Want updates on our next actions? Join our email list for updates!

“We are drawing the line,” Hood River resident Anthony Villagomez explained. “For the health of the salmon, the river and all the communities of the Gorge, we need to say no to this energy of mass destruction.”

Organizers with climate justice group Rising Tide brought a festive atmosphere with colorful kayaks, flags, and kites. The rally marched from Marina Park to Hood River City Hall with a resolution to oppose tar sands oil extraction and the use of the Columbia as a shipping corridor.

Mining and refining equipment bound for the Alberta tar sands – widely regarded as the largest and dirtiest oil extraction project on the planet – began moving up the Columbia River late last year. Area residents are also concerned about the impact an accident on the Columbia shipping route would have on salmon runs and those who depend on the fish for their livelihood.

In order to extract tar sands oil, an area of boreal forest the size of Florida is being clear-cut and excavated. It takes four barrels of clean water to produce one barrel of tar sands oil, and requires requiring three times the energy to extract as conventional oil. Indigenous communities have been the most severely impacted by tar sands development. In 2008, Alberta Health confirmed a 30% rise in cancers cases between 1995 and 2006.

“The cultural heritage, land, ecosystems, and human health of more than sixty First Nations communities are being sacrificed for oil money,” said Heather Milton-Lightning from the Indigenous Environmental Network, who brought the concerns of native people to the rally. “This is slow industrial genocide.”

“What happened to the Gulf of Mexico was tragic, but it was entirely preventable” said Meredith Cox with Rising Tide. “We don’t want to see the Columbia transformed into yet another oil sacrifice zone.”

Coal fired power plants are the top source of air pollution and toxic mercury in the nation and emit nearly 3 billion tons- or one third- of our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions per year. Particulates in the air emitted from coal are especially damaging to those living near coal-burning power plants or working in mines. According to the Center for Disease Control, 12,000 coal miners died between 1992 and 2002 from black lung.

The group consisted of student organizers with the Power Shift 2011 conference, local Rising Tide activists, and other concerned community members. Activists are targeting Wells Fargo and Bank of America because these institutions are some of the top financiers of coal extraction as well as coal-powered infrastructure.

This is the third in a series of actions taken against these banks in the Portland area in the past 6 weeks by Rising Tide and others. Other recent actions have included renegade ATM closures as well as serving 25 banks official notices requesting that they divest from coal or expect direct action campaigns. The demands are clear: NO financing for companies pursuing coal-fired power plants, mountaintop removal mining, or coal export infrastructure.

	Sunday afternoon a group of around 40 individuals marched through downtown Portland equipped with chalk, caution tape, and mud. The group paid a visit to the Bank of America on SW 5th and Stark and a Wells Fargo on SW 6th and Morrison, and created a climate crime scene on and around these banks.  Signs were taped all over the widows reading "Closed for Climate Crimes", "Deposit here, fund coal" and images of coal extraction. The group covered the sidewalks with body outlines and chalked images of chopped trees and blown up mountains. A group of activists began plastering fake dollar bills on the walls with muddy hand prints to call out these corporations for the dirty money they house within.
	Coal fired power plants are the top source of air pollution and toxic mercury in the nation and emit nearly 3 billion tons- or one third- of our nation's greenhouse gas emissions per year. Particulates in the air emitted from coal are especially damaging to those living near coal-burning power plants or working in mines. According to the Center for Disease Control, 12,000 coal miners died between 1992 and 2002 from black lung.
	The group consisted of student organizers with the Power Shift 2011 conference, local Rising Tide activists, and other concerned community members. Activists are targeting Wells Fargo and Bank of America  because these institutions are some of the top financiers of coal extraction as well as coal-powered infrastructure.
	This is the third in a series of actions taken against these banks in the Portland area in the past 6 weeks by Rising Tide and others.  Other recent actions have included renegade ATM closures as well as serving 25 banks official notices requesting that they divest from coal or expect direct action campaigns.  The demands are clear: NO financing for companies pursuing coal-fired power plants, mountaintop removal mining, or coal export infrastructure.
Sunday afternoon a group of around 40 individuals marched through downtown Portland equipped with chalk, caution tape, and mud. The group paid a visit to the Bank of America on SW 5th and Stark and a Wells Fargo on SW 6th and Morrison, and created a climate crime scene on and around these banks.  Signs were taped all over the widows reading "Closed for Climate Crimes", "Deposit here, fund coal" and images of coal extraction. The group covered the sidewalks with body outlines and chalked images of chopped trees and blown up mountains. A group of activists began plastering fake dollar bills on the walls with muddy hand prints to call out these corporations for the dirty money they house within.

