Lynne and Bill Twist, two of the Pachamama Alliance Co-founders are having a 60-minute webinar: Resilience and Possibility in These Times on Wednesday, August 24, 2022 at 12:00 p.m. PT "They will both be fresh from a journey to visit our allies in the Amazon rainforest." JOIN THE CIRCLE

Creation Spirituality Communities' Creation in Crisis webinar on Thursday, June 2, 2022 at 1 p.m. PT will be a presentation by Rev. Lauren Van Ham on Project Adapt. REGISTER HERE In this month's Creation in Crisis session, Rev. Van Ham will introduce us to "Project Adapt" which believes that a more resilient and joyful way of living is not only possible but also critical for humanity's future generations. She will introduce us to ways to relinquish, restore and reconcile - from a place a reverence - so we can meet this moment with courage, curiosity and love." "Climate disruption is upon us. Around us we observe and feel the effects of Earth systems in varying states of collapse: socially, environmentally, economically and culturally. Around us, and often within us, we feel the destructive effects of unacknowledged power and privilege. whether or not humanity takes action to reverse global warming, we face difficult times ahead. How do we respond? How do we lead within the chaos?" Rev. Lauren Van Ham is an Interfaith Minister, Chaplain, Activist, Lead Consultant & Past Seminary Dean, Chaplaincy Institute and Climate Action Coordinator for the United Religions Initiative (URI). Creation in Crisis is a monthly webinar series of Creation Spirituality Communities, featuring environmental activists from a wide variety of situations whose spirituality supports and empowers their efforts. The 90-minute sessions include inspirational readings, music or visual arts, and the opportunity to engage in conversation with the presenter. Webinars are held on the first Thursday of the month at 1 p.m PT. Your hosts for these Creation in Crisis webinars are Penny Andrews, DMin UCS, Chaplin, Activist, Ritualist, Perma-culturist, Facilitator for Joanna Macy’s Work that Reconnects, Creation Spirituality Communities Board Member, Gail Sofia Ransom, DMin '10 WU. Mystic, Musician, and Minister, Chant Specialist. Body prayer and Four Path Ritual Leader, President of Creation.Spirituality Communities Board of Directors 2014- 2018.

"For the past year, Rogue Climate has been researching what it means to build and maintain resilience hubs, while fostering community resilience in Jackson County and beyond." Rogue Climate's new webpage offers access to resources and tools to explore and build local resilience that is made by the community, for the community: The 2021 Community Resilience Survey questions & full results A downloadable flyer with general information about resilience hubs A running list of resources to help get a resilience hub started and maintained A Guidebook that describes the process of how to build a resilience hub in a community, including definitions, examples, graphics, reflection questions, and further tools that can be used along the journey towards greater community resilience. "Resilience hubs are geared to the day-to-day wellbeing of a community to not just survive but thrive. These hubs are community-based locations that nourish existing relationships and trust in the community to help prepare for the impacts of climate change and other disruptions." Being resilient as a community means being able to respond to, withstand, and recover from disruptions and challenges to daily life. It also means adapting and growing to be prepared together for an ever-changing world. ~ Rogue Climate Rogue Climate brought communities together to stop the Jordan Cove LNG export terminal and transition to renewable energy. You can connect with Rogue Climate on Facebook or follow the campaign to stop Jordan Cove LNG on Facebook at No LNG Exports. Rogue Climate is also on Twitter and Instagram. Please consider becoming a monthly donor to keep this rural movement for climate justice strong and growing.

