October is a critical month as we build towards the COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland — the most important international talks on climate change since the Paris Climate Agreement. We must emphasize the importance of governments and corporations taking significant action. Climate chaos is proceeding even more rapidly than scientific models predicted, as documented in the most recent report by the International Panel on Climate Change. The UN Secretary General is calling it a Code Red for Humanity!
On Tuesday, October 12th at 4 pm, in solidarity with the People vs Fossil Fuels event happening in Washington, DC, we will gather at the Federal Building, 1220 SW 3rd Avenue [map]. Some of us will be wearing Hazmat suits to signal the ongoing Climate Emergency. Bring a sign, a friend, and a noisemaker!
National demands include:
- stopping all fossil fuel infrastructure project approvals;
- following through on Biden’s promise to ban federal fossil fuel leasing and drilling;
- and stopping fossil fuel exports.
(For background and rationale, click here.)
Later in the month, we’ll see whether Zenith Energy challenges the City of Portland’s denial of its Land Use Compatibility Statement and the DEQ’s decision to deny Zenith’s air quality permit. We are ready to get the word out to the public about the continuing threat of Zenith oil trains and transshipment facility to the climate, with specific attention to the upcoming UN climate talks in Glasgow.
And then as Hallowe’en approaches, we will utilize the seasonal theme to focus on the climate crisis as The Real Horror and Zenith as Community Nightmare! Join with us in planning to show up as Climate Chaos Monsters and educate the public on actions they can take in these scary times.
We will do outreach to spectators at the Witches Paddle on October 30 at 11 am, starting at Willamette Park, SW Macadam Avenue and Nebraska Street [map], then heading north to Tilikum Bridge. In keeping with the theme (and reality) of Zenith as Community Nightmare, we will be dressed as oil slicks and inferno flames. For more info on carpooling from the OMSI parking lot and other details, email info@xrpdx.org.
We have some other scary good ideas, so join us at our Tuesday meetings to plan actions leading up to COP26 in Glasgow and responding to Zenith.
