Tag: climate change

Climate Change Top Issue

This is an Action Alert from the League of Women Voters of Oregon —

CLIMATE LEGISLATION IS OUR TOP ISSUE
Date: February 21, 2020
To: All League Members and Oregonians
From: Rebecca Gladstone, LWVOR President
Julie Chapman and Claudia Keith, Climate Portfolio
WE NEED SUPPORTERS IN THE CAPITOL DAILY 
THESE NEXT TWO WEEKS
We want to be in the halls, in the House and Senate chambers, and in our legislators’ offices – making sure they know how important it is to pass climate legislation in 2020.

 

The Oregon Greenhouse Gas Initiative (SB 1530 and HB 4167 – identical bills) is broadly supported throughout the state. Thousands have submitted testimony and published opinion pieces, from public health providers, to your League. We recognize the urgency to address this Climate Crisis.
If you have legislators who might walkout over the climate bill, please contact them immediately to let them know how important it is to you that they remain to vote.
Find your legislators here. If you are uncertain of their stand on the Oregon Greenhouse Gas Initiative, thank them for supporting this thoughtful approach to reducing our emissions.
PLEASE JOIN US DURING THE NEXT WEEKS IN SALEM!
WE WILL MAKE SURE LEGISLATORS KNOW WE ARE COUNTING ON THEM TO VOTE!

Because schedules shift daily (even hourly now!), we encourage you to
sign up for “Get Involved” updates from Renew Oregon, for the most up-to-date information on what is happening in the capitol. We rely on Renew Oregon, the large coalition LWVOR works with on climate legislation.

 

Questions? Contact Julie Chapman, bugthewonderdog@gmail.com or Claudia Keith, cakeith1@yahoo.com.

League DEIS Comments – No On LNG

The League of Women Voters of Rogue Valley (LWVRV) joined the LWVs of Coos County (LWVCC), of Umpqua Valley (LWVUV), and of Klamath County (LWVKC) in writing a letter to Oregon Governor Kate Brown, conveying key concerns about how the Jordan Cove Energy Project would conflict with the work Oregon has ahead of us to meet the challenges of climate change.No-LNG

This same letter was then forwarded to FERC as comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on the Jordan Cove Energy Project.

This is how the letter begins….

Dear Ms. Bose:
We write representing the League of Women Voters of Coos County (LWVCC), LWV of Umpqua Valley (LWVUV), LWV of Rogue Valley (LWVRV), and LWV of Klamath County (LWVKC). We are grassroots nonpartisan, political organizations operating in the four counties in Oregon that would be directly affected by the construction and operations of the proposed Jordan Cove Liquefied Natural Gas (JCLNG) and Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline (PCGP), commonly referred to collectively as the Jordan Cove Energy Project (JCEP). Our detailed review of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for this project shows that the projects are in direct conflict with many of the state and national League of Women Voters positions. These positions are based on study documents and consensus evaluations regarding natural resources, water quality and air quantity, climate change, offshore and coastal management, land use, public health and safety, energy conservation, and seismic risks

READ More of this credible work — the PDF is here.

Roseburg Climate Strike Struck!

Thank you all for coming and joining us in Roseburg for the international Climate Strike! There was a great turn out! And thank you to our co-sponsors, the Douglas County Global Warming Coalition and Umpqua Watersheds, and the media for being there as well.

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Jenny Carloni delivers Senator Merkley’s statement to the crowd. Photos below by Joe Ross. 

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Some cool links to today’s event:

FBI Surveils Southern Oregon Activists

We recently learned that those who have been vocal against the Jordan Cove Energy Project have been or are currently being watched by the FBI.

That surveillance includes members of the four Leagues of Women Voters in southern Oregon — Klamath County, Coos County, Rogue Valley and the Umpqua Valley Leagues. All activists, members of the League or not, should be concerned.

The League of Women Voters of Oregon (LWVOR) sent a letter to the Governor and Attorney General protesting this action saying “… it is unacceptable for local, state, and federal law enforcement to surveil and intimidate private citizens—even organizations—as they exercise their peaceful right to express concerns about this huge project.” Read the full letter here.

Read The Guardian‘s article here.

The ACLU of Oregon explains how you can obtain a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request on yourself to see what the FBI has on you. Here’s the link.

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We Say No to LNG

Here are comments that the League of Women Voters of Oregon have submitted to FERC in response to the DEIS of the Jordan Cove Energy Project LP, Docket No. CP17-495-000 and the Pacific Connector Pipeline LP, Docket No. CP17-494-000 on behalf of four Leagues in southern Oregon.