Coal fired power plants are the top source of air pollution and toxic mercury in the nation and emit nearly 3 billion tons- or one third- of our nation's greenhouse gas emissions per year. Particulates in the air emitted from coal are especially damaging to those living near coal-burning power plants or working in mines. According to the Center for Disease Control, 12,000 coal miners died between 1992 and 2002 from black lung.

The group consisted of student organizers with the Power Shift 2011 conference, local Rising Tide activists, and other concerned community members. Activists are targeting Wells Fargo and Bank of America  because these institutions are some of the top financiers of coal extraction as well as coal-powered infrastructure.

This is the third in a series of actions taken against these banks in the Portland area in the past 6 weeks by Rising Tide and others.  Other recent actions have included renegade ATM closures as well as serving 25 banks official notices requesting that they divest from coal or expect direct action campaigns.  The demands are clear: NO financing for companies pursuing coal-fired power plants, mountaintop removal mining, or coal export infrastructure.

The  “True Cost of Coal” graphics campaign is here!

Who: The Beehive Collective, a 100% volunteer-driven non-profit political organization that uses graphical media as educational tools to communicate stories.

What: A presentation of the Beehive Collective’s newest work. Two years in the making, the “True Cost of Coal” is an elaborate narrative illustration that explores the complex story of mountaintop removal coal mining and the broader impacts of coal in Appalachia and beyond. To create the poster, the Beehive interviewed hundreds of community members throughout the Appalachia region. In their interactive picture-lectures, the Bees lead audiences through an engaging, larger-than-life banner version of the graphic, interweaving anecdotes, statistics, and history.

When/Where: Several events in Portland.

• Last Thursday on Alberta Ave, August 26^th, location TBA
• Friday, August 27th, 3-5pm at the Ecotrust Building, Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center, 2nd floor (721 Northwest 9th Avenue)
• Sunday, August 29th, 7pm at Autonomy (316 Northwest 4th Ave.)
• Tuesday, August 31st,  2pm – 6pm, Special Art Workshop & Presentation at Tryon Life Community Farm (details below)

The Full Story:

The image is the culmination of an intensive and collaborative research process, as the Beehive methodology centers on first hand story-sharing. “We feel it’s extremely important to gather our information from as close to the source as possible,” a Beehive illustrator says.

The Bees craft visual metaphors and weave them together in a patchwork “quilt” of personal stories. Beehive presentations prompt discussion and understanding of contemporary struggles about energy and coal, while honoring the deep legacy of the Appalachian experience. Upon seeing the graphic, Tanya Turner of Pineville, KY said, “This image is changing Appalachia. Appalachians are taking back Appalachia and this image is a tool for that change.”
“The True Cost of Coal” is only the latest work in the Beehive’s repertoire of graphics campaigns. The Beehive hums with activity, tackling issues as diverse as biotechnology, corporate globalization, food and agriculture, and colonialism. The group’s mission is to “cross-pollinate the grassroots” by creating images that educate the public and deconstruct complex geopolitical issues.  Their body of work is distributed as “anti-copyright;” individuals and organizations are encouraged to reproduce the graphics for non-profit use as a means of circulating information and awareness.

