Environment

When Mayor Ted Wheeler reassigned the Bureau of Development Services (BDS) to Commissioner Carmen Rubio at the beginning of the month, climate activists in Portland had cause for hope.  The city commissioner in charge of BDS is responsible for the city’s decision about whether to grant a land use permit to the oil transport company […]

Twenty community and environmental groups are calling on Portland leaders to rescind the land use permit granted to oil transporter Zenith Energy in October, due to the city neglecting to collect public feedback on the decision. The city contends that public engagement was not necessary when evaluating Zenith’s permit application. “For years, thousands of community […]

Eager to see progress on Portland’s climate goals, environmental advocates are urging Portland’s Charter Review Commission to propose a charter amendment that would oppose the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure in the city. Advocates believe the ongoing charter review process is an opportunity to strengthen Portland’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint and advance its […]

Despite committing to a climate policy that prohibits the use of fossil fuels in new buildings earlier this year, Portland Public Schools’s (PPS) latest building remodel includes a fossil fuel-powered heating system. School district officials attribute the fossil fuel infrastructure to construction timelines and budget restrictions, while advocates who helped shape the climate policy believe […]

Portland City Council considered possible structural code changes to the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) Wednesday following years of criticism of the first-of-its-kind program. While the changes aim to align the fund more closely with the city’s climate goals, members of the public and some PCEF supporters raised concerns that the proposed amendments to the […]

The city of Portland granted a land use permit to oil transporter Zenith Energy Monday, paving the way for the company to continue operating its Northwest Portland facility—with conditions. The approval may lead to the end of Zenith’s ongoing legal battle with the city over a previous denial of the permit. In August 2021, the […]

After more than a year of back and forth legal challenges, oil transporter Zenith Energy has extended a compromise to the city of Portland: if the city approves a land permit for Zenith’s Northwest Portland facility, Zenith will replace all of its crude oil operations with renewable fuels within five years. On the surface, the […]

The Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) could soon be distributing large amounts of its yearly grant funding to government agencies and for-profit businesses along with community-based nonprofits, according to proposed program changes introduced by Portland City Commissioner Carmen Rubio Thursday. PCEF supporters believe the proposed changes maintain the integrity of the program’s mission while being […]

One year ago, the city of Portland took an unprecedented step to stop operations at Zenith Energy by denying the oil transporter a permit required to continue running its Northwest Portland facility. The action, while celebrated by environmental activists who had been urging the city to shut down the facility for years, immediately triggered a lawsuit […]

The Portland City Council approved the city’s Climate Emergency Workplan Wednesday, which guides Portland’s action against climate change for the next three years. While the plan was praised by some environmental organizations and leaders in the city, critics argue that the plan is just aspirational words without concrete metrics. “The low hanging fruit is gone,” […]

During the unprecedented deadly heat wave in June 2021, overheating Portlanders languished in the stifling temperatures for up to 90 minutes as they waited for a taxi or an Uber to take them to an emergency cooling shelter. This year, during the record-breaking weeklong heat wave in late July, over 200 people requesting a ride […]