No Kings Protest - Flag Day - June 14th

6/8/2025

A Nationwide Day of Defiance

There can be no climate justice until we reclaim our democracy. That’s why 350 Eugene is redoubling our efforts to stop the takeover by oligarchs of our government and bring people together so we can put the brakes on climate breakdown.
Our artists, campaigners & policy troops are pulling out the stops and throwing down with the newly formed grassroots Activist Coalition Eugene Springfield (ACES) to demand leaders at every level stand up for the bedrock American values of fairness, equality and shared prosperity. We must get our country back on track to sanity and climate stability!

We’re joining forces to rise up for justice and to reject this bully’s racist, vengeful power grab. On June 14th our defiance will roar!

COME EARLY (10:30 ish) - Next Saturday in Eugene at the Wayne Morse Federal Courthouse. We will stand as one community with clarity of vision and courage of conviction to fight back against his anti-democratic authoritarian regime with numbers too big to ignore. The rally (organized by ACES) starts at 11:00 am sharp.
Park in the Overparks or take the bus or bike. Make and bring your fabulous signs. Wear your colors & costumes. Family friendly, with its own special area. Bring a contingent. Speak truth to power! Enough is enough.
The protest rally starts with inspiring local live music, with organizations’ information tables and activities, followed by a diverse array of speakers who will build momentum for a spirited march. The march begins around noon, organized by 50501 and led by Samba Ja, and winds through downtown Eugene and ends at City Hall. Following the march, participants are free to line up on both sides of the Ferry Street Bridge and engage the public with beautiful banners & signs.
Let’s make some noise & speak truth to power!

But wait… We need volunteers! Crossing guards, donation rovers, Info Table, trash/recycling setup and take down, and assistance for people with disabilities. Please take a look at the assignments in this SignupGenius form and consider signing up! Thank you.
For more information about No Kings Days, go to the national website.
Important: A core principle behind the Activist Coalition Eugene Springfield (ACES) and all of the national No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events.

Climate Campaigns

We’re not taking our eye off of the climate… This is the record-breaking news this week. Our work must continue…

Scientists said that atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations peaked above 430 parts per million for the first time in perhaps 30 million years.

State Policy
Worried about stalled climate policy? So are we.
Here’s a question we often hear: If the Oregon legislature has a democratic majority, why can’t we pass the suite of strong climate bills that our progressive climate-champion representatives introduce? This will help clear things up.
Update from Roger Knudson, 350 Eugene, Policy Team
On Friday, June 6, the Oregon Climate Equity Network hosted a comprehensive review of climate related legislation in the current session - with only 23 days to go. My overall takeaway was that we cannot expect many more victories.
The main obstacle is the budget, and this meeting helped me understand why the Dems, even with majorities in both houses, can't push more legislation through. After two legislative sessions in which federal funding was flowing into the state (thanks Biden!), now the budget is filled with uncertainty. In particular, funding for both Medicare and the SNAP program may require much more state funding; one-third of Oregon adults are on Medicare. Legislators are cautious about committing funds given the uncertainty about how Medicare will be funded.
Beyond that, the Governor made funding of K-12 education a priority, and most of the rest of the funding in this session was described as an effort to maintain the status quo. New initiatives that had been receiving federal funds for the past two years are in danger of being cut off completely.
Furthermore, there are growing rumbles that the Republicans may begin a series of rolling walkouts which will further limit progress.
One more metric that may help us all understand the difficulties every climate bill faces in the final 3 weeks is that more than 500 bills are stalled in the House Ways & Means Committee. The presenter said this is the worst backlog since 2017.
Some specifics:
The Climate Justice Budget (Rental home heat pump program, community heat pump program, community resilience funding, community renewable energy grant program, Oregon solar plus storage rebates, natural & working lands fund) are all unlikely to get out of committee. The Oregon Environmental Council (OEC) will continue to push on these, but the expectations of success are low.
You may be aware that an attempt was made to move funds from the Climate Protection Program (CPP) to a "Cap and Pave" scheme that would fund highway construction and some wildfire protections. This caused a storm of pushback. A new bill is expected on Monday.
In the package of bills being promoted by the state Building Resilience coalition, there was one victory this week. The Power Act HB 3546 passed. This will require big data centers and crypto operations to pay a special higher rate so that the costs of their massive energy use are not passed on to the rest of us.
The FAIR Energy Act, which will prevent utilities from raising their rates in the winter, between November 1 and March 31, is expected to make it out of the Ways and Means committee. It does not impact the budget so it has a good chance of being passed.
But other bills in this set that we have supported (SB 88 Get the Junk Out of Rates; HB 3081 One Stop Shop 2.0, and others) are unlikely to move forward. We may have a chance to take part in a meeting with Julie Fahey focused on this whole set of bills next week. SJR 28 Constitutional Right to a Healthy Environment will not make it out of the Rules Committee. Look for this to reappear as a voters' initiative.
In terms of the energy grid, HB 3366 Grid Enhancement Technologies is expected to pass. This will add more capacity to existing lines in the grid. However, HB 3628 Transmission Authority, which would have speeded up getting new transmission projects up and running is dead in committee. The two remaining bills that promote Microgrids HB 2065, HB 2066 are not moving; but Sustainable Northwest is expected to push out an action alert that we can participate in to pressure Senate & House leadership to move these forward. They have a very low budget impact.
The Clean Truck Rule is tied up in federal legal challenges.
Overall it was not an encouraging overview.
Some progress is better than no progress and there is always the next session. Climate advocates are getting more organized, strategic and networked. Most importantly, we are not giving up! Thanks to all of YOU on the Action Alert List who have written and lobbied your legislators! (There’s still time to sign-up with Roger for the Action Alert List by emailing him at [email protected] with “Action Alert” in the subject line. (This effort concludes June 30th.))