The Beehive Collective is currently touring nation-wide to distribute the graphic. For more information and to view the graphics visit www.beehivecollective.org OR beehivecollective.blogspot.com.

Details on the Tryon Life Community Farm Event!

Beehive Collective Art Workshop & Presentation
Tuesday, August 31st, 2pm – 6pm

At Tryon Farm (tryonfarm.org)

Join us and the Beehive Collective for an afternoon of collaborative creative process and cross-pollination. Using Beehive design methodology, we will develop ideas and images for TLC Farm’s educational land signs. This will be a participatory, co-created artistic process – please come even if you’ve never before visited the Farm. Afterwards, the Bees will present The True Cost of Coal.

We will be running a shuttle from People’s coop (SE 21st and Tibbetts), meeting at 1:15 and leaving by 1:30.  The shuttle will return to People’s by 6:45. This workshop is a by-donation event, with nobody turned away for lack of funds.  Please RSVP to maralena.murphy@gmail.com so we can know about how many folk to expect.  We look forward to seeing you!

BONUS EVENT!

Climate Ground Zero presents @ 6:30 pm — Thurs, August 26th
Autonomy Hive (316 NW 4th Ave)
http://climategroundzero.net

Climate Ground Zero is an ongoing campaign of non-violent civil resistance in southern West Virginia to end mountaintop removal.  Since Feb 2009, over 150 people have been arrested (in WV alone!) confronting the irrevocable destruction of Appalachia & its accompanying toll on air, water, & lives of Appalachians.

Come learn about the campaign and how you can help!

In recent news, Northern Star, the corporation that was previously funding an LNG terminal near Astoria called Bradwood Landing, declared bankruptcy. And just last week, Palomar pulled its application from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Palomar Gas Transmission, a company that proposed an $800 million natural gas pipeline across the Oregon Cascades told the FERC that their project is in indefinite delay, and needs to secure “additional commercial underpinning” before it can progress. Palomar claimed it “was reviewing its project plan” in light of the bankruptcy of its biggest prospective customer — a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal on the Columbia River that suspended its own permitting efforts in May of this year.

Palomar said it was continuing some long-term field surveys on species that could be impacted by the project so FERC can resume its environmental analysis of the project when supplemental material or a revised application is submitted. Over four years ago, Palomar asserted that their schedule intended to begin cutting trees on the pipeline corridor in the summer of 2010. As this project stands, Palomar is not even close to completing their environmental impact statement, let alone beginning construction of this controversial, legally vulnerable proposal.

A number of decorated signs were placed along the road preceding the banner. They highlighted previous victories of the anti-LNG campaign, as well as called out the proposed Oregon LNG terminal. A double decker banner was hung 40 feet high from trees across Highway 46 this morning. “We are winning, and still fighting!” was the message declared. “With the public outcry against the Bradwood Landing causing Northern Star to file bankruptcy, and now Palomar claiming the proposal is on indefinite delay, forest and climate advocates have seen a definite shift in progress,” says Meredith Cox of the Trans & Womyn’s Action Camp. “But we also realize that this fight is not over, and it’s become even more apparent that we now need to shift our resistance against Oregon LNG.”

The action is claimed by the Trans & Womyn’s Action Camp, which is an annual ecological and social justice camp in Cascadia that strives to confront local environmental devastation.

More information can be found at www.portlandrisingtide.org

Stephanie Boston, Trans & Womyn’s Action Camp
twac@riseup.net
503 – 849 – 9624

Fossil Fool's Weekly

Late last night volunteers with Portland Rising Tide blasted the city with over 3,000 fake newspaper covers wrapping the Willamette Week. With content including an interview with Bigfoot about pipeline plans through Mt. Hood and a chart explaining the Columbia River Crossing project as understood by Glen Beck. The action was part of Fossil Fools Day, a national day-of-action with the tag-line, “Pull a prank that packs a punch” meant to inspire playful actions targeting the fossil fuel industry.

