Portland, OR – Two Pacific Northwest economists today released a socioeconomic analysis condemning the Trump Administration’s last-minute decision to exclude 3.5 million acres of northern spotted owl habitat from critical habitat designation under the Endangered … Read more
Let’s be honest: 2020 was a year we’d all like to forget. But amidst the chaos of the global pandemic, Trump’s disastrous and divisive presidency, outrage in the streets over yet another year plagued by … Read more
There is almost universal agreement that humanity needs to rapidly transform how our food and wood supplies are produced in order to avoid the worst effects of rapid climate change. However, the transformation from high-carbon … Read more
The bodies are still being counted. The land is still burning. Yet Big Timber is wasting no time greasing the wheels in Congress for another round of profiteering from the staggering community losses in the … Read more
The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has shaken global oil and gas markets with plummeting oil and gas prices. While the Federal Reserve has started propping up parts of the industry, the downturn in fossil … Read more
In a time when Black, Indigenous and communities of color, and rural, low-income Oregonians are facing multiple, intersecting crises, we must come together as communities to care for one another. We must look forward and … Read more
Conservation groups and community members are sounding the alarm in response to the Oregon Department of Forestry’s woefully inadequate plan to meaningfully address climate change as they are required to do under Governor Brown’s Executive … Read more
Firing tear gas at nonviolent demonstrators is unconscionable — especially in a respiratory pandemic. By Josie Moberg | June 10, 2020 Following the police killing of George Floyd, we are witnessing the largest nationwide uprising … Read more
Nearly half of Oregon is forested. Forests filter our drinking water, provide habitat for unique and threatened species, countless opportunities for recreation, and play a critical role in sequestering carbon and storing it safely in … Read more
by Mamelang Memela, Climate Justice Program Associate As a new staff member at CSE, my onboarding experience allowed me to participate in the annual United States Climate Action Network Conference via Zoom. USCAN is a … Read more
This week, Center for Sustainable Economy (CSE) and ten other watershed advocates filed protests with nineteen public water system managers across western Oregon asking them to use their legal authority and discretion to halt over … Read more
Building a Campaign to take on Portland’s Critical Energy Infrastructure hub In his 1963 speech, a “Message to the Grassroots,” the late Malcolm X famously declared that all revolution is based on land: “Land is … Read more
A political strategy which CSE helped advance has put a snag in the plans of a major Koch Brothers ally, Richard Kayne, in expanding Global Partners’ crude oil storage capacity by 1 million barrels in … Read more
Since spring of 2019, CSE and our allies have been fighting Zenith Energy’s plans to bring crude oil by rail to a terminal in Portland, OR, in flagrant disregard for the City’s groundbreaking 2016 ordinance calling … Read more
In light of Governor Brown’s recent Executive Order 20-04, organizations across Oregon are asking whether our forest management bodies will take seriously their obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make the landscape more resilient … Read more
Wanted: Big Green Ideas for Tough Times Author and social activist, Naomi Klein, writes: “Moments of shock are volatile. We either lose ground, get fleeced by elites, and pay the price for decades, or we … Read more
Lessons from COVID-19 The world is in crisis, a COVID-19 crisis, that is shaking the foundations of our economy, our health care system, and our sense of wellbeing. But with this crisis comes a teachable … Read more
A Positive Direction: Governor Kate Brown’s Executive Order (EO) is breaking with the carbon market-based approach of the past and is instead pursuing a declining cap on Oregon’s emissions on an emergency, science-based timeline. Needs … Read more
To many of us working at the intersection of forest conservation and climate stability recent opinions and news coverage of proposals to fill our cities with tall wooden buildings presents not a stirring vision of … Read more
On Monday, February 10th, 2020, Governor Kate Brown announced an agreement between environmental and timber industry organizations to stand down on further advocacy for six ballot measures (3 from both sides) currently in the signature … Read more
Portland, OR – On October 21, 2019, the City of Portland rejected a request by Zenith Energy to build three new pipes connecting Zenith’s oil storage facility to a shipping terminal on the Willamette … Read more
Asheville, NC – A new report from the Center for Sustainable Economy and Dogwood Alliance puts a spotlight on North Carolina, and shows just how big of a climate catastrophe logging is in the state. … Read more
A report released July 15 by Center for Sustainable Economy (CSE), “Crude Bailout: How Global Partners’ and Zenith Energy’s Oil Terminals Subvert Democracy, Endanger Human Life and Health, and Pollute the Planet,” reveals how billionaire … Read more
By Tom Housel* After a contentious 2019 legislative session, House Bill 2020 — Oregon’s cap-and-trade program — failed to pass the legislature because of a lack of Democratic votes in the Senate. For many, this … Read more
