Environment Oregon

Last updated
Environment Oregon headquarters in Portland Evironment oregon headquarters portland oregon.JPG
Environment Oregon headquarters in Portland

Environment Oregon is a political non-profit organization in the U.S. state of Oregon, that lobbies for legislation in regard to environmental policy on local, state and national levels. It is affiliated with Environment America, a federation of environmental organizations in thirty states. [1] [2] Based in Portland, Oregon, it has more than 35,000 members throughout the state. [2] It is also partnered with the Environment Oregon Research & Policy Center, its sister 501(c)(3) organization. [3]

U.S. state constituent political entity of the United States

In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are currently 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory and shares its sovereignty with the federal government. Due to this shared sovereignty, Americans are citizens both of the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons restricted by certain types of court orders. Four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names.

Oregon State of the United States of America

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region on the West Coast of the United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. The parallel 42° north delineates the southern boundary with California and Nevada. Oregon is one of only four states of the continental United States to have a coastline on the Pacific Ocean.

Environment America is a federation of state-based environmental advocacy organizations in the United States. The organization researches and advocates for environmental policies through lobbying, litigation, and the mobilization of public support. Environment America advocates new laws and policies to address climate change, air pollution and water pollution, and is a proponent of clean energy. It opposes offshore drilling.

Contents

History

Environment Oregon was created in 2007 to house the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group (OSPIRG, a local affiliate of the Public Interest Research Group) environmental programs. OSPIRG was started by students at the University of Oregon, inspired by Ralph Nader, who did a speaking tour of college campuses in the early 1970s. [4]

Public Interest Research Group organization

Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) are a federation of U.S. and Canadian non-profit organizations that employ grassroots organizing and direct advocacy with the goal of effecting liberal political change.

University of Oregon Public research university in Eugene, Oregon

The University of Oregon is a public flagship research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution's 295-acre campus is along the Willamette River. Since July 2014, UO has been governed by the Board of Trustees of the University of Oregon. The university has a Carnegie Classification of "highest research activity" and has 19 research centers and institutes. UO was admitted to the Association of American Universities in 1969.

Ralph Nader American consumer rights activist and corporate critic

Ralph Nader is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney, noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism and government reform causes. The son of Lebanese immigrants to the United States, Nader was educated at Princeton and Harvard and first came to prominence in 1965 with the publication of the bestselling book Unsafe at Any Speed, a critique of the safety record of American automobile manufacturers that became known as one of the most important journalistic pieces of the 20th century. Following the publication of Unsafe at Any Speed, Nader led a group of volunteer law students—dubbed "Nader's Raiders"—in a groundbreaking investigation of the Federal Trade Commission, leading directly to that agency's overhaul and reform. In the 1970s, Nader leveraged his growing popularity to establish a number of advocacy and watchdog groups including the Public Interest Research Group, the Center for Auto Safety, and Public Citizen.

Campaigns

An Environment Oregon job poster in Portland Environment oregon advertisement portland oregon.jpg
An Environment Oregon job poster in Portland

As of 2014, Environment Oregon was working on a campaign to stop the Bybee timber sale outside of Crater Lake National Park. Critical wildlife habitat surrounding Crater Lake is under threat from bulldozers, backhoes and chainsaws.[ citation needed ] Around the park, logging companies are pushing to clearcut thousands of acres of forest—land that shelters the headwaters of the Rogue and Umpqua rivers, which are critical for maintaining healthy runs of Steelhead, Coho and Chinook salmon. In response to these threats, Environment Oregon is calling on Congress to create a new fully protected wilderness area that spans over 500,000 acres of wilderness and creates a 75-mile wildlife corridor. After discussing the campaign face-to-face with over 60,000 Oregonians, in 2013, the organization delivered over 10,000 public comments to the United States Forest Service to support stopping the sale. [5]

Crater Lake National Park national park in Oregon

Crater Lake National Park is an American national park located in southern Oregon. Established in 1902, Crater Lake is the fifth-oldest national park in the United States and the only national park in Oregon. The park encompasses the caldera of Crater Lake, a remnant of a destroyed volcano, Mount Mazama, and the surrounding hills and forests.