The action was pulled off to provide light-hearted education to the public and simultaneously call out those corporations and projects that have been using an elaborate public relations campaign to “green” their image.

Ryan Caraway with Portland Rising Tide explained the action, “Our region is threatened by a number of projects
that would increase our dependency on fossil fuels as well as threaten some of the most pristine areas left in this country. Unfortunately, we feel that we don’t see enough critical media surrounding these issues and we wanted to change that – at least for one night.”

Portlanders decided to heavily target NW Natural for their foolish plan to rip through hundreds of rivers and streams, rural farms and Mt. Hood National Forest. While the company has spent millions to project an image of climate leadership and environmental stewardship, the company is aggressively pursuing the Palomar pipeline and Liquefied Natural Gas development.

Some of the articles included headlines activists would like to see, such as NW Natural canceling their plans for the Palomar pipeline. While others were of a more humorous nature, such as an interview with Bigfoot, who is angry because the Palomar pipeline project would require a huge clear-cut through Mt. Hood National Forest.

In addition to targeting NW Natural, other targets included: the Columbia River Crossing project, PGE’s coal fired Boardman power plant, and Chinook Ventures, a controversial petroleum coke processing plant located in Washington.

As one volunteer placed the fake cover into the display window of the newspaper box she playfully sighed, “Finally, news I can trust”.

If you can’t use the display above you can download a PDF file here. (If you can’t read PDFs, download the free Adobe Reader!)

1. the Columbia River Crossing mega-bridge of craziness and
2. Liquefied Natural Gas, as aggressively pursued by big-money energy speculators looking to destroy Oregon.

Learn more below and get involved in these issues by signing up to receive updates. Click here to join our e-mail list to hear about upcoming actions.

Sign up to attend NW Natural Shareholders Meeting: click here.

Columbia River Crossing

The CRC is an I-5 Highway expansion planned for Portland and Vancouver. Current plans for the I-5 expansion are designed to enable a 34% increase in passenger vehicle traffic at a price tag of up to $ 4 billion.

With vehicle traffic responsible for 40% of our regional global warming pollution, the Columbia River Crossing would lock us into a carbon intensive transportation policy.  Furthermore, North Portland has the highest rates of asthma in the region, with diesel particulate from I-5 the leading cause. Meanwhile, people on both sides of the Columbia River living where new feeder roads are planned are threatened with relocation and permanent damage to their communities. $3 to 4 billion would be the most expensive project in regional history. Let’s use that money to build communities we want to live in: for health care, for education, and to create permanent jobs supporting a local, sustainable economy with world class rail, buses, street cars, and bike lanes.

We need your support to stop the CRC. Our grassroots effort is entirely volunteer run! Portland Rising Tide is a founding member of the Coalition to Stop the CRC – check out www.stopthecrc.org for all the details. There you’ll find background information and information about how to get involved.

Liquefied Natural Gas

There are currently three proposals to build LNG importation terminals in Oregon, two on the Columbia River and one in Coos Bay. Each of the pipelines come with hundreds of miles of pipelines proposed, which would rip through hundreds of local farms, watersheds, state forests, and event clear-cut through Mt. Hood National Forest. LNG is very every intensive because it is natural gas that would be extracted from other countries and is condensed and shipped across the ocean. LNG is up to %30 more greenhouse gas intensive then the gas we currently use, and the is the biggest fossil fuel project on the West Coast.

Sign the petition by clicking here.

One of the biggest companies pushing the projects is NW Natural Gas, of which many of us are customers. While NW Natural aggressively pursues the Palomar Pipeline through Mt. Hood and LNG, they also spend millions of dollars on public relations building their green image.

There are a lot of opportunities to hold this corporation accountable, and participate in some fun actions. Stay updated and learn more at www.HeyNwNatural.org.

