Same-sex marriage advocacy group Basic Rights Oregon kicked off yet another iteration of its 2012 public education campaign
Monday night, November 2, with a speech by Evan Wolfson, the
executive director of the New York-based nonprofit Freedom to Marry.
“Being denied the freedom to marry reaps a real hardship for us all,”
Wolfson told a standing-room-only crowd at Portland State University,
in a speech that focused on how to convince skeptical friends, family,
and coworkers about why marriage matters for same-sex couples. SEAN
BRESLIN
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City council and the county approved Portland’s Climate Action
Plan last week, pledging to cut local greenhouse gas emissions 80
percent over the next 40 years. Angus Duncan, chair of the Oregon
Global Warming Commission, said that an 80 percent reduction in gas
emissions will not be enough to reverse climate change, but the
non-binding guidelines aim to promote energy efficiency in homes,
businesses, and transportation. “The Gordian knot has been how are we
going to pay for this,” acknowledged Mayor Sam Adams. “Right
now, Americans can go out and get a loan for a motorcycle or a power
boat, but you’ll find very little opportunity to get the financing for
a green energy retrofit for your home,” said the mayor. SARAH
MIRK