The Rogue Basin Water Action Community 2023 Kick-off Event is scheduled for Saturday, February 4, 2023, from 9 a.m. to Noon at the Medford Library Large Meeting Room, 205 S. Central Ave. The event is free and open to everyone. The Rogue Basin Water Action Community flows from the ideas brought forth during Southern Oregon Pachamama Alliance's (SOPA) Rogue Valley Water Solutions Summit last fall. More than 200 people, including Indigenous wisdom keepers, panelists from across the state of Oregon, and citizens concerned for the efficient and beneficial use of the Rogue Valley’s water met over the course of the 6-part Water Solutions Summit series. Water League, which engages the public about water stewardship, is collaborating with SOPA to support the next steps that individuals and action groups can take to make a difference in the Rogue Basin. Four action teams (cohorts) emerged from the Rogue Valley Water Solutions Summit that are critical to the health and well-being of our valley’s water. The format for February 4 will include an examination of “What is” and “What could be.” The action-driven cohorts will explore: Rights of Nature, Indigenous Perspectives, and the Public Trust Doctrine Funding, Legislation, Water Rights, and Water Law Equity for Aquifers, Agriculture, Wetlands and Waterways Water Equity for Domestic, Industrial, and Commercial Uses During the Water Action Community 2023 Kick-off Event on February 4, folks can sign up for one or more cohorts they’d like to join and then enter a breakout session during which each team will meet to: Plan its regular meeting schedule, Begin formulating its mission and Brainstorm a few goals (3 to 5) to achieve to pursue that mission. "The Rogue Basin Water Action Community seeks: Greater community ties based on our relationship with water and a better understanding of the Rights of Nature; Understanding and adoption of traditional ecological knowledge, and to support water sovereignty for Indigenous Peoples; Better communication between the community and its decision-makers; Actions that result in greater beneficial uses of water and actions that increase water quality; Equity for water users who have experienced injustice; Protections for water sources such as groundwater, aquifers, headwaters, surface waters, wetlands, springs, lakes, and ponds by use of the Public Trust Doctrine, changes in rules and statutes, implementation of conservation best practices, and enforcement of existing water laws; To identify the public interest in all its diversity as it pertains to water with an eye to public and environmental health, welfare, and safety." "Water League will provide the overall support and organization for the four teams all year long. It will be available to attend all team meetings to keep a central hub connection, hear needs and suggestions, and report on related actions of other teams. If you want to be part of the action and get in league with water, come join them!" For more information contact Christopher Hall, Executive Director of the Water League PO Box 1033, Cave Junction, OR 97523 oregon.waterleague@gmail.com or (541) 415-8010.

The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development (ICSD), based in Jerusalem, is a non-profit organization, which according to its website "reveals the connection between religion and ecology and mobilizes faith communities to act. ICSD works on a global basis, with current engagement in Africa, the Middle East, North America, and Europe." ICSD is a partner organization of the International Partnership on Religion & Sustainable Development (PaRD), Olam Together, the Shine Campaign, and the Cooperation Circle of United Religions Initiative (URI). Check out the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development Facebook page.

According to the Presbyterian Church (USA) website “Earth-keeping today means insisting on sustainability—the ongoing capacity of natural and social systems to thrive together—which requires human beings to practice wise, humble, responsible stewardship, after the model of servanthood that we have in Jesus.” (1990 policy “Restoring Creation for Ecology and Justice). Accept the PC(USA) Climate Care Challenge by committing to personal and outward engagement on climate concerns Actions: Become a Climate Ambassador! Take the free on-demand training on how to inspire others to take action on climate change that makes a difference. Go to: https://ecoamerica.litmos.com/self-signup/, enter in the code PCUSABTAmbassador21 to register then, check your email for the invitation to set up your profile and get started! View and share the “Jesus Calls Us” video at https://vimeo.com/370339034 Help your church become carbon-neutral/climate-positive through the Greening Congregations guide and becoming an Earth Care Congregation, using the EPA Energy Star for Congregations program with its congregational workbook and the free online tool Portfolio Manager, and offsetting your building use through Blessed Tomorrow carbon offset program with Cool Effect. Urge your members of Congress to support legislation that embodies Carbon Pricing as adopted by the 223 General Assembly. Read more background at our carbon pricing page. The bipartisan Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act is one current piece of legislation that needs support. Learn more with an informative 45-minute recorded presentation at: https://youtu.be/x9iySAJn99A Examine environmental justice concerns in your own zip code Embrace your power as a shareholder. Do you or your congregation hold investments in companies through stocks? This resource will help you leverage your power as an investor: Activating your Power as a Shareholder. MRTI makes recommendations for Presbyterian shareholders based on the mission goals and policies of the General Assembly. Contact mrti@pcusa.org for more information. Learn about other congregations’ projects to install solar panels. Invest in Environmental Investments with the Presbyterian Foundation Consider a loan for energy efficiency upgrades with the Presbyterian Investment and Loan Program’s Restoring Creation loan. Learn from international mission partners how Climate Change Exacerbates the Impacts of Extractive Industries in Peru Connect with the Presbyterian Hunger Program’s environmental work

