March 2025 Updates and Events

On March 4th, 350PDX’s beautiful puppets made their first public appearance at the Mississippi Avenue Mardi Gras! 350PDX’s arts team, an all-volunteer powerhouse that creates puppets, banners, and other works of art, did a spectacular job! Many of these “animal icons of the Pacific NW” puppets were created last fall in a workshop with master puppeteer Donovan Zimmerman of Paperhand Puppet Project. We are so grateful to art team leads Donna Murphy, Dannika Sullivan, and Lauren Sullivan, as well as to all the volunteers who built the puppets and helped them fly, walk, and jump along Mississippi Ave! Photos & video here!

Upcoming Events

• Rumble on the River: The False Promise of “Renewable” Fuels/March Action Night, Thursday, March 20. Doors open 5:30pm for tabling, panel starts at 6:30 pm, Havurah Shalom, 825 NW 18th Ave.

Just as it seemed that we were making real climate progress, the fossil fuel industry is sidetracking elected officials, regulators, and business leaders with a rash of climate solution diversions. In the face of Zenith Energy’s plans to make Portland the West Coast center for so-called “renewable” diesel and “sustainable” aviation fuel, the panel will examine: how renewable diesel is fraught with all kinds of problems and dangers, and may have a higher carbon footprint than petroleum-based fuels. Additionally, they will discuss how renewable natural gas actually comes from methane produced by tortured animals in factory farms.

Note: This Community Forum is happening in place of our usual 350PDX Action Night. We’re shakin’ things up! Join us at a different location on the other side of the river for an evening of education and community to learn more about false solutions. More info here. No need to RSVP, just show up!

 

• Film Screening: How to Blow Up a Pipeline, Monday, March 24, 6:30 pm, Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton St.

With the climate crisis at a dangerous point of no return, a group of environmental activists come up with a daring plan to make their voices heard and disrupt an oil pipeline.

Join us at the Clinton Street Theater for a must-see screening of How to Blow Up a Pipeline, the 2022 thriller-drama based on the book by Andreas Malm. Film run time is 104 minutes, and will be followed by a brief discussion. Concessions (popcorn, candy, drinks) will be available for purchase from the theater.

Reserve your tickets today! The event is FREE, but we are taking sliding scale donation tickets online and at the door. Funds raised cover the cost of renting the theater, and any extra funds will support the climate justice work of 350PDX. (No one turned away for lack of funds.)

As the push to log our forests to burn for cheap energy increases, people from across the country are gathering for a webinar to learn more about the false solution of biomass energy and its impact on public health. Register now to attend this important webinar (note – the registration page shows the event only in Eastern Time).  And, if you want to join the 350PDX Forest Defense team person for a watch party, we’ll be gathering at the Climate Justice Workshop (3639 N. Mississippi) to watch together.

Team News

Fossil Fuel Resistance Team

We’re Suing the City of Portland!

Last week, we announced that we’re taking the City of Portland to court. 350PDX, together with the Northwest Environmental Defense Center (NEDC), Willamette Riverkeeper, and 18 Portland residents submitted a Notice of Intent to Appeal the City of Portland’s recent approval of a Land Use Compatibility Statement (LUCS) for Zenith Energy, which gave the Texas-based fossil fuel company a green light to expand operations in Portland. We are seeking a ruling from the Land Use Board of Appeals that the LUCS process was flawed because it failed to provide for any public involvement, and an order to remand the decision back to the City for a lawful public process. The City granted a new LUCS on February 3 in spite of the objections of thousands of Portlanders–including many who live near the facility–and only days after Portland City Councilors introduced a resolution calling for an investigation of Zenith and to “pause any administrative actions … related to Zenith pending the results of investigations.”

Check out coverage of this exciting news in The Oregonian, Portland Mercury, (both with quotes from our Campaign Manager, Dineen!) and Street Roots. In case you missed it, check out our Instagram video announcing this news!

Join the Fossil Fuel Resistance Team!

Our team is busy at the City and State levels and we’re welcoming new members. Our next meeting is virtual, next Tuesday March 11 at 5:30 pm. Email [email protected] for the Zoom link. There’s lots to do and we’d love to have you join us!

Climate Policy

Oregon Legislative Session

The Oregon legislative session is in full swing! Our 2025 Legislative Priorities page is updated regularly so you can keep track of what’s going on and how to take action on each of our priority bills. Here are a couple of easy actions you can take today:

Mark your calendars for lobby days

We’ll be having a 350PDX lobby day on April 29, so if you’d like to join us in Salem, meet with your legislator, and advocate together for stronger climate policies in Oregon, mark your calendar now, and watch for more information and registration.

We’ll also be joining the Move Oregon Forward lobby day on April 17. Individuals and organizations from across the state will be advocating for a transportation package that is safe, climate friendly, affordable, and includes active and public transportation.

