New Year's Resolution: Cool Washington County!

Posted by: engel | 01 Jan 08 | Leave a comment

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As the New Year begins, the Cool Washington County campaign is revving up for major action. In the last month, County Commissioner Desari Strader has offered to meet with me to discuss the Cool Counties Declaration, and a post about the campaign was published on BlueOregon - one of Oregon's more widely-read progressive blogs. But in the next couple of months, I hope we can accomplish much more. As the school year starts up again, the various student groups supporting this campaign will be able to kick into higher gear. I will be working to find a way for these groups to partner more effectively with organizations like the Oregon Sierra Club, and Washington County Peak Oil, in holding the Board of Commissioners accountable to the climate. Support from Commissioner Strader is not certain yet, but is a very real possibility - we will see what happens at the meeting. If she does pledge to support the Declaration, we will have two commissioners out of three, and will need only one more to win a majority.

If you live in Washington County, PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION TO THE COUNTY BOARD!

Finally, the month of January should see another rally in downtown Hillsboro, asking the remaining commissioners to support the Cool Counties Declaration. It is important to keep the pressure on, and show them that we are not going to go away. I am confident that we can stage a rally even larger than the one in November, which brought the campaign its first real media attention. When dealing with a Board of Commissioners whose at-large-chair suspects there will "be a backlash to the environmental movement when people realized its costs in the face of today's current economic anxiety" (no mention there of how rising energy prices mean continued reliance on fossil fuels will cost us more than shifting to renewable energy) greening a county can be a challenge. I, for one, like a challenge.

-Nick

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About Me

engel
Hillsboro, OR USA

Student at Pacific University

ENGEL: Environmental ethics; New leadership; Green development; Economic sustainability; Local action! As a student activist, I am working to bring attention to global warming in Oregon. Most of my work takes place at the local level; I have convinced my own city of Hillsboro, OR, to sign onto the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, and I am now working to get Washington County, OR to sign onto the county-level version of this same pledge. On my blog ENGEL (acronym explained above), I report on local government actions all over the state which either help or hinder the climate movement; there are lots of opportunities for readers of this blog to help contribute to the climate movement by making their voices heard; whether in city or county governments, at school, or anywhere else. Please help me make change in Oregon! -Nick

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