I signed up to write an entry that contributed to the day's activities.
Similar to other great causes that call people to action like seeking cancer cures, equalizing justice systems and health care reformation, global climate change involves countless options and involved parties. When you get hooked to act for the first time, you start thinking big and grand. Over time you whittle down what you can do to simpler actions that you know you can do more regularly, habitually and feel better knowing your one of the many others that recycle, volunteer and contribute.
What I love about living in Portland, Oregon is seeing how many people do this every single day.
Let me show you a few things that I see and hear of regularly from the City of Roses.
*** Over 6% of our working population ride their bicycle to work. In addition to working to keep them safe through bike lanes, we are trialing something unique: The Cycle Track.
Pretty simple idea, really. Instead of having the bicycles ride between parked and moving vehicles, buffer both by having the vehicles park 6 feet from the sidewalk.
*** The Columbia Riverkeeper held a rally on the Columbia River where kayaks spelled out "350" on the river. This year, a similar activity is expected on the Willamette River which runs directly down the center of the city (I'll scan for a picture of this year's efforts later as they plan to complete this at 15:30 hours today).
Last year, on this day, Portland activists joined with those around the world to come to the Pioneer Square Courthouse (known as"Portland's Living Room") to show how they were going to get involved in this day, every year.
Forward thinking.
*** Oregon wasn't just the first to enact the "Bottle Bill" (5¢ refund offered for each bottle returned to the grocery) but it enacted the water bottle bill to decrease the amount of wasted plastic bottles going into the landfill or settling into the Pacific Garbage Patch.
The air is crisp.
There's less trash on the streets.
Trees are everywhere.
I could go on about the Urban Growth Boundary, our capped textile factories and the dozens of green enterprises and energy groups but I want to read about your cities too.
I love it here.
Thank you for all that you do, wherever you are. :D
350.org
350 Climate Action Schedule:
10:30 LaughingPlanet
11:30 Kitsap River and Charles Curtis Stanley
13:00 dadanation (or 2 pm)
13:30 Patriot Daily
14:00 ME!
14:30 bob zimway
15:30 Patric Juillet (AAF)
16:00 RLMiller
16:30 Runaway Rose
17:00 Brian Amer
17:30 rb137
18:00 boatsie
19:00 ALifeLessFrightening