Would you like to see RTNA continue to grow and build its network of groups and individuals striking directly at the root causes of climate change? RTNA is humbly asking you, your family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues to support our grassroots efforts by putting your money where your heart is.

RTNA fills a niche in the fight for Climate Justice that is very hard to raise money for the traditional way since we advocate non-violent direct action and loudly oppose corporate power: as such your involvement in our work is essential to our success.

The donation of even a dinner out to eat a month worth of money from each person reading this would make many things Rising Tide has dreamed about for years finally possible:

What would the movement for climate justice be like if Rising Tide could provide free, on-call training and logistical support for community organizers demanding an end to fossil fuel exploration and burning in their own back yard?

A deeper commitment from our supporters to help fund our work would allow us to get great works of analysis like Hoodwinked in the Hothouse out to 100,000 instead of just 10,000 people.

We’re going to try to make donating a few dollars a month easy for you: you can use a paypal donation of $5, $10, $15, or $20 a month, by clicking this link below:

http://www.risingtidenorthamerica.org/donate/

RTNA is comprised of all-volunteer activists who often donate 30+ hours a week of their time. We  receive very little outside funding for the many projects RTNA is undertaking: often individuals utilize their own rather frugal monetary resources to support our projects.

2009 has been an exciting year for us; here is just a sample of what RTNA and its local groups have been up to:

MOST RECENTLY:

On November 30, one week before the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen open, and on the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Organization (WTO) protest in Seattle, major demonstrations, teach-ins and civil disobedience took place in cities around the U.S. and abroad.

Chicago, IL: Activists target Carbon Trading @ Chicago Climate Exchange – 12 arrested

Greensville, SC: Blockade of shipment of generator to Cliffside Coal Plant, 4 arrested

New York City, NY: Occupation of the Natural Resource Defense Council Office with James Hansen exposing their ties to industry

Plymouth, UK: Two Women lock down at Coal Financing Bank

San Francisco, CA: San Francisco Climate Justice Action at Bank of America; 200 Rally with at least 23 Arrested

Seattle WA: Lock downs at Bank of America and Chase

Whitby, ON: Sit-in for Climate Justice at Finance Minister’s Office

Baltimore, MA: Targeting Constellation Energy

Boston, MA: Rally in the rain

Burlington, VT: Rally for Climate Justice and against false solutions

Charlotte, VA: Banner drop: “Capitalism is the Crisis”

Denver, CO: Citizens ‘Die-in’ at Department of Public Health and Environment in Coal Protest

Pheonix, AZ: Banks targeted during march

Washington, DC: Downtown march targets major polluters and lobbyists

Other activities this year included:

• Distributed through print and digital downloads 10,000 copies of Hoodwinked in the Hothouse, a 20 page guide exploring the false solutions to climate change.
• Printed and distributed 5000 copies of Deal or No Deal, a 16 page newspaper examining the COP 15 climate talks in Copenhagen from an anti-capitalist, climate justice perspective.
• Launched 350 Reasons Carbon Trading Won’t Work on 350.org’s day of action. We compiled over 350 reasons carbon trading won’t work onto our website 350reasons.org and released a companion pamphlet highlighting the top 35 reasons. The project resulted in over 17,000 hits to the website in one day as well as international media attention to the problems with Carbon Trading.
• Took a lead role in support, outreach, coalition building, and organizing within the US climate justice movement, particularly in the development of Climate SOS, Beyond Talk, and the Mobilization for Climate Justice.
• Provided consistent, timely news and analysis on the carbon trading legislation in US congress, local resistance to dirty energy and direct actions from across the country and planet, and updates on the international mobilizations against Copenhagen…through our newsletter, website, social media, and participation in the blogosphere.
• Initiated and participated in Climate Justice protests at the G20 meetings in Pittsburgh.
• Helped host the West Coast Convergence for Climate Justice and Action where hundreds came together to network, build skills, and take action against Chevron’s oil refinery in Richmond, CA
• Disrupted a speech by Connie Hedegaard, chairperson of the UN climate talks in Copenhagen, to protest carbon trading and other false solutions being pursued at the COP 15 climate talks.
• Delivered our giant spoof version of the congressional climate bill to the offices of Environmental Defense, Natural Resource Defense Council, and The Nature Conservancy to protest their corporate friendly market based approaches to “solving” the climate crisis.
• RTNA Local Groups Network has grown by leaps and bounds. In the last 3 months 10 new groups have joined our network, with many more coming soon. THANKS & WELCOME to all y’all. (If your interested in starting your own group or becoming a local contact, click here!)
• The RTNA Local Group Network has also been keeping busy in 2009. Unfortunately we don’t have enough space to list all the actions taken, but here are a few to show the amazing projects folks have been up to. RT Boston took part in Bank of America & EPA Actions. RT Bay Area worked on the Mobilization for Climate Justice, the West Coast Climate Convergence and Chevron Actions galore. DC Rising Tide is working on their Pepco Campaign & participated in civil disobedience against mountaintop removal mining. Portland RT has helped build resistance to the CRC, a major highway expansion, through festive actions and rallies. Ashville RT continues in its direct action campaign against the Cliffside coal plant, resulting in over 60 arrests in the past year.

