Solutions
The Climate Solution Standing Right in Front of Us: Mature and Old-Growth Forests
One of the most effective, and largely overlooked, ways we can address the interconnected crises of a warming planet and biodiversity loss is a natural one, standing—literally—right in front of us. Read more
by Alex Craven
Northwest Carbon Markets Can’t Support Longer Timber Harvest Rotations
Nestled in the southwest corner of Washington, home to coho salmon and the occasional spotted owl, the Winston Creek carbon project is extending rotations on 10,000 acres of forest. By delaying harvest from 40 years to 60 years and letting these trees continue to grow during their carbon sequestration prime, Port Blakely, the forest owner, hopes to double the biomass of its forest. Read more
by Kate Anderson
Seven Ways to Pay for Long Rotations
Public investment is the key to sustainable forestry
The practice of “long rotations” means growing trees longer before logging them. It extends the length of a harvest cycle from a short “financial rotation age” that maximizes net present value to a longer “biological rotation age” that maximizes timber production as well as carbon storage, habitat, and water quality. Read more
by Kate Anderson
Women’s groups demand governments and financial institutions act on the climate emergency during UN General Assembly and ahead of COP27
The Call to Action is grounded in the leadership, analysis, and frameworks of frontline communities and climate justice movements from across the world. Read more
Local/Regional Events
“Restoring the River: What a New Superfund Site on the Columbia Means for Public Health and Clean Water” Webinar
You may have heard the great news: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finally added a new Superfund cleanup site along the Columbia River, Bradford Island and surrounding waters near Bonneville Dam. This was a huge victory for Columbia River Tribes and people that care about environmental justice. But without strong public involvement, a Superfund listing alone will not lead to fast, effective toxic cleanup. That’s why I’m inviting you to a powerful webinar to gain insights on how to fight for justice for everyone that relies on a clean Columbia.
WHAT: “Restoring the River: What a New Superfund Site on the Columbia Means for Public Health and Clean Water”
WHEN: September 29, 2022, from 12 – 1:00 p.m.
WHERE: Zoom! RSVP and we will email you a link for the webinar. Can’t make it? We’ve got you covered. RSVP and we’ll email you a recording after the webinar airs.
COST: Free! Please invite anyone you know who cares about the Columbia River and environmental justice.
SPEAKERS:
Laura Klasner Shira, Environmental Engineer and Hydrologist, Yakama Nation Fisheries
Helen Bottcher, Superfund Project Manager, EPA Region 10
Chris Budai, Project Manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Learn more about what it means to be a Superfund site, why Bradford Island was listed, updates on cleanup efforts, what’s next, and how you can get engaged.
Can’t make the webinar? RSVP anyway—anyone who RSVPs for the webinar will be emailed a recording. Thank you for working to restore the river!
Columbia Riverkeeper thanks the East Multnomah County Soil and Water Conservation District Partners in Conservation Grant Program and the Oregon Community Foundation for supporting public engagement in the Bradford Island cleanup.
Local/Regional News
Changes in the Climate or Climate-Related Natural Hazards for Washington State
This webtool is intended to provide local governments and communities in Washington state with data on changes in the climate and climate-related natural hazards. Use this resource to explore how the climate is expected to change in your area. The information is intended for general planning and assessment, such as climate vulnerability assessments, climate adaptation plans, climate action plans, or comprehensive planning. The information also may be useful for internal and external education by providing a common understanding of the changes expected in your area. Read more
National Actions and Events
Keep fossil fuels in the ground
Right now, while the entire island of Puerto Rico is without power from another climate-fueled hurricane, the Biden administration is drafting a new five-year plan that would allow new offshore oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Alaska.
Expanding drilling over millions of acres of land would open the door to disastrous oil spills and further delay the transition to renewable energy.
There is no path forward that avoids the most catastrophic impacts of climate change that includes new federal fossil fuel leasing and offshore drilling.
National Drive Electric Week 2022
Sept 23 — Oct 2, 2022
Have you noticed more electric vehicles in your community, or heard about them in the news? Are you curious about all of the buzz and excitement surrounding EVs?
Join us for a nationwide celebration to raise awareness of the many benefits of all-electric and plug-in hybrid cars, trucks, motorcycles, and more.
