November Newsletter

October Recap / News / What we’ve been up to

We had a wonderful October Chapter Meeting with guest speaker Chad Higgins presenting on Agrivoltaics and 58 people registered! If you missed it, you can watch the presentation recording here, or go to the “recent events” section on our web page to find this and other recordings.  (Midway through, the presentation goes deep into the weeds on some of the math; and there’s more accessible info at the beginning and end.) 

Big actions in October were submitting comments to encourage a safer, healthier, more climate-forward planning for Portland’s CEI hub, which stores about 90% of the state’s liquid fuels in a liquefaction zone, and using our first amendment rights to participate in October 18th’s record-breaking No Kings and other actions to protect our democracy. 

Take action/In Person Events

Vote:

Nov. 4: Remember to vote today if your county or city has a ballot measure. 

Speak up:

Nov. 6: The Air Quality Community Forum is part of a series discussing the Multnomah County Climate Justice Plan. You can read about the air quality section on pages 33 - 36 of the plan. The plan’s air quality strategies align with our pillars of Climate Justice and Public Health. We’ll have posts about future events in the series on our Bluesky and Instagram pages. 

• When: Thursday, November 6th from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

• Where: Multnomah Building, 501 SE Hawthorne Blvd. #126 Portland, OR 97214 or Zoom (*link provided upon registration)

• Link to register

Share with community:

Food Resources Sheet. A delay in SNAP means over 750,000 families in Oregon alone will face further food insecurities. Make use of and share this information to amplify these existing resources to support individuals & families in accessing food. 

Nationwide action call:

Nov. 10, 5 pm online:  Join us next week, November 10, for a kickoff party! Madeline and two special guests will share exactly how we’re going to push for science-backed, historically-bipartisan state policies with the power to majorly cut methane emissions by reducing food waste. Climate Changemakers is now part of the Climate Reality Project! 

Volunteer spotlight

Meet our new Social Media lead JoAnna Wendel! She's a science writer and illustrator who is passionate about the environment and helping people understand all the complex issues around climate change. In her spare time, JoAnna loves to read, hike, paint, and hang out with her cat.

Check out JoAnna’s recent educational flip-book posts on our Instagram (tip: press the right arrow to flip through the pages)

Plug-in Solar Pilot

Have you wanted to participate in solar power but can’t put panels on your roof? If you live in PGE territory, there’s a pilot program that will allow you to put solar on your balcony, your patio, or even in a sunny window.

Chapter member Juno just got his panels a week ago, and shared this photo and comments:

“This is my plug-in solar setup, unboxed and on my patio. My setup consists of 2 flexible solar panels (much lighter weight and easier to handle than traditional aluminum-framed panels) and a small weatherproof box that turns them into AC electricity, ready to plug in to a standard wall outlet. I'm planning to experiment with different mounting options, but for now, very bare-bones with the panels laid on the ground. I've been waiting  to plug it in for over a week, pending "net metering" paperwork with PGE. This process was never designed with systems this small in mind, so it's complete overkill for what in reality is an extremely safe, simple, and low-barrier way to generate some of your own electricity.”

We’ll keep you posted as we find out initial results and have more information on efforts to streamline the process. If you want to participate in the pilot, contact Mark Gummin at [email protected]

Committee News

At the October meeting of the Legislative Committee, updates from the Buildings Coalition, Divest Oregon, the Oregon Climate Action Commission, and the Senate’s Energy and Environment Committee’s meeting on Cap & Invest and Green Banks were shared and bills likely to be introduced in the 2026 Oregon legislative session were discussed.  Committee members are preparing for constituent meetings with legislators. If you would be interested in meeting your legislators (with lots of support from Committee members), please contact us at [email protected]. If you are interested in learning more about the Committee, join us for our December 3 meeting. 

The Climate Friendly Foods Committee and the Education Committee are gathering information and volunteers for future events.

Join a Committee

Join the Climate Friendly Foods Committee: Email Lynne at [email protected] 

Join the Legislative Committee:   Email Amanda and Helena at [email protected]

Join the Education Committee:   Email Lynn at [email protected]

Save the Date- December Chapter Meeting 

Join us at 7 pm Dec. 17 on zoom to celebrate our year of action and appreciate the time for reflection, family, and community that holidays can bring. We’ll raise a glass, talk about the past year and hopes for 2026, and events lead Katherine Fredricks will lead practices for Inner Peace.

Heads up for 2026

Starting in January, Chapter meetings will be regularly scheduled for 7 pm on the 3rd Tuesday 

On January 20, we’ll be holding elections! Have you been thinking of joining the Climate Reality Leadership team? We’d love to have you. Contact [email protected] for more information

Share Your Climate Story or Event

So many of us are working with multiple groups in different neighborhoods! If you’d like to share what you’re doing for climate action and climate justice, we’d love to highlight it in an upcoming newsletter! Email to [email protected] for inclusion.

Our Linktree!

Have limited time but want to keep up with quick actions and events in between newsletters? Bookmark our Linktree page: https://linktr.ee/climaterealitypdx