The Climate Forests Campaign reflects the interests of dozens of organizations wanting to conserve our remaining older forests and trees on federal public lands. "This is one of the country’s most straightforward, impactful, and cost-effective climate solutions." The Campaign urges activists across the country to join together and "tell the Biden Administration that our mature and old-growth forests are worth more standing!" "On Apr 22, 2022, President Biden recognized the importance of our mature and old-growth trees and forests on federal lands as an essential climate solution and signed Executive Order 14072 on Strengthening the Nation’s Forests, Communities, and Local Economies, which directs his administration to create stronger protections for public forests in an effort to mitigate the climate crisis. Despite this Executive Order, the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management continue to log these essential climate-saving trees and forests at alarming rates. "Findings show that federal agencies have done nothing to correct the course on any of the original logging projects highlighted this past summer, with the exception of two projects where a judge found agencies were illegally harming an imperiled species. Rather, America’s Vanishing Climate Forests spotlights 12 additional egregious examples of mature and old-growth logging set to take place in federal forests in defiance of President Biden’s order to protect them."m. Their latest report, America’s Vanishing Climate Forests comes more than 6 months after President Biden’s Executive Order directive and serves as a progress report detailing the urgent, imminent, and continued threat of logging to our federal public lands. Findings show that federal agencies have done nothing to correct the course on any of the original logging projects highlighted this past summer, with the exception of two projects where a judge found agencies were illegally harming an imperiled species. Rather, America’s Vanishing Climate Forests spotlights 12 additional egregious examples of mature and old-growth logging set to take place in federal forests in defiance of President Biden’s order to protect them. Check out Climate-Forest's Interactive map and find old-growth forests around the United States. Here are some highlights in Oregon: Poor Windy Project Oregon - 15,000 acres, including cutting down 4,573 acres of mature and old-growth trees. Logging is underway, but a legal challenge to USFWS biological opinion is pending. In the Bureau of Land Management's Medford District. Oregon Wild says: "effort to log 10,000 acres - including old-growth forests - in southwest Oregon over 10 years is being done under the guise of creating wildfire “resilience” and without adequate environmental analysis." Flat Country project - Oregon Wild says "the Flat Country project, proposed by the U.S. Forest Service, targets over 2,000 acres of old-growth and mature forests for logging across the headwaters of the McKenzie River. The agency could auction the old growth to be cut at any moment." Integrated Vegetation Management Project - in the Bureau of Land Management's Medford District this 20,000 acres includes trees up to 36 inches in diameter and more than 150 years old and will have "up to 90 miles of logging roads" The Project has been approved; timber sales, but is "not yet scheduled." Evans Creek Project - This BLM commercial logging project took place on 1,131 acres, including 82 acres of clear-cuts. The Evans Creek watershed is a significant salmon-spawning area, and some trees in the project area are 150-200 years old. Trees up to 40 inches in diameter have been logged. The BLM declassified 732 acres of northern spotted owl habitat so they could be logged. Oregon 42 Divide Stand Project - "As part of the 42 Divide Project, the Roseburg BLM proposes logging 5,280 acres of conifer stands, including clearcutting and commercial thinning on 1,728 acres, and building logging roads. Trees up to 200 years old are targeted for logging. The project includes some of the most intensive tree removals that the BLM allows." Cascadia Wildlands works to protect old-growth forests of trees 80 years or older. Oregon Wild is urging concerned citizens and organizations to take actions to stop the logging of old-growth forests. They have prepared a sample letter to Secretary Vilsack, USDA, and Chief Moore, USFS - a thank you and comment on the Mature/Old-Growth Rule. Deadline January 24, 2023 (Noon Pacific Time). Click here for the Sign-on letter for organizations. In British Columbia there is a similar fight - It was revealed in October 2022 that wood from B.C. old-growth forests is being ground into pellets burned for electricity elsewhere in the world. "This timber won't be used to build homes or furniture, or even to make paper. These logs will be ground and compressed into tiny pellets, shipped to Europe and Asia, and burned to produce fuel for electricity!" #ForestDefenseIsClimateDefense