Center for Sustainable Economy (CSE) and local watershed advocates have asked 28 public water system providers in rural Oregon to intervene to halt the planned clearcutting of over 18,000 acres in surface drinking water supplies … Read more
The successful grassroots resistance to tar sands pipeline proposals across North America is resulting in an increase in the far more dangerous transport of tar sands crude by rail, putting communities and the environment in … Read more
In a new report released today, the Center for Sustainable Economy has documented taxpayer losses of nearly $2 billion a year associated with the federal logging program carried out on national forest and Bureau of … Read more
This morning, the Portland Audubon Society, OPAL Environmental Justice, 350 PDX, the Sustainable Energy and Economy Network, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Center for Sustainable Economy sent a letter to Portland City Commissioners and … Read more
By Alex Renirie In this historic year –the first legislative session after the International Panel on Climate Change warned in a special report in late 2018 that we have less than 12 years to make “rapid … Read more
Download the publication here This spring, Oregon legislators are poised to pass legislation to establish a cap and invest system for regulating greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) statewide. The legislation has been commonly referred to as … Read more
On Jan 28, 2019, the King County Council in Washington voted by 6-3 to pass an immediate moratorium to prohibit new fossil fuel infrastructure, joining other jurisdictions on the West and East coasts in taking … Read more
Last week, climate activists cheered the news that the Western States Petroleum Association declined to pursue an appeal of Portland’s Fossil Fuel Terminal Zoning Amendments to the United States Supreme Court. After losing Dormant Commerce … Read more
Any lingering doubt about whether Portlanders were ready to vote for strong climate and energy action was extinguished on election night when the Portland Clean Energy Initiative (PCEI) garnered a 63% ‘yes’ vote. This grassroots … Read more
In the aftermath of Hurricane Michael unleashing 155-mile winds across the Florida panhandle, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report that said far worse was to come, if the world didn’t dramatically … Read more
In Fall 2018, the Oregon Renewable Energy Center and Population Health Management Research Center at the Oregon Institute of Technology are teaming up to host top experts in renewable energy and energy efficiency from throughout … Read more
July 31, 2018 (Portland, Ore.) — Today, a coalition of public interest groups celebrated news that opponents of Portland’s fossil fuel ordinance have failed in their efforts to overturn the City’s landmark law. In 2016, … Read more
One of the world’s leading climate scientists joined a coalition of 18 conservation, scientific, and community organizations calling on Oregon’s new Carbon Policy Office (CPO) and the Department of Forestry (ODF) to do an about-face … Read more
A new study by researchers based at Oregon State University and the University of Idaho corroborates Center for Sustainable Economy’s 2015 and 2017 research demonstrating that logging is by far the number one source of … Read more
On March 12, 2018, the Baltimore City Council voted to approve Council Bill 17-0150, which, if signed by the Mayor, will amend the city’s zoning code to prohibit new and expanded crude oil terminals. Community, … Read more
Of the 50 United States, Alaska best exemplifies the types of problems the rest of the country may well face in a matter of decades, if not years, if we don’t wean ourselves from fossil … Read more
By John Talberth, Daphne Wysham, and Nick Caleb Climate change is one of the most daunting challenges humanity has ever faced and requires a commensurate policy response. A robust climate agenda would consist of a … Read more
Carbon sequestration dead zones are expanding. Clearcutting is Oregon’s single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Millions of acres of industrial tree plantations present huge public health risks because they are far more susceptible to … Read more
In a new study authored by Dr. John Talberth and Michael Weisdorf of Portland State University, CSE has demonstrated a new methodology for the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) that promises to accelerate its adoption by … Read more
Deforestation, forest degradation, and unsustainable forest practices are major drivers of climate change. Deforestation and other land-use changes have released approximately 150 gigatons of carbon to the atmosphere since 1850, roughly one-fifth of the current … Read more
One of the most aggravating aspects of the climate crisis is the fact that fossil fuel companies are passing on huge financial risks to taxpayers and politicians are simply turning their backs on the problem … Read more
There’s a lot of greenwashing happening these days in forest politics. As climate change threatens the stability and health of our world’s ecosystems, rather than recognize forests as the powerful natural climate remedy that science … Read more
My experience with CSE’s law clerkship program was thoroughly educational and rewarding. My main goals going into this summer were to (1) understand the basics of the local environmental law landscape through experience working in … Read more