“We’re never going to combat climate change with all of us disconnected in our cars. The only way we’re going to do it is by being connected in our communities.”

We have just passed the autumnal equinox, the turning point in our journey around the sun where the day and night are briefly equal in length. As our planet keeps spinning and our nights here in the northern hemisphere lengthen, we’ve been thinking about other kinds of turning points.

September 22nd, 2022 is World Car-Free Day! Join us in taking the pledge to bike, walk, roll, or take public transit to get to your everyday destinations.

We are happy to be able to share this recent article by Amelia Lamb from the Oregon Citizen Utilities Board’s blog. It is a thorough look at the health risks of gas stoves with respect to the air quality inside our homes, and includes ways to mitigate them through proper ventilation, or remove them altogether, by replacing a gas range with an induction model. Thanks to Amelia and CUB for creating this informative resource and allowing us to share it with our community.

After more than three decades of failure by the federal government to take action on climate change, the Inflation Reduction Act was passed by the House yesterday. There is broad agreement that the measure will result in critical emissions reductions; and also, that they are not sufficient to put the United States on a path to doing its part to avoid catastrophic climate change. It also shells out reprehensible gifts to fossil fuel corporations that will harm all of us, but vulnerable communities the most. While this bill is a big step forward and we are grateful for it, it won’t put Families for Climate out of work yet (sadly!). There are still thousands of miles of bike infrastructure to build, gas appliances to swap out, new behaviors to model for our kids, and plenty of room to grow climate justice for all.

Meet Jamie Painter, our new Parent Climate Action Network Manager! She shares part of her climate story, and a call to action for the 2022 Oregon Legislative Session.

If you are worried sick over the ongoing gutting of the climate provisions (among many others) in the Build Back Better bill in Washington DC, thanks largely to Senator Joe Manchin, you are not alone.

Currently, the DEQ is creating a new program called the “Climate Protection Program” that will enable Oregon to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The bad news is that the program, as currently designed, will not actually do its job. Join a state-wide public input effort to help DEQ strengthen this program so Oregon can reach its decarbonization goals! Read more