At the end of 2022, NPR News pondered how the Federal government's response to the climate emergency will be affected as Republicans get a louder voice on climate change as they take over the House of Representatives. "The plans include boosting domestic oil and gas drilling, building more climate-friendly energy sources like nuclear and hydropower, changing environmental permitting to make construction easier, securing supply chains so other countries — notably China — can't dominate them and planting trees to pull more carbon from the atmosphere." ~ NPR You might not know this, but according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) (the statistical and analytical agency within the U.S. Department of Energ) U.S. oil production has been on the rise for more than a decade and most imported oil comes from Canada. Also, the U.S. was a net exporter of petroleum products in 2020 and 2021. The Preamble on Kevin McCarthy's website stresses America's exceptionalism - the economy (energy independence, inflation, and reduced prices), public safety (crime in cities, border control of immigrants and military might), freedom (from government regulation), and accountability (spending for the recently passed IRA). Now that McCarthy has been elected Speaker of the House by making concessions to the far right, we can expect that Republicans in the House will attempt to expand new energy projects in America (oil and gas drilling leases, pipeline construction, and fewer environmental regulations); Although these Republican legislative efforts may be blocked by a Democratic-controlled Senate, Republican leverage will come when it is necessary to raise the debt ceilings, perhaps even with a willingness to shut down the government.

Southern Oregon Climate Action Now's (SOCAN) monthly general public meeting, on Tuesday January 31, 2023 at 6:00 p.m, will feature Oregon Senator Merkley to discuss: Expanding U.S. Climate Ambition in 2023. There is no charge for joining the ZOOM meeting, but participants should register at the link on the SOCAN calendar event: https://socan.eco/events/. "Despite holding a bare minimum of control in both chambers, during the last Congress Democrats managed to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, the most ambitious legislation targeting the climate crisis ever signed into law. However, as we enter a two-year period with Republican climate deniers in charge of the House, we now face the question of how we can continue and expand upon this climate action at the federal level. Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley will join an upcoming discussion to highlight continued opportunities for federal action, particularly from the executive branch, including implementing the legislation passed last Congress"

In his December 8, 2022 podcast, Jordan B. Peterson interviewed conservative philosopher Alex Epstein about "Green Dystopia - the undeniable need for fossil fuels, the toxic underlying nihilism of the climate concerned left; the need for balance between conservation and human progress, and the unexplored worth of wild potential." Richard V. Reeves, a Brookings Institute scholar who wrote the 2022 book Of Boys And Men says that Jordan Peterson is a conservative, public intellectual who appeals largely to young men because he does not mock or patronize them. Reeves empathetically devotes a chapter each to what Progressives and Conservatives get right and wrong. I like that. Alex Epstein is a "Koch-funded philosopher and writer" who argues that "human flourishing" should be the guiding principle of energy and environmental progress. He is the author of the 2022 book Fossil Future: Why Global Human Flourishing Requires More Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas—Not Less. He is also the creator of EnergyTalkingPoints.com offering conservative viewpoints on energy, environmental, and climate issues. In 2011 he founded Center for Industrial Progress (CIP), a "for-profit think-tank seeking to bring about a new industrial revolution." Wikipedia sources Jason Wilson of The Guardian who says: "Epstein has a close association with conservative advocacy groups and receives funding from the Koch brothers and that "Epstein's work has been popular and influential on the right because it is a particularly fluent, elaborate form of climate denialism." Slate writer Nitish Pahwa has reviewed Epstein's arguments in his Fossil Future book and acknowledged a few points of agreement, but enumerates "the myriad ways Epstein misrepresents history and science and activism." "The new style of climate denial is here: It’s not that carbon emissions aren’t increasing, or aren’t warming the world, but look, you’re doing fine right now, right? Really?? If we are to have intelligent conversations that overcome the con of climate change denial we must first understand the basis of their emotional appeal and learn not to deprecate them personally.