Climate coffee chats with city councilors

We’re in the process of setting up “coffee chats” about climate issues with all members of the Portland city council. Would you like to be invited to the conversations in your district? These will be relatively small groups of folks from each district who want to share their climate justice concerns, and hear from city councilors about their climate priorities and plans. Email Cherice Bock ([email protected]), and we’ll let you know details soon.

Join the Climate Justice Policy Team!

Our regular meeting is the second Wednesday of each month (next meeting is hybrid on 3/12 at 6:30pm, email Cherice). Our state advocacy team meets virtually on the last Wednesday of each month through June, register here.

Forest Defense Team

Comment on the NW Forest Plan! Join Oregon Wild and Great Old Broads for Wilderness on March 11 at 5:30pm at the 350PDX Climate Justice Workshop, 3639 N. Mississippi Ave, to learn more about the proposed amendments to the NW Forest Plan and write comments to the U.S. Forest Service. If you can’t make the workshop – check out this great toolkit from our friends at the Pacific NW Forest Climate Alliance. Comments are due March 17th.

Connect with the Team: We meet every first and third Monday from 6-7:30 pm.  Contact [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected] for more information.

The Arts Team

350PDX’s Arts Team worked hard last month to create a forest of threatened trees, sculpt an unholy alliance of greedy aging Mr. Monopolies, and finish up the last flourishes on our beautiful soaring blue heron. Many thanks to these wonderful volunteer artists or wannabe artists who prepared puppets for their public debut March 4 at Portland’s Mardi Gras on our home street of N Mississippi. And what a grand evening that turned into: those artists marching with their creations, crowds cheering for climate justice, and arts pushing forward our climate work.

If this sounds exciting, then please come to our next Artbuild, which will NOT be the usual date next Sunday, but instead it will be Sunday, March 16, at 350PDX, 3639 N Mississippi, 1:00-4:00pm. We’ll be preparing for the April Earth Day parade!

Reach out to Donna if you’re interested! [email protected]

Community Development

Our 350PDX Book Club’s book for April is The Deluge by Stephen Markley. We will meet on April 2, from 6:30-8:00pm at the 350PDX office, with potluck-style snacks and drinks.

The book club meets the first Wednesday of every month (alternating virtual and in-person) to discuss books about climate justice, science, and resilience. More information about upcoming books + meeting details here. Click here to get on the mailing list, or reach out to [email protected] with any questions!

350 Washington County Team

Our next online meeting will take place online at 6:30pm on Tuesday, March 11. For the link, reach out to [email protected]. We’ll share information on Washington County campaigns, as well as policy work we’ve been accomplishing in this busy legislative session. We’re taking on a big new project to put on an Electrification and Sustainability Fair in Hillsboro in August; lots of planning is happening in partnership with the City of Hillsboro and with local allies. Our general activities include: connecting with the Beaverton and the Tigard Climate Action teams, stewarding our Pollinator Garden at Bagley Park in Hillsboro, and more! We always welcome newcomers to our events and to our monthly online meetings (6:30pm on the second Tuesday of the month). Please sign up HERE.

SW Neighborhood Team

The 350PDX Southwest Team includes neighborhoods on the south and west sides of Portland. We meet monthly on Zoom to plan for in-person actions, presentations, and discussions in our communities. Sign up on the 350PDX Volunteer Interest Form or reach out to Pat at [email protected] to learn more. Here are some ways to get involved:

(I) Participate in our monthly online planning meetings. Next meeting is Monday, March 17th at 6:30pm.

(2) Sign up to distribute yard signs promoting Climate Action Now! at community events.

(3) Join our weekly street corner demonstrations. We’ll be waving signs at SW Multnomah and SW 35th on Mondays in March at 4:00pm. Join us! We have extra signs to share!

Volunteer Spotlight

Donna Murphy, Arts Team Lead

Donna spent 20 years teaching in under-resourced grade schools. She helped struggling readers, writers, and math learners to learn those skills, exhorting them by saying, “You’re going to be voting in eight short years, you have to know this!”

 

After retiring and after reading Naomi Klein’s book This Changes Everything, Donna joined the 350PDX arts team. Throughout the past 11 years, Donna has grown with the arts team, and realizes the importance of 3-dimensional art in supporting 350PDX’s mission and in helping to tell a strong climate story. The team also makes 2D art, like posters and banners, and will continue with the large puppets that have brought in new team volunteers, new skills, and deeper understandings of humans and climate justice.

Donna lives in NE Portland with Gardner. Their child, Mannie, an artist and author, lives close by, and their son Joe lives in Brooklyn where he’s a journalist/union organizer. Now that Donna’s retired, she takes wonderful daily naps. She grows veggies in the vegetable garden that once was her useless lawn. Donna values time volunteering for 350PDX as a continuing privilege.

With gratitude,

Brenna, Cherice, Dineen, Irene, Jessica, Katie

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