Climate Convergence 2008 Targets Columbia River Crossing, Plans Civil Disobedience in Portland
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 29, 2008
10:53 AM
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CONTACT: Climate Convergence 2008
Brian Sloan
(971) 533-7483 / mediawest@climateconvergence.org |
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Climate Convergence Targets Columbia River Crossing, Plans Civil Disobedience in Portland
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PORTLAND, Oregon - July 29 -
What: The 2nd Annual West Coast Convergence for Climate Action “Day of Action”. The protest begins with a rally in downtown Portland. The day follows a week of skills trainings and sustainability demonstrations in Coburg, Oregon. The action in Portland is concurrent with other acts of civil disobedience elsewhere in Oregon which have not yet been made public.
When: 1 pm on Monday August 4th, 2008.
Where: Waterfront Park in downtown Portland, just north of the Hawthorne bridge.
Who: The Convergence for Climate Action is organizing the protest.
Why: The rally and action intends to draw attention to the proposed Interstate 5 expansion and Columbia River Crossing (CRC) project. Oregonians are concerned about the climate impacts of the project as well as the reliance on oil-based transportation infrastructure at time when oil supplies are falling and prices are rising dramatically.
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.
Background: The Climate Convergence brings together rural and urban communities impacted by the fossil fuel and timber industry from across the west coast to strategize for a livable climate future, and a rapid, just transition away from fossil fuels. The event is part skills training and part sustainability demonstration, and ends with one or more non-violent direct actions.
Last year’s west coast convergence ended with an eighty-person occupation of a proposed LNG terminal site in Bradwood, OR and a blockade of Pacific Power’s headquarters in Portland, OR.
West Coast Convergence for Climate Action is part of an international network of climate “camps” which began in the summer of 2005. Seven climate focused convergences are taking place throughout July and August in Oregon, New York, Virginia, Quebec, the UK, Australia, and Germany.
On July 13th at Australia’s climate camp, over a thousand people peacefully halted all rail transit of coal in Newcastle, Australia in a daring daylight blockade that cost the industry an estimated $1.2 million. During the course of the event the industry lost an estimated $1.2 million and exports were reduced by 18% .
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