Oregon 2023 Legislative Session Links

Oregon 2023 Legislative Session Southern Oregon Climate Action Now has annually followed bills introduced to the Oregon Legislature that relate to climate.  This year, some 4,000 proposals are  expected.  We are currently exploring those…
Rising temperatures bring an increased risk of wildfire.

SOCAN to offer 10-week course on climate change

January 24th 2023, Ashland.news January 24, 2023 Weekly classes will be held from 6-9 p.m. Mondays starting Feb. 6 in Medford Southern Oregon Climate Action Now will offer a 10-week comprehensive course on climate…

Southern Oregon Climate Action Now offering course about climate change

Newsroom Staff, January 11th 2023 Master Climate Protector website with Registration Information MEDFORD, Ore. – Southern Oregon Climate Action Now (SOCAN) is offering a ten-week course that aims to provide residents of Southern Oregon…

SOCAN testimony to Oregon Investment Council on HB2601

Alan R.P. Journet Ph.D. Cofacilitator Southern Oregon Climate Action Now alan@ssocan.eco 541-500-2331 January 17th 2022     Oregon Investment Council Chair Samples and members of the Oregon Investment Council: I…

Climate Action Begins at Home

Climate Action Begins at Home Alan Journet, Cofacilitator Southern Oregon Climate Action Now January 2023 While it’s clear that solving the urgent climate crisis requires substantial collective governmental effort at all levels, from the…

Background to SOCAN’s Position Statement on the Nuclear Option

Alan Journet, January 2023 Over recent years many well-intentioned individuals have proposed that nuclear power generation must be included as an essential component of any effort to address the climate crisis. The argument seems to be founded…

2022 was fifth or sixth warmest on record as Earth heats up

Seth Borenstein, Associated Press January 12, 2023 DENVER (AP) — Earth’s fever persisted last year, not quite spiking to a record high but still in the top five or six warmest on record, government agencies reported Thursday. But expect…

Solarize Rogue

LTE by Kayla Mauriello, Medford Tribune, December 15th 2022 Reap the benefits of solar power without installing panels on your home! Powering your home’s electricity with clean renewable solar energy seems ideal, but for folks whose homes…

In the 3rd decade of the 21st century, at least 149 GOP members of Congress reject climate science

Meteor Blades, Daily Kos, December 13, 2022 Just over half the Republicans in the Senate and House who take the oath of office in three weeks have expressed views in opposition to what the overwhelming majority of scientists tell us is happening…

SOCAN comments to FERC on GTN Express pipeline expansion

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has produced an Environmental Impact Statement on this proposal declaring it acceptable.  The following comments were submitted to FERC in opposition to this conclusion. Alan R.P. Journet Ph.D. Cofacilitator Southern…

‘Firmageddon’: Researchers find 1.1 million acres of dead trees in Oregon

Oregon’s dead firs are a visceral example of how drought is reshaping landscapes in Western states that have been experiencing extreme heat conditions. Evan Bush NBC News. Drought-stricken Oregon saw a historic die-off of fir trees in 2022…

Finally, Some Good Climate News: The Biggest Wins in Clean Energy in 2022

From major federal legislation to surging demand for EVs, the energy transition accelerated remarkably in the last 12 months. Dan Gearino, Inside Climate News, December 8 2022 You can forgive people who work on U.S. energy policy for being…

Op-Ed: California’s carbon-offset forests aren’t trapping much carbon

Op-Ed: California’s carbon-offset forests aren’t trapping much carbon. Here’s how to do better Shane Coffield and James Randerson, L.A. Rimes  NOV. 29, 2022  Many companies promising “net-zero” emissions to protect the…

Community Solar Increases Solar Availability

Presentation to offer information on shared solar for those who can’t do their own installation Think you can’t go solar? Think again! Join us on January 19 in Jacksonville to find out how you can score huge savings from solar energy even…

Another Response to Climate Science Skeptic Claims

On November 29 and 30 Peter Sage, in his blog "Up Close with Peter Sage' published a series of claims offered by climate science skeptics opposed to the climate science consensus. Peter generously allowed us (Alan Journet & Hogan Sherrow)…

Response to a Climate Science Skeptic

Climate science skeptics often post comments on Facebook pages in an effort to disseminate their skepticism.  The following post was recently made to the page of a friend. I was invited to respond to the comment. Herewith, following the post…

The population question

Somini Sengupta New York Times November 18 2022 There are now 8 billion of us. How does that affect our ability to live within planetary boundaries — and to stave off the worst climate hazards? Actually, what matters most is not…

Forest advocates knock out massive Trump post-fire logging loophole

Nov 10, 2022 | News Release Western Environmental Law Center This month, conservation groups finalized a legal agreement with the Bureau of Land Management to reverse a Trump-era rule excluding vastly more logging in post-fire landscapes…

What’s Causing Global Warming?

Here's a short 2 minute video that explains the basic process that causes global warming and is driving the climate crisis.

Oregon governor candidates on how they’d handle climate change

There is no doubt that climate action in Oregon is on the line in 2022... OPB asked Christine Drazan, Betsy Johnson and Tina Kotek about how they’d handle human-caused climate change. Dirk VanderHart September 16 2022, Oregon Public Broadcasting…

AUSTRALIA IS JOINING THE US IN PASSING A HISTORIC CLIMATE BILL

While the US has seized global headlines with the passage of landmark climate legislation, Australia has been working to pass the equally historic Climate Change Bill. Ciaran McCormack | August 19, 2022 The Climate Reality Project Climate…

A Republican Leads in the Oregon Governor’s Race, Taking Aim at the State’s Progressive Climate Policies

Environmentalists fear Christine Drazan will set the state’s emissions reductions targets back decades. She’s ahead in the polls, thanks in part to the presence of a third party, Democrat-turned-independent candidate. Emma Ricketts, October…

Amazon seeks furtherance of the climate crisis

Amazon, a genuinely evil corporation we need to renew our pledge to boycott, is attempting to promote gas usage at its facilities in Eastern Oregon by claiming that oxidizing natural gas (methane) is not combustion so is exempt from the Climate…

Carbon Offsets Are Currently Harming the Path to Net Zero, Report Warns

Olivia Rosanne, October 14, 2022, Ecowatch In their bid to reach net-zero by a certain date, many companies are buying carbon offsets to compensate for their greenhouse gas emissions by funding activities that are supposed to remove an equivalent…