The opening paragraph:

 “Dear Ms. Bose: 

We write representing the League of Women Voters of Coos County (LWVCC), LWV of Umpqua Valley (LWVUV), LWV of Rogue Valley (LWVRV), and LWV of Klamath County (LWVKC). We are grassroots nonpartisan, political organizations operating in the four counties in Oregon that would be directly affected by the construction and operations of the proposed Jordan Cove Liquefied Natural Gas (JCLNG) and Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline (PCGP), commonly referred to collectively as the Jordan Cove Energy Project (JCEP). Our detailed review of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for this project shows that the projects are in direct conflict with many of the state and national League of Women Voters positions. These positions are based on study documents and consensus evaluations regarding natural resources, water quality and air quantity, climate change, offshore and coastal management, land use, public health and safety, energy conservation, and seismic risks.“

Read full comments here – 4LL LWV 2019 DEIS comment FINAL.

ACTION ALERT! WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

Help Clean Energy Jobs (CEJ) Climate Change Legislation over the finish line in 2018.

The legislation would establish a program which will cap climate pollution, price all qualified greenhouse gas emissions under the cap, and invest the proceeds in clean energy, while addressing the needs of vulnerable communities and investing in training workers for new, growing opportunities in a clean energy economy.

Renew-Oregon-logo-horizontal-FINALThe League of Women Voters of Oregon (LWVOR) joined the Renew Oregon Campaign Coalition in 2015 to support legislation to price emissions. At the LWVUS Convention 2014, the following resolution was adopted by a large margin:

“The LWVUS should support a price on carbon emissions that will increase in stages, as part of an overall program to improve energy efficiency and to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy, fast enough to avoid serious damage to the climate system.” LWVOR has supported legislation each session to reduce greenhouse gases. A CEJ bill is being worked on for the 2018 legislative session based on SB 1070 from the 2017 session. CEJ Legislative Work Groups have been meeting to improve that bill.

ACTION NEEDED: Hold a house party or attend a local rally on November 4th. Renew Oregon is planning a statewide DAY OF ACTION November 4. League members and/or local Leagues can support this Day of Action in a number of ways. Please consider hosting or co-hosting a house party (materials and statewide Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/RenewOregon/)  livestream are provided by Renew Oregon) and/or a Community Clean Energy Jobs campaign party.

We need your Support! Here are a few ways you can support the Clean Energy Jobs (CEJ) statewide campaign:

* First and foremost, Renew and LWVOR would like to encourage you to hold a house party. You can direct any questions or plans about house parties to Sonny Mehta with Renew, sonny@reneworegon.org. We hope to have a party in every county. Some groups are using larger spaces in their communities (churches, schools, libraries, etc.)

* Second, you can post on social media on November 4 (or any other day!) about Clean Energy Jobs using the attached social media toolkit.

* Third, you can attend the rally in Portland on November 4, 12 noon to 2 pm at the PCC Cascades campus student union building, 2nd floor. More rallies are being planned for Salem and Eugene as well as other communities.

* Fourth, please sign up for Renew Oregon emails to get the latest information.
The League of Women Voters believes that climate change is real and we all need to do our part to reduce greenhouse gases. We have joined Our Children’s Trust to require government to address this serious threat to our world. Here is one small way you can help. Host a CEJ house party on November 4th!

If you have any questions please contact LWVOR at lwvor@lwvor.org.

The Latest on Our Children’s Trust Lawsuit

We, the League of Women Voters of Umpqua Valley, are proud that our state League (LWVOR) signed on to an amicus brief in support of Our Children’s Trust with our national League (LWVUS).

As Eleanor Revelle, Chair of the national League’s Climate Change Task Force, said on 8/12/17:

As I reported last week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered a temporary stay in the proceedings of the Juliana et al v. United States climate lawsuit while it considers a petition from the Trump administration that it review the November 2016 decision by District Court Judge Ann Aiken to allow the lawsuit to go to trial.  The attorneys for the 21 youth plaintiffs have been ordered to file an answer to the Trump administration’s petition.  And Our Children’s Trust (OCT) has requested that the Leagues (LWVUS and LWVOR) submit an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs’ response.

As you will recall, the LWVUS and LWVOR filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs when the case was before Judge Aiken in the District Court in fall 2016.  Courtney Johnson with the Crag Law Center will be drafting a new brief for us now. The basic premise for the Leagues’ brief is our organization’s interest is in protecting the rights of everyone in the democratic process.Unknown

When the political process fails, as here, to protect the rights of children, then the courts must step in to secure those rights.  The government has been debating climate change for so long, we’ve now reached a tipping point, and this case must move forward on the merits and not get bogged down in procedural issues.  These children’s rights are at stake, and time is of the essence.

As before, with the 2016 amicus brief, the League of Women Voters of Oregon has agreed to collect contributions towards the costs associated with drafting and submitting the brief, about $3,000.  I invite you to join me in making a contribution towards this effort.

If you can help, please send your check to:

League of Women Voters of Oregon
1330 12th St. SE, Suite 200
Salem OR 97302-2858

Include a note indicating that it is to support the amicus brief in the OCT climate lawsuit.

Download the amicus brief here

The LWV of Oregon consolidated into a 501(c)(3) organization in 2015; therefore your contribution is tax-deductible.  Thank you!