyond, we need climate leaders!) Where: Meet at the NW corner of River Road & Maxwell Rd., just before 3:00, or look for the signs and banners along the west side of River Road near Maxwell. Parking is along Hamilton Ave or Court Dr., both west of River Road and north of Maxwell. Bring your own “Vote” signs, if you’d like and a lawn chair if you like to sit down. Rain or shine!
Think Climate. Vote Climate. Save our home. No Partisan Gerrymandering In Lane County: Vote no on Measure 20-362!  This summer, right-wing County Commissioners pushed a surprise deal, Measure 20-362, onto the November ballot. They want new voting district boundaries that give them a political advantage, changing them mid-cycle, five years ahead of schedule before two of them have to run for re-election in 2026. The current districts were updated by a democratic, transparent citizen-lead process, just three years ago. There is no legitimate reason to monkey with the districts now. We say:
More MAGA County Commissioners Ignoring Constituents  Oakridge is home to rich local pioneer and Indigenous history, and is surrounded by sensitive elk herd calving grounds. It was also recently recognized as the Mountain Biking Capital of the Northwest . Despite vigorous public outcry and the county’s own Planning Commission’s unanimous vote against rezoning Oakridge’s TV Butte for a gravel mine, the Lane County Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 to continue to pursue the proposed quarry. This fight was fought and won by grassroots resistance in 2015 and must be stopped again. You can help! Come to the Benefit to Save TV Butte Fri., Nov. 1st from 7 to 11:00 pm at Hybrid Gallery 941 W. 3rd, Eugene  Gather with your Earth-Protector buddies. Let’s save what we love. Come to the benefit! For more info, check out the OakridgeStrong website. We can stop this for good. Locking-in Polluting Fossil-gas with Eugene Citizen Tax Dollars Using Multi-Unit Property Tax Exemptions (MUPTE) Does it make sense to you to pass a Climate Recovery Ordinance (2014), create a Climate Action Plan 2.0 (2019), pass an ordinance to mandate all new residential construction under four stories be built with only electric for water & space heating, which had to later be rescinded due to a court decision in California (2023)... all WHILE giving tax subsidies to developers to build with dirty fossil gas infrastructure? No, it doesn’t make sense. It’s inconsistent, at best and hypocritical at worst! Why create a five-year “Accelerated MUPTE” pilot program to stream-line a process that purports to reduce planet-heating emissions by building smaller dwellings that use less energy and are near transit lines (maybe), which does nothing to strengthen protocols that actually REDUCE emissions, like electric-only? It’s a no-brainer. TAKE ACTION Tune in at noon to the Wednesday, October 23rd work session of the Eugene City Council using this link, and in advance (like today) send an email to [email protected] to tell them it’s past time to stop giving tax subsidies for any buildings with fossil fuels! DEQ is Planning to Approve a Disaster for the Columbia River Estuary?! At Port Westward, near Clatskanie, OR (in the estuary of the Columbia River, a little over halfway from Portland to Astoria ), a Houston-based company called NEXT Renewables LLC Oregon is proposing to construct a major new refinery. This refinery would immediately become one of Oregon’s top greenhouse gas polluters. The refinery would be one of the largest of its kind in North America, risking accidents from the storage of dangerous, flammable, toxic, liquid fuel, while displacing a thriving farming community and harming fish habitat in a sensitive and unstable area. TAKE ACTION Sign Columbia Riverkeepers’ petition and tell DEQ and Gov. Kotek to protect the Columbia River and our climate from NEXT’s pollution and greenwashing today! Justice for West Eugene - Dangerous Transloading Project Threatens Neighborhood TAKE ACTION TODAY IS THE LAST DAY the City of Eugene has to withdraw its decision approving the zoning verification for the proposed biofuel transfer station in the Trainsong neighborhood. Send a message TODAY to [email protected] asking them to withdraw their approval. Overburdened West Eugene should be free of toxic air and noise pollution and fire hazards. Don’t have time to write your councilor or don’t have one, take this easy URGENT action today with Beyond Toxics’ email form! Save the Date Check out the website & FB event! Come to the People's Fall Fest at WOW Hall, 291 West 8th St., on Sunday, October 27th from 10:30am to 2:30pm to celebrate our community's environmental and social justice organizations. It's a Spooky Event, so dress for it. More info here. Take care of yourselves and each other. This is a time for solidarity and grace. Let’s keep our eyes open and summon our collective courage. Come what may, when we fight together, we win! Is it worse to have no climate solutions – or to have them but refuse to use them? The Guardian (Oct. 16, 2024) by Rebecca Solnit 
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