In 2017 the United Church of Christ (UCC) created the 3 Great Loves campaign:: Love of Neighbor Love of Children Love of Creation "These Three Great Loves point to what fundamentally motivates people to address the damage done to our climate. People care about neighbors near and far who suffer from rising sea levels, floods, droughts, and hurricanes. They care about the world their children and grandchildren are inheriting. They care about the natural world around them that is under assault. This guide aims to turn that love into action: climate action." The UCC Creation Justice Churches Program partnered with Blessed Tomorrow to offer a Guide To Getting Started to help congregations live into Three Great Loves through climate action For over four years Conferences and congregations embraced the concept, and although the campaign started drawing to a close during Synod 2021, "the mission lives on and will continue to grow." During 2022 climate and social justice were among the top UCC news stories. "UCC offered ways to respond to the climate crisis with webinars, a national climate summit Grants to develop the work of youth and young adults in the climate justice movement. Global Ministries held a Mission Dash 5K in August to raise funds to support the creation care efforts of global partners, and hundreds of churches registered to create Climate Hope Cards, which will feature youth artwork on postcards slated to be distributed to elected officials in 2023." UCC climate justice leaders reviewed how the Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August 2022, could benefit faith communities and also pushed for the Environmental Justice For All Act, which they said could have a greater impact on the most disadvantaged communities. The UCC also created a new office linking environmental and racial justice, an achievement stemming from a history of fighting environmental racism that included activists from the UCC. A new Resolution on green energy is expected to be proposed at the General Synod 34 meeting in Indianapolis from June 30 – July 4, 2023

Catholics care about climate change! Since 1991 US Catholic Bishops have been calling for action addressing global warming. In 2006, to address growing ecological awareness and the need to implement Catholic social teaching on ecology within the US Church, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) helped form Catholic Climate Covenant. The Catholic Climate Covenant "inspires and equips people and institutions to care for creation and care for the poor." Through their 20 national partners, they guide the U.S. [Catholic] Church's response to climate change by educating, giving public witness, and offering resources." In May 2015 Pope Francis published the encyclical Laudato Si’: Care for Our Common Home,” It focuses on care for the natural environment and all people, as well as broader questions of the relationship between God, humans, and the Earth. In November 2020, Pope Francis invited young people around the world to gather virtually to consider ways of making the economy of today and tomorrow, fair, sustainable, and inclusive. The Economy of Francesco gathering, inspired by the example of St. Francis of Assisi, featured workshops, seminars, and lectures with leading experts in economics, sustainable development, and the social sciences, including Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus." The Vatican describes the Economy of Francesco as “a different economy, one that helps people live and does not kill, that includes and does not exclude, that humanizes rather than dehumanizes, that takes care of creation and does not plunder it.” On November 16, 2022 Catholic Climate Covenant had a Zoom webinar, now on YouTub, featuring Catholic entrepreneurs, activists, and movement leaders who are answering Pope Francis' call to build a new, moral economy -- one that "centers on the vulnerable and most marginalized and cares for creation." You may ask to join the Laudato si' private Facebook page. whose purpose is to study Pope Francis' encyclical, "Laudato si': On Care for Our Common Home," They also gather weekly on FB Chat every Thursday for "a lively discussion, inspired by the Old Testament as interpreted in the Eco Bible and through our modern experiences. On January 19, 2023 the Laudato si' Facebook Group will discuss the book "Sacred Cow" Click here for a link to their Thursday chats; you will receive an email with the reading and the Zoom link.

"The Earth is being devastated before our own eyes, primarily due to the unsustainable economic, ecological, societal, geopolitical, cultural, and ethical decisions of human civilization. As a result of the injury to our collective home, a complex web of trauma is affecting humanity, frequently in new and unforeseen ways. While there are many who ignore or even profit from our unsustainable consumption, there are little sustainability efforts that rely on technology and even the shared wonder about nature shared by the world’s multiple religious traditions." In this GTUx Original course: Ecospirituality: Environmental Pathways to Healing, Dr. Rita Sherma is joined by guest speakers Valerie Miles-Tribble and Debashish Banerji in a discussion about how healing the innate connections between humans and their ecosystem requires new definitions of the relationships between ecology, therapy, spirituality, and sustainability. The course is divided into 11 modules Module 1: What is Ecospirituality? Module 2: Ecopsychology Module 3: The Biophilia Hypothesis Module 4: Contemplative Ecopraxis, Part 1 Module 5: Contemplative Ecopraxis, Part two Module 6: Intentional & Aspirational Eco-communities, Part One. Module 7: Intentional & Aspirational Eco-communities, Part Two. Module 8: Intentional & Aspirational Eco-communities, Part Three. Module 9: Intentional & Aspirational Eco-Communities, Part 4; Module 10: Ethics of Ecospirituality, Part 1 Module 11: Ethics of Ecospirituality, Part 2 Rita D. Sherma is founding Director and Associate Professor at the Center for Dharma Studies; Core Doctoral Faculty; and Co-Chair of Sustainability 360 Initiative at GTU The Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA. Additional Readings and Resources