Fossil Fuel Resistance

Many think we can’t live without fossil fuels.
The truth is, we can’t live with them.

Where are 90% of Oregon’s fossil fuels stored? At the Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) hub on the Willamette River in NW Portland. (In tanks built 50-100 years ago that hold the equivalent of 530 Olympic-sized swimming pools.)

350EUG recently co-sponsored a presentation with 350PDX & Portland Unitarian Universalist Church, which featured this stunning short (3 min 43 sec) animated video showing the dangers, Stop the Spill. It’s eye-opening.
More details in this Fact Sheet. Advocates are pushing for stronger safety plans at the state level to ensure the public understands the risk and communities can prepare. Stay tuned.

Forest Defense
The worst bill ever! Introduced in the US House of Representatives (by Dems, no less) in January 2025, the Fix Our Forests Act does little to invest in proven community protections measures such as defensible space, emergency planning, home hardening, and instead focuses on opening up federal lands to logging interests. It bypasses critical environmental laws that protect our ecosystems and restricts scientific input and public engagement. The bill could have devastating consequences for the environment and endangered species.
This Instagram video briefly tells the story of the terrible situation and contains some excellent talking points.
TAKE ACTION: Send a message to Senators Wyden and Merkley to oppose this bill using Oregon Wild’s messaging app today! Thanks!

Resistance Lab with Pramila Jayapal
How Do We Build Our Power? Together!

Resistance Lab with Pramila Jayapal
How Do We Build Our Power? Together!
The Resistance Lab is an on-line series of trainings developed specifically for this moment. Resistance Lab 1.0 looks at how non-violent movements around the world have responded to leaders who seize power in authoritarian ways and the most effective tools and tactics to utilize to oppose them. The series offers a framework to understand this moment in history, incorporating interactive conversations with others, to help create a community that can build this resistance movement.
Thousands are tuning in! Watch Resistance Lab 1.0 here and check out the accompanying slides and handouts. Or… catch the next Resistance Lab 1.0 on July 1st. Sign up on this website.
Resistance Lab 2.0 will be on-line on June 8th at 11:00 am. RSVP here. These are the fundamentals we should all know for organizing against anti-democratic regimes, like the one taking hold in our country today. See you there!
Meanwhile, Thursday, June 12th, in person in Eugene, join us and our allies at Temple Beth Israel in the Tikkun Olam Committee for a presentation and discussion on how to support democracy in the face of authoritarianism.

News from Our Children's Trust

Visit the Youth v. Trump webpage for news on the case and future actions.

Climate Anxiety is Real: What Can We Do About It?

Some say humor helps. Check out Climate Town’s Natural Gas is Scamming America video with lots of facts & some laughs too!
Climate Town is where climate science meets comedy gold. Created by comedian-turned-climate-policy-grad Rollie Williams to get people talking about climate without feeling embarrassed or uninformed and they’re crushing it. It’s racked up over 31 million views and 600,000 subscribers by making environmental topics actually fun to watch and/or listen to. Share with friends and family.