United States Forest Service federal forest and grassland administrators

The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass 193 million acres (780,000 km2). Major divisions of the agency include the National Forest System, State and Private Forestry, Business Operations, and the Research and Development branch. Managing approximately 25% of federal lands, it is the only major national land agency that is outside the U.S. Department of the Interior.

In 2012, Environment Oregon launched a campaign to encourage development of 250,000 solar roofs in Oregon by 2025. In July 2012, the group released a new report, "Solar Works for Oregon," which outlines the sun's vast potential to provide power, protect the environment, and create jobs for Oregonians. The report revealed that Oregon could feasibly develop enough electricity from rooftop solar in the next decade to power 250,000 typical Oregon homes—or all the homes in Portland. Oregon could also produce 30 times as much solar energy as it does today— preventing 3.8 million tons of carbon dioxide pollution, the equivalent of taking 730,000 cars off the road.[ citation needed ]

Environment Oregon has also worked to promote awareness of and measures to address Oregon's connection to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. In 2012, they successfully helped promote legislation to ban plastic bags in Portland, Corvallis and Eugene.[ citation needed ]

In 2007 Environment Oregon campaigned for renewable energy and for Measure 49, a ballot measure regarding land use planning.

Land use in Oregon

Land use in Oregon concerns the evolving set of laws affecting land ownership and its restrictions in the U.S. state of Oregon.

Membership

Environment Oregon works with the Fund for the Public Interest to conduct its fundraising and membership development campaigns, employing dozens of canvassers and callers who contact Oregonians door-to-door, on street corners and over the phone. Facing criticism for its recruitment and employment practices, in 2009 the fund was a defendant in a lawsuit brought by current and former canvassers. [6]

Related Research Articles

Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area is a World Heritage Site in Tasmania, Australia.

Forest Park (Portland, Oregon)

Forest Park is a public municipal park in the Tualatin Mountains west of downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Stretching for more than 8 miles (13 km) on hillsides overlooking the Willamette River, it is one of the country's largest urban forest reserves. The park, a major component of a regional system of parks and trails, covers more than 5,100 acres (2,064 ha) of mostly second-growth forest with a few patches of old growth. About 70 miles (110 km) of recreational trails, including the Wildwood Trail segment of the city's 40-Mile Loop system, crisscross the park.

Willamette National Forest United States national forest in Oregon

The Willamette National Forest is a National Forest located in the central portion of the Cascade Range of the U.S. state of Oregon. It comprises 1,678,031 acres (6,790.75 km2), making it one of the largest national forests. Over 380,000 acres are designated wilderness which include seven major mountain peaks. There are also several National Wild and Scenic Rivers within the forest. The forest is named for the Willamette River, which has its headwaters in the forest. The forest headquarters are located in the city of Springfield. There are local ranger district offices in McKenzie Bridge, Detroit, Sweet Home, and Westfir.

Environmentalism broad philosophy, ideology and social movement

Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the impact of changes to the environment on humans, animals, plants and non-living matter. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecology combines the ideology of social ecology and environmentalism. Ecology is more commonly used in continental European languages while ‘environmentalism’ is more commonly used in English but the words have slightly different connotations.

Les AuCoin American politician

Walter Leslie "Les" AuCoin, is an American politician and the first from the Democratic Party to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon's 1st congressional district, since it was formed in 1882. The seat has been held by Democrats ever since.

National Wilderness Preservation System

The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federally managed wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally designated wilderness areas is coordinated by the National Wilderness Preservation System. Wilderness areas are managed by four federal land management agencies: the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management. The term "wilderness" is defined as "an area where the earth and community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain" and "an area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions." As of 2016, there are 765 designated wilderness areas, totaling 109,129,657 acres (44,163,205 ha), or about 4.5% of the area of the United States.

The Western Canada Wilderness Committee is a non-profit environmental education organization that aims to protect Canada's wild spaces and species. Paul George, along with Richard Krieger, were the founding directors, and formed the Wilderness Committee in the province of British Columbia in 1980. It now has a membership of over 30,000 people with its head office in Vancouver and field offices in Victoria, British Columbia; Winnipeg, Manitoba; and Toronto, Ontario.