At its November 17, 2022 meeting, the Oregon Global Warming Commission (OGWC) discussed preliminary options for recommending an update to the state’s sector-based GHG reduction goals. Several states and the federal government have adopted more ambitious GHG reduction goals that better reflect the current science. Roadmap to 2035 is being finalized in January/February 2023 with the plan to publish and deliver it to Legislature by March 1, 2023. "While Oregon has taken action to reduce emissions, the state’s greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals no longer align with the science-based emissions mitigation pathways that have the greatest likelihood to avoid the worst impacts of global warming." ~OGWC The 2007 Oregon Legislature created the Oregon Global Warming Commission through House Bill 3543. Its mission is to "recommend ways to coordinate state and local efforts to reduce Oregon’s greenhouse gas emissions, and to help the state, local governments, businesses, and Oregonians prepare for the effects of climate change." "The Oregon Global Warming Commission, in consultation with other state agencies, has historically had the role of tracking and evaluating progress toward achieving the state’s greenhouse gas emission reduction goals and recommending statutory or administrative changes to achieve the goals." Through the Transformational Integrated Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction (TIGHGER) project, OGWC determined through the modeling of their consultant SSG that "the programs and regulations already adopted by the state agencies put Oregon on track to achieve our 2035 GHG reduction goal, assuming they are implemented as planned and fully funded." SSG’s modeling has identified a list of about two dozen actions the state could undertake to meet to accelerate the 2035 goal to 2030: Reduce the floor area of new homes Shift to higher density residences in urban zones Require new residential buildings to be net zero emissions Require new commercial buildings to be net zero emissions Install electric heat pumps for new residential buildings and manufactured homes - heating step 3 Install electric heat pumps for new commercial buildings - cooling system efficiency Install electric heat pumps for new commercial buildings - water heating systems efficiency Implement a GHG performance requirement of existing residential buildings Implement a GHG performance requirement of existing commercial buildings Install electric heat pumps for existing residential buildings and manufactured homes - heating Install electric heat pumps for existing residential buildings and manufactured homes - water heating Install electric heat pumps for existing commercial buildings - cooling system efficiency Install electric heat pumps for existing commercial buildings - water heating systems efficiency Improve the energy efficiency of industrial facilities not covered by CPP medium and heavy duty zero emission plan with fin Implement a strategy on regional freight and micro-mobility, last-mile delivery Implement an electric micro-mobility strategy Expand Oregon Amtrak passenger rail Deploy shared vehicles Implement low emissions zones in urban areas Enhance the efficiency of the water system Organics diversion 2030 Deploy green hydrogen in industries not covered by CPP Blend in RNG to use full potential Blend in 15% H2 by 2035 Cap Fac Fuel Cells

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson offers her views on "How to Find Joy in Climate Action" in her recent TED Talk. "We can all play a role in the climate movement by tapping into our skills, resources and networks in ways that bring us satisfaction." Ayana suggests drawing a Venn diagram to map these questions: What are you good at? What is the work that needs doing? What brings you joy? Participate by creating your own Climate Action Venn Diagram. Find personalized ways to contribute to climate solutions on her website. Where your answers intersect is where you should put your climate action effort. "Averting climate catastrophe: this is the work of our lifetimes," ~ Ayana Elizabeth Johnson Johnson is editor along with Katharine K. Wilkinson of the 2020 book All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis - an anthology of writings by 60 women at the forefront of the climate movement. Women are harnessing truth, courage, and solutions to lead humanity forward.

