Welcome to February! Our last meeting was a riot, with green M&Ms and all sorts of upcoming events to sign up for. The next week is gonna be a riot too, in all the right ways!
Environmental Club events:
Environmental Club Volunteer Day with Friends of Trees
Sat, Feb 6th
9am – 1pm
Come hang out with the Environmental Club while we plant trees! Please meet at the staging site by 9am to volunteer for this planting. If you have any questions, please contact Andy Meeks at AndyM@Friendsof
Next Environmental Club meeting
Thursday, Feb 11th
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Location TBA
Julia DeGraw from Food and Water Watch will be visiting.We'll also be sending Obama & some Congress members a few notes about the "clean" nuclear energy, coal, and offshore drilling mentioned in the State of the Union. Perhaps we can also have a handstand contest...
Plugging in for Sustainability
Interested in...
- Take Back the Tap? Contact Lisa Meersman at
ecpsu.redwood@gmail.com OR just come to our next meeting! - Recycling and composting on campus? Contact Honore Depew at honoredepew@gmail.com. There are plenty of opportunities to make sure composting and recycling are fully utilized at events and throughout campus.
- Energy efficiency? Contact Kelly Larson in the Sustainability Office at klar@pdx.edu
- Community service? Stay tuned or contact Hanna Davis at ecpsu.cedar@gmail.com for SOLV events.
- Local food? Contact Hanna Davis at ecpsu.cedar@gmail.com to help compile a seasonal, local, & sustainable Portland cookbook.
- Bikes? Sign up for the [bikes] email list and keep up-to-date on all bike-related events
Campus events:
Community Saturday coffee rides
Sat, Feb 6th
11 am - 1 pm-ish
meet in front of Millar Library
Ride Bikes! Socialize and Drink Coffee!
Join our friends from PSUBAC and others for the weekly Saturday coffee ride. Leaves from PSU Millar Library at 11am, ride to two coffee shops within 5 miles and hang out. Always good company and lots of fun. Rain or shine.
If coffee isn't your cup of tea, try checking out PSU Cycling's longer rides: http://psucycling.com/events
PSU Earth Week Student Forum TODAY!
Tue, Feb 2
2 - 3 pm
Smith's Multicultural Center rm 228
PSU Earth Week is hosting an Earth Week Student Forum for generating ideas and connecting students interested in participating in projects for Earth Week. Come help us brainstorm!
Community events:
University of Portland bans disposable water bottles
Letter that University of Portland faculty and students received:
Dear University of Portland community,
As you may have seen on the news or on our website, as of February 1, the University will no longer sell disposable plastic water bottles at The Cove, vending machines and concession stands and will also cease use at catering events. This move does not apply to the five-gallon Culligan jugs in use throughout campus.
You are encouraged to use reusable/refillable containers and tap water, which is available in water fountains throughout campus and at a water filling station in The Cove. The decision to discontinue the sale and use of disposable plastic water bottles was made in conjunction with Bon Appétit, the Presidential Advisory Committee on Sustainability and student groups.
While this move will take some adjustment on everyone’s part, we truly believe it is the right thing to do. The University used over 53,000 disposable plastic water bottles in 2009 alone, a good amount of which were not recycled, and the environmental impact of producing and transporting the bottles is significant. The water contained in the bottles often comes from distant locations, which only increases the impact from shipping and baling. Furthermore, because water being sold in disposable plastic water bottles is part of a process of privatization of water resources, the sustainable purchasing decision not to buy or sell disposable plastic water bottles also fits into the Catholic belief that water should not be treated as a commodity and that access to water is a universal and inalienable right.
The University of Portland takes seriously its commitment to being a good steward of the planet, and this move will not only reduce the amount of waste generated on our campus but will help focus attention on the critical issues of sustainability and water rights.
Thank you for helping us make our campus greener.
(Rev.) E. William Beauchamp, C.S.C.
President
Thu, Feb 4th
BUILD IT Rally from 1:30 – 2:00 pm
Public Hearing for the Portland Bicycle Plan from 2:00 – 3:30 pm
City Hall, 1221 SW 4th Ave.