Oregon Ballot Measure 37 is a controversial land-use ballot initiative that passed in the U.S. state of Oregon in 2004 and is now codified as Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 195.305. Measure 37 has figured prominently in debates about the rights of property owners versus the public's right to enforce environmental and other land use regulations. Voters passed Measure 49 in 2007, substantially reducing the impact of Measure 37.

Opal Creek Wilderness

The Opal Creek Wilderness is a wilderness area located in the Willamette National Forest in the U.S. state of Oregon, on the border of the Mount Hood National Forest. It has the largest uncut watershed in Oregon.

Pacific Green Party political party in Oregon

The Pacific Green Party of Oregon (PGP) is a political party in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is a member of the Green Party of the United States.

The Fund for the Public Interest is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that runs the public fundraising and canvassing operations for politically liberal nonprofit organizations in the United States. The Fund is the largest fundraiser for progressive causes in the United States. FFPIR was set up in 1982 as the fundraising arm of the Public Interest Research Group (PIRGs), which was founded by Ralph Nader. The Fund has been involved in several lawsuits regarding unfair labor practices, including failing to pay workers minimum wage.

Environment California organization

Environment California is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit political organization that lobbies for environmental legislation in the U.S. state of California. It is affiliated with Environment America and the Fund for the Public Interest.

Tobias Read American politician

Tobias Read is an American Democratic politician who is the current Oregon State Treasurer. He was a member of the Oregon House of Representatives, representing District 27 from 2007–2017, which comprises parts of Beaverton, southwest Portland, and unincorporated Multnomah and Washington Counties. He served as Speaker Pro Tempore, and was formerly the Democratic Majority Whip.

Harry Lonsdale Businessman, scientist, politician

Harold K. Lonsdale was an American scientist, businessman, and former politician. A Democrat, he ran for United States Senate in the U.S. state of Oregon three times, losing twice in the primaries and once as the Democratic candidate, losing in the 1990 general election to incumbent Mark Hatfield. In 2011 Lonsdale sponsored a research challenge to determine the origin of life on Earth.

BARK is an Oregon, United States, non-profit organization that was created to combat logging, clear-cutting, deforestation and projects members say cause "commercial destruction" in Oregon forests, specifically those of the Mt. Hood National Forest.

Oregon Wild, formerly the Oregon Natural Resources Council, is an American conservation organization based in Portland, Oregon, with offices in Eugene and Bend. The group is notable for having had a case, Marsh v. Oregon Natural Resources Council 490 U.S. 360 (1989), tried before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (SEACC) is a non-profit organization that focusses on protecting the lands and waters of Southeast Alaska. They promote conservation and advocate for sustainable natural resource management. SEACC is located in Alaska’s capital: Juneau. The environmental organization focuses specifically on concerns in the Southeast region of Alaska: including the Panhandle, the Tongass National Forest and the Inside Passage.

March for Science Portland

The March for Science Portland was a protest held in Portland, Oregon. This local protest was part of the March for Science, a series of rallies and marches in Washington, D.C. and over 600 cities across the world on April 22, 2017. Portland Science Advocates organized the march in support of science and to protest President Donald Trump's plan to cut funding for the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institutes of Health. Funding for the event, which cost approximately $30,000, was crowdsourced.

References

  1. ↑ http://environmentoregon.blogspot.com/2014/02/environment-oregon-employment-blog.html . Retrieved 2010-03-05.Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. 1 2 "About Us". Environment Oregon. Retrieved 2010-03-05.
  3. ↑ "Environment Oregon Research and Policy Center". environmentoregoncenter.org.
  4. ↑ Marcello, Patricia Cronin (2004). Ralph Nader: A Biography. Greenwood Press ISBN   0-313-33004-2.
  5. ↑ "Logging proposed near Crater Lake National Park sparks a timber wars reprise". OregonLive.com.
  6. ↑ "Workers Picket Progressive Groups OSPIRG, Environment Oregon". Portland Mercury.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.