In a November 18, 2022 press release, Rogue Climate vows to oppose the proposed GTN XPress Fracked Gas Project after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Final Environmental Impact Statement. Excerpts from the press release are reformatted and republished below. From the Rogue Climate website: "GTN XPress is a proposal from TC Energy (the company behind Keystone XL) to increase the volume of fracked gas by 150 million cubic feet per day through the existing GTN pipeline. Gas Transmission Northwest (GTN) is a 1,354-mile-long pipeline that cuts through British Columbia, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon." Click here for Rogue Glimate's Fact Sheet: Stop GTN Express. Click here for a link to the January 2022 Federal Register with GTN's Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for The Proposed GTN Xpress Pro Click here for a link to November 18, 2022, FERC Staff Report on the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the GTN Xpress Project. Click here for a link to Rogue Climate's Call to Action - Submit a Comment and Tell the Federal Environmental Regulatory Commission (FERC) to deny approval of GTN XPress The FTN XPress proposal is for the expansion of compressor capacity in three locations, not for adding new pipelines like the recent LNG proposal that was defeated. In Oregon, the existing GTN Kent Compressor Station in Sherman County (east of Mt. Hood) would "uprate an existing Solar Turban Titan 130 gas-fired turbine compressor from 14,300 HP to 23,470 HP; Install 4 new gas cooling bays and associated piping, and improve an existing access road." "The proposed GTN XPress fracked gas pipeline expansion would significantly increase the flow of fracked gas through the Northwest, The expansion of gas compressors capacity faces fierce opposition from a grassroots coalition of communities along the pipeline, climate advocates, tribal members, health professionals, and communities across Washington, Oregon, California, and Idaho." "Members of a regional coalition comprising dozens of community groups immediately condemned FERC’s short-sighted analysis stating that "FERC’s analysis failed to resolve deep-seated concerns from states, tribes, and community groups about the broader impacts of the project, including its conflict with state climate goals and failure to address upstream methane emissions from the harmful practice of fracking." "The project has been heavily criticized by the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission, who have decried FERC’s lack of consultation as well as the climate and health impacts of the pipeline. In August, they wrote a full comment letter to FERC outlining deficiencies in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement." "Most people near the pipeline and compressor stations don’t even know about the expansion,” says Diane Hodiak, Executive Director of 350 Deschutes. “There has been a near-total lack of opportunity for public engagement. It is being rapidly pushed with little room for input from the people who will be affected. With the rise in energy prices, ratepayers certainly don’t want to be on the hook for more price increases for the cost of infrastructure.” “From wildfires to droughts, Columbia River communities increasingly experience climate change impacts. That’s why West Coast states are united in opposition to GTN’s expansion plans,” said Lauren Goldberg, Executive Director of Columbia Riverkeeper. “FERC’s approach will worsen the climate crisis, downplaying the impacts of a proposal that will pollute our communities, impact health and safety, and create millions of tons of climate-changing pollution each year.” “Oregon’s largest County just issued a report recommending against using fracked gas in homes because of its harms to public health,” said David De La Torre, Healthy Climate Program Director of Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility. “Pushing more health-harming fracked gas into our region may be in the interests of fossil fuel corporations, but it is contrary to the public interest and protecting people’s health.” "The proposed expansion of the Gas Transmission Northwest (GTN) pipeline, a subsidiary of TC Energy, would transport approximately 150 million cubic feet per day of additional methane gas from Canada for sale in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and California. FERC previously found the project would emit approximately 3.24 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, for at least the next 30 years. This is equivalent to adding 754,000 cars on the road each year until 2052. Experts and over 1,000 commenters from across the region warned that FERC’s estimates are too low and that the real climate impact would be far greater." "This proposed pipeline expansion comes at a time when government agencies from the EPA to Multnomah County Health Department are calling for an urgent transition away from gas. Attorney Generals from Washington, Oregon, and California oppose the expansion, filing a Motion to Intervene and Protest in August 2022." "Following successful community opposition to proposed new pipelines in recent years, pipeline expansions have become part of a national strategy to increase fracked gas. FERC has approved 15 similar XPress projects over the past 5 years alone, resulting in a dramatic expansion of fracked gas in the U.S." In August 2022 the Attorney Generals for the states of Oregon, California, and Washington asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to deny the TC Energy proposal due to climate change. "They argued that allowing more natural gas to flow from Canada to the U.S. would harm the state’s efforts to combat climate change as the region shifts to renewable energy sources." FERC is expected to make its final decision on the GTN XPress proposal on February 16th, 2023. Rogue Climate is having a "Fossil Fuel Fighters Kickoff: Stop the GTN XPress" on Wednesday, December 14, 2022, at 6 p.m. at their office in Phoenix (205 N. Phoenix Rd, Suite G.) There will be food, art, information, and action steps to help Stop GTN XPress and build community with other folks in Rogue Valley interested in helping save all we can, by fighting new fossil fuel infrastructure in our region. Register here. Rogue Climate helped bring communities together to stop the Jordan Cove LNG export terminal and transition to renewable energy. You can connect with Rogue Climate on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Consider becoming a monthly donor to keep this rural movement for climate justice strong and growing.