And here are some of RTNA’s exciting plans already in the works for 2010!

• Organizing Fossil Fools Day, an international day of direct action against the fossil fuel industry on April 1st 2010.
• Expanding and strengthening local Rising Tide groups and contacts across the country.
• Hosting a national convergence in Detroit next summer before the US Social Forum (USSF), and encouraging multi-issue climate organizing at the USSF.
• Printing thousands more copies of Hoodwinked in the Hothouse.
• Cross-country Rising Tide roadshow.
• More direct action around the country against fossil fuels and false solutions.
• Creating a new series of “how to guides” on grassroots organizing and direct action.

So as you may have surmised by now- RTNA NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT!!! The vital role we play in the North American climate movement could be expanded greatly if we had to spend less time worrying about how to raise $100 to print a banner or pamphlet, and more time planning great actions and making great pamphlets. We run on an incredibly small budget and a little goes a REALLY long way.

If you like RTNA’s work, we need you to support it by donating. Our hard-working, all volunteer network, would be very appreciative!

Donate on a recurring basis to Rising Tide North America by following links:

$20 / month

$15 / month

$10 / month

$5 / month

You can send checks to our central PO Box:

Rising Tide North America

P.O. Box 3928

Oakland CA 94609

Or make a one time donation or on our website: http://www.risingtidenorthamerica.org/donate/

The following is a wish list of material donations we would appreciate:

* LCD projectors

* Diesel vehicles that can run on veggie oil for tours

* Art and banner making supplies

* Free rooms or office spaces

* Computers

* Printers

* Video and still cameras/videotapes and film/camera accessories

Thank you very much for your time and consideration regarding these significant matters, we know it’s a tough time economically, and if you can’t donate please do what you can locally to support local resistance efforts in other ways!

And please forward this request far and wide!!

thanks for your support!

Rising Tide North America

“Building a bridge of such obese proportions in a city that prides itself for its environmental leadership is deeply hypocritical,” said Sarah Goforth. “If our city truly aims to create sustainable transportation options to reduce car traffic, then building a super-sized mega-bridge will only impede these efforts.”

Riders check out the current I-5 bridge during a break...

Oregonians are concerned about the climate and air-quality impacts of the CRC, the potential for forced displacement of residents in the project path, the promotion of single-passenger transportation infrastructure at a time when oil supplies are creating global conflict and prices are rising, and about funding highways while monies for public transit and many other public services is being reduced.

The CRC is designed to enable a 34% increase in individual car traffic(1). The state of Oregon has stated a goal of reducing global warming pollution to at least 75% below 1990 levels. Transportation-caused global warming pollution is responsible for 40% of all regional global warming pollution(2). Given these facts, activists believe the money should instead be invested in reducing driving through public transit, carpooling, greater support for biking and other programs.