In August 2022, 350.org hosted a week of trainings for organizers around the world! Bill McKibben, Mitzi Jonelle and more!
My Country Pakistan Is Drowning
Pakistan accounts for just 0.67% of global carbon emissions, yet it has long ranked among the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world for the past decade. The country faces warming rates considerably above the global average and more frequent and intense extreme climate events. Read more
What’s Next in our Climate & Clean Energy Fight?
Tell President Biden and key environmental cabinet officials what to do next to fight climate change. Read the four steps
Stop Manchin’s dirty deal
Under the guise of “permitting reform” (a necessary step for renewables), the bill would gut the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), an essential tool for environmental justice communities that ensures they have at least some say in new fossil fuel projects. This is a sleight of hand that would abandon communities already under siege—like the folks who’ve been fighting the Mountain Valley Pipeline for years, and winning.
Last week’s smoke was a sobering reminder of what’s at stake—and far, far more so is the Pakistani flooding of the last few weeks (often ignored by US news outlets), which has left over 50 million people displaced and a third of the country under water—in a country where the average carbon footprint is one-fifteenth that of the average American.
Support the Amazonia For Life 80×2025 Initiative
With unchecked logging, mining, cattle farming, and oil drilling driving more and more deforestation, scientists are warning of the risk of irreversible destruction to the fragile ecosystem. Many parts of the once pristine Amazon rainforest are already turning into a savannah.
The science is clear. And so is the pathway to protecting the Amazon. Together with a group of other global environmental organizations and a coalition of Indigenous leaders from the Amazon basin, we are calling for the protection of 80% of the Amazon by 2025.
We need to build global momentum to help protect the remaining intact parts of the Amazon Rainforest.
National/International News
Goliath is wobbling’: Louisiana court strikes blow to Formosa’s giant plastics plant
A years-long battle to stop the chemical company Formosa from building a massive petrochemical complex along the Mississippi River in southern Louisiana swung in favor of residents on Wednesday when a state district judge withdrew the air permits that the company needs to operate. Read more
by Lylla Younes — Grist
NGOs call on banks to raise bar for net zero delivery
Global coalition of civil society organisations urges the Net Zero Banking Alliance to ensure net zero strategies meet Race to Zero guidelines.
The UN-backed Race to Zero campaign, of which the NZBA is a partner, updated its criteria for members in June. The seven net zero alliances under the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) umbrella are required to meet the updated minimum criteria by June 2023. Read more
Coal It a Day
US banks: Financing coal expension, ignoring climate emergency
Going against the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) 1.5°C recommendations (3), the big US banks continue to finance companies that are developing new coal projects worldwide. Since 2019, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs have collectively provided US$40 billion to coal developers. Read more
National Newsletters
A daily newsletter by Grist
September 23 — $85 million to stop plastic production
September 23 — Compared to oil and gas, offshore wind is 125 times better for taxpayers
September 23 — The Corn Belt will get hotter. Farmers will have to adapt.
September 22 — How a clean energy future is colliding with mining’s dark past
September 21 — Senate just approved an international climate treaty, with bipartisan support
Opinion
Who gets to use gas?
Today’s newsletter is devoted to one of the most consequential arguments roiling the climate world: Which countries, if any, should start new gas projects now, and for what purpose? Read more
by Somini Sengupta — Climate Forward
Scientists’ warning to humanity on tree extinctions
Trees play vital roles in many of the world’s ecosystems while providing many benefits to people. New evidence indicates that a third of tree species are threatened with extinction, representing a tree extinction crisis. Read more
by Malin River, Adrian C. Newton, and Sara Oldfield — Plants People Planet
Where We’ll End Up Living as the Planet Burns
While nations rally to reduce their carbon emissions, and try to adapt at-risk places to hotter conditions, there is an elephant in the room: for large portions of the world, local conditions are becoming too extreme and there is no way to adapt. People will have to move to survive. Read more
by Gaia Vince — Time
When the Climate Crisis Hits Home
In her new book, At Home on an Unruly Planet: Finding Refuge on a Changed Earth, Madeline Ostrander explores the calamitous consequences of a warming planet through the experiences of those on the front lines of climate change. Read more
Review by Lornet Turnbull — Yes!
Olympic Climate Action 