Oliver Burkeman, writing in The Guardian on August 25, 2022, calls William MacAskill's new book What We Owe the Future a thrilling prescription for humanity." After reading Burkeman's 2012 book Antidote, I was a little surprised at his upbeat appraisal of MacAskill's book as "unapologetically optimistic and bracingly realistic, a philosopher’s guide to ‘ethical living’ for dangerous times - the most inspiring book on ‘ethical living’ I’ve ever read.." MacAskill makes the case for “longtermism” – “the idea that positively influencing the long-term future is a key moral priority of our time.” Urgency is not just for decarbonization to minimize the negative effects of human-induced climate change, but also the threats of losing control of innovations in artificial intelligence, whether to tyrants or terrorists, and an extinction-level engineered pandemic. Part of the appeal of MacAskill's book What We Owe the Future is that he considers the focus on personal ethical lifestyle changes a “major strategic blunder” - it’s good to be a vegetarian, but giving $3,000 to the right clean energy charity will make vastly more difference to the climate, he argues, than a whole lifetime of not eating meat. Instead of beating ourselves up over every choice of groceries or transportation, MacAskill suggests having a life we truly enjoy, "We are living through an extraordinary chapter in humanity’s story. Compared to both the past and the future, every decade we live through sees an extremely unusual number of economic and technological changes. And some of these changes—like the inventions of fossil fuel power, nuclear weapons, engineered pathogens, and advanced artificial intelligence—have the potential to impact the whole course of the future.” ~ William MacAskill,

In 2021, Oregon's Governor Brown signed House Bill (HB) 2021 into law, which provides an emissions-based clean energy framework for electricity providers. The goals include: 80% below baseline emissions levels by 2030; 90% below baseline emissions levels by 2035; and 100% below baseline emissions levels by 2040. In response, Pacificorp has been developing an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) with the latest input to be filed with the Oregon Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) in March 2023. Final Public Input Meetings 9 and 10 are planned for January 12-13 and February 23-24, 2023 PacifiCorp's Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) identifies investments in modernized transmission, renewable energy (wind & solar, hydro, thermal), storage, demand response and advanced nuclear resources. The expected results of that Plan is a "69% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2030." and will include the following: A clean energy strategy with proposed specific actions to meet outlined milestones; Measurement of potential benefit and/or impact to communities of the resources proposed; and Discussion of how PacifiCorp should comply with the requirements as it moves toward 100% renewable and non-carbon-emitting energy in Oregon. Electric power rates from Pacific Power are going up January 1, 2023 in the Rogue Valley, partially due to mitigation measures necessary in Fire High Consequences Areas (FHCA) (shown in gold on the map below.) In June 2022 the Oregon Wildfire Risk Explorer was released showing every tax lot in Oregon in a risk category ranging from zero to extreme. (note: The Senate Bill 762 statewide wildfire risk map and homeowner risk reports are unavailable while the map is being updated. The maps presented on the Risk Explorer are from the 2018 Quantitative Wildfire Risk Assessment.) Pacific Power uses the FHCA maps to pinpoint the areas with the most extreme risk (due to wind patterns, vegetation, and population) in preparation of their 2022 Wildfire Protection Plan.