“If we want to reduce traffic, we need more transit options that are sustainable and convenient,” said Cheryl Green, a member of the Sprockette bicycle troupe joining the protest. “TriMet, bike commuting, and carpooling can all reduce the number of individual vehicles on the road. These traffic reducing solutions should get $4 billion instead of a bridge to accommodate more traffic.”

With all involved government agencies supporting some form of traffic expansion, Oregonians opposed to the project are now turning to non-traditional tactics. Non-violent civil disobedience has long been used by both civil rights and environmental movements when options to work within the legal framework have been exhausted.

“Given our lack of political alternatives for opposition, we are embracing Portland’s rich history of civil disobedience,” said Anthony Villagomez an organizer with Portland Rising Tide. “Our futures are not for politicians to gamble away with this project.”

The I-5 freeway has long caused negative health impacts on low-income communities and communities of color along the freeway(3): increased driving will lead to further pollution. By contrast, research shows that land use and transportation plans that encourage less driving help prevent chronic diseases associated with obesity, such as diabetes and heart disease, and respiratory illness, including asthma.

Resistance to the CRC project is expanding. Portland Rising Tide has organized protest performances in front of Portland City Council Chamber and a huge banner drop on the Morrison Street Bridge in the past year. At a large Waterfront Park rally this spring, individuals from both sides of the river voiced concerns over the CRC project, and a telephone campaign has been launched to put pressure on government officials.

More photos from BikePortland.org at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bikeportland/sets/72157619786976872/show/

THANKS TO ALL THE PHOTOGRAPHERS AND VIDEOGRAPHERS!

Footnotes:
(1) http://portlandtransport.com/archives/2009/04/crc_to_survey_7.html
(2) http://www.environmentamerica.org/uploads/fL/Je/fLJe0yPMhOM4E8UuMWm05w/gw-solutions.-OR.pdf
(3) http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/332268/north_portland_has_high_pollution_levels/index.html

MEDIA COVERAGE OF THIS EVENT:

http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2009/06/15/best-weekend-ever

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/06/activists_continue_to_protest.html

http://bikeportland.org/2009/06/15/12-lane-insane-is-the-battle-cry-on-anti-crc-ride/

http://portlandtransport.com/archives/2009/06/no_crc_ride_ped.html

###

Pedalpalooza has traditionally been a place for people to celebrate Portland’s thriving bike culture. Portland Rising Tide decided to celebrate this culture by hosting a ride to inform and empower folks to resist our region’s biggest threat to bicycles and the people that love them.

WHEN: Sunday June 14th
WHERE: meet at the South end of Peninsula Park (650 N. Ainsworth)
WHEN: 3pm, ride leave promptly at 3:30 pm

The Columbia River Crossing (CRC) is a $4+ billion dollar proposed freeway expansion project along a five mile stretch of Interstate 5 between North Portland and Vancouver, WA. As conceived, the project will:

· Increase global warming pollution

· Harm people’s health, predominately those in low income neighborhoods

· Undermine our region’s vision of a sustainable economy.

· Leave us unprepared for the future, while draining $4 billion of our limited public resources.

· Create a faster corridor for Free Trade to ship products from the exploited Global South to privileged countries such as the U.S. and Canada.

The ride will stop at a number of places that may be affected by the CRC to inform folks about related environmental justice issues, about how this project ties into the Global Free Trade infrastructure plans, and how we can stop it. All while dancin’ and groovin’ to fun music throughout the ride. The ride will end at a secret action, but don’t worry it will be a fun, low-risk space for the whole family.

Download a flyer!
http://www.risingtidenorthamerica.org/cascadia/Flyer.pdf
Download handbills!
http://www.risingtidenorthamerica.org/cascadia/Quartersheets.pdf