Intel to Stick Up for the Climate?

Intel Corporation is the largest private employer in Oregon, with one of their largest campuses in the state located right in Hillsboro - the county seat of Washington County. In the last few years, Intel has also said a lot about their commitment to Oregon's environment, and to combating global warming. But this month, we will have a chance to see just how far Oregon Intel is willing to go to uphold its green promises.

On March 31st, college students from all over Oregon will be converging on the state capitol in Salem to push for bold state-level policy on global warming. And we've challenged representatives from Oregon Intel to support us as a means of demonstrating their environmental commitment. Specifically, a March 31st will also be the day of a committee hearing on SB 80 - the bill that would set a firm cap on Oregon's total greenhouse emissions - and we want Intel to testify in favor of it. If the company is really serious about securing a green future for our state, then what could be more natural than pushing for a cap on greenhouse emissions? The response we've received so far from Intel has been fairly positive, but the company has yet to commit for certain that they will join us in lobbying for SB 80. Will you help make sure they say yes by sending an email here to Intel's head lobbyist?

The support of a big employer like Intel could make all the difference to a bill like SB 80. Please take a minute to send an email to the company and ask them to do the right thing!

-Nick

Why We're Never, Ever Alone

At times, it's easy to feel isolated in your efforts to create a greener and more sustainable future; especially in a place like Washington County, which has not exactly been a hub of environmental progressivism in the past. This past weekend, however, I was reminded that we are far from alone - indeed, those of us attempting to "sustain Washington County" are just one small part of a green wave that's sweeping across this country.

From Friday evening through this past Monday, I attended Powershift 2009: the largest-ever gathering to oppose global warming in US history. While the event - held in Washington, DC - was organized by young people, and while the vast majority of the more than 12,000 participants were youth, it was heartening to see activists of all ages unite to take on the most pressing problem of our time. Speakers from Congressman Ed Markey, to EPA Director Lisa Jackson, to civil rights leader Van Jones, to writer and activist Bill McKibben reminded us that 2009 is a critical year to pass policies at all levels of government which will signal to the international community that the United States is ready to take on a leadership role in combating the climate crisis. On Monday, we descended on Capitol Hill itself for a giant rally on the West Lawn, and to meet with our elected representatives in Congress and urge them to support bold climate policy.

From the national to the city level, we will push our elected leaders to be real leaders when it comes to environmental issues. Now it's time to build a movement here in Washington County that will harness the energy I saw at Powershift and transform our region into one with a brighter and greener future. More coming soon!

-Posted by Nick Engelfried

Press Release from the Washington County Sustainability Summit

Urgent Calls for Action Delivered at Sustainability Summit

FOREST GROVE – During the Washington County Sustainability Summit at Pacific University, a tangible feeling of urgency permeated the words of speakers who ranged from community organizers to locally elected officials. They touched on issues as diverse as peak oil, permaculture and sustainable food, Liquefied Natural Gas development, and nonviolent civil disobedience as employed by the climate movement. The Summit, organized by a group of Pacific students with support from faculty members Deke Gundersen and Terry O’Day, took place over the weekend of February 7th to 8th and was designed to bring together some of the most significant environmental movements in the County.

Saturday’s keynote speaker, Peter Lunsford of Washington County Peak Oil, urged County residents to prepare for a future in which energy will be more expensive and availability of liquid fuels will decline sharply. Lunsford called on local government officials to do much more to curtail energy use, pointing to a German city that now requires all new buildings to be energy neutral as an example of the kinds of steps our localities should be taking. “Now that’s what I call serious curtailment,” Lunsford said, referring to the city in Germany.

A panel of local government representatives from Metro, Washington County, and the cities of Beaverton, Hillsboro, and Forest Grove were quick to agree that they have a long way to go to satisfactorily address our energy problems. “But each of us is only one person on a board,” said Metro Councilor Kathryn Harrington, hinting that for every local official committed to sustainability, there are multiple others for whom peak oil and global warming still do not signify as priorities. On the issue of the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) fossil fuel project, County Commissioner Dick Schouten said, “I am probably one of two members” of the five-person Board who would stand up for the environment by opposing LNG development. Beaverton City Councilor Cathy Stanton, Hillsboro Sustainability Manager Peter Brandom, and Forest Grove Mayor Richard Kidd each spoke about energy-saving projects going forward in their cities, while acknowledging that much remains to be done.

Other speakers at the Summit focused on citizen activism as a way to jumpstart the government. Olivia Schmidt of Columbia Riverkeeper highlighted the coalition of environmentalists and landowners that has come together to defeat LNG in Washington County and across the state by pressuring government officials. Chuck Riley, who represents the County’s District 29 in the Oregon House of Representatives urged citizens to contact state officials who are still undecided on the LNG issue, as a means of turning the tide against this project.

Meanwhile a delegation from the climate activist group Cascadia Rising Tide pointed out how such tactics as street theater and nonviolent civil disobedience are being used call out companies like Northwest Natural Gas which are bottom-lining the LNG project. Rising Tide’s website states that “We believe climate change can only be addressed by exposing the intersections between oppressions of humans and the earth,” and this connection was apparent in the discussion of LNG. Washington County farms like the all-organic Gales Meadow Farm owned by Anne and Rene’ Berblinger are threatened by massive LNG pipelines that would render much of their land unusable. The Palomar LNG Pipeline “would wipe us out,” said Anne Berblinger at the Summit. Berblinger’s keynote speech on Sunday highlighted the role of organic, localized agriculture plays in reducing global warming emissions and preparing our community for energy instability.

Though Washington County’s plentiful farmland and the burgeoning clean energy economy in Oregon means our area is well-positioned to take on the challenges discussed at the Sustainability Summit, our community’s struggles were seen by many speakers as a microcosm of the nation as a whole. Peter Lunsford praised President Obama’s efforts to make the new clean energy economy a priority of his Administration.

However, Lunsford pointed out, it will take thousands of ordinary citizens changing their own lives and becoming politically active if Obama’s plan is to succeed. “We are allowing President Obama to fight, unsupported, against half the government to do what we should be doing ourselves,” Lunsford said. As one speaker after another confirmed as the Sustainability Summit, solutions to our most pressing problems will come ultimately from ordinary citizens in places like Washington County.