This Thursday, City Hall will be deciding whether or not to adopt the plan. The plan has a lot of support and will most likely be adopted. However a plan without funding is only a plan, a wish, a dream if you will.
There will be a rally at the city hall hearing this Thursday to show our elected officials that while the plan is great...it needs to be funded and it needs to be built!
The rally will start outside then we will go inside for the hearing at 2:00pm. If you want to speak at the hearing get there at 1:30 to sign up, it sounds like all statements should be under 2 minutes.
BTA's BUILD IT campaign website:
http://www.portlandbikenetwork.org/toolkit/testify/
Chris Smith's blog:
http://pdxplanningcommissioner.com/2009/11/12/whats-the-bike-plan-worth/
PBOT's page (Has links to full text of the plan):
http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?c=44597
If you can't make it to the rally or meeting:
* Send emails or call City Council. Tell them whatever you think, and tuck in the phrase "Built It" if you want to drive home the point that they should actually build it. You can keep it short, or give them lots of detail. Be sure to tell them you're a Portland voter.
- Sam Adams: samadams@ci.portland.or.us 503-823-4120
- Amanda Fritz: amanda@ci.portland.or.us 503-823-3008
- Randy Leonard: rleonard@ci.portland.or.us 503-823-4682
- Nick Fish: nick@ci.portland.or.us 503-823-3589
- Dan Saltzman: dan@ci.portland.or.us 503-823-4151
* To stay current, become a fan of "Build It" on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/BuildIt2030
Volunteer at the Hedges Creek Marsh
Sat, Feb 6th
9 am - 12 pm
Meet in Kaiser Permanente parking lot, 19185 SW 90th Ave, Tualatin, OR 97062
Join our volunteer project to help harvest and install native willow, dogwood, and spirea cuttings.
Please contact Jennifer Wilson to RSVP or for additional questions. Phone: 503.957.6980 or E-mail: jennifers@wetlandsconservancy.org
“Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
-Margaret Mead
Students Against LNG Hike & Action Retreat
Sat, Feb 6th
9AM-9PM, Portland & Mt. Hood National Forest
Join students from across Oregon while we hike in Mt. Hood National Forest in an area threatened by a pipeline to import greenhouse-gas-intensive Liquefied Natural Gas. Then, we will work on planning actions and events to stop the LNG projects in Oregon. Be part of fighting the biggest threat to our sustainable future. Be a part of this movement for social justice. And, play a key role in running a strategic campaign to protect our climate. We need you!
Sign up here: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1810/t/10427/signUp.jsp?key=4792
What we will do:
Join the Columbia Riverkeepers' Conservation Director, Dan Serres, for a beautiful hike in Mt. Hood National Forest. Then, plan actions and events that you can bring to your campus for the other half of the day. What else could be better?
Background: The biggest dirty energy project on the west coast is proposed for Oregon. Three Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and over 600 miles of pipelines are currently proposed to import greenhouse-gas-intensive foreign fossil fuels. LNG is as dirty as coal and is much more carbon intensive than the natural gas we currently use. If these projects go through, all of the progress Oregon has gained against Boardman Coal plant and all of the efficiency measures taken, WILL BE LOST.
There is a huge and growing movement against these projects. Students have played an important role in this movement in the past but now we are getting organized more than ever before! Join us and help run a five month campaign to grow the movement. The campaign will escalate over the next few months and show its face with a huge action at the NW Natural Gas headquarters during a shareholders meeting in May. Lets mobilize and escalate.
Sign up here: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1810/t/10427/signUp.jsp?key=4792
Join the facebook group here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=265829923839&ref=nf
Banana pants!
PJ Houser
Portland State University
Environmental Club coordinator
Campus Sustainability Office Assistant
Check out our updated website at http://eclub.groups.pdx.edu
Also, check out the EcoWiki at http://www.ecowiki.pdx.edu/
P.S. If you don't want to receive these emails, please reply with "remove me from the list" in the subject line.
Labels: BikePlan, EarthWeek, FriendsOfTrees, meeting, volunteer
posted by PJ at
12:46 PM
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