Category: Advocacy

Rethink Waste Manager Receives Statewide Recognition
June 17, 2022
We are proud to announce that our Rethink Waste Project Program Manager, Udara Abeysekera Bickett, has been appointed by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to serve on the Rulemaking Advisory Committee to represent the diverse interests of persons and communities likely to be affected by proposed rules in the Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization […]
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ACTION ALERT: Final Push to Pass The Climate Friendly & Equitable Communities Rules
May 12, 2022
Update 6/21/22: The Land Conservation & Development Commission (LCDC) passed only temporary rules in late-May, which means we are not quite over the finish line on these rules. Despite more than 18 months of work and compromise, many opponents showed up at the last minute and pressured LCDC to take a bit more time. And […]
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Día de la Tierra 2022 Obra de Arte de Alyssia Scott
April 18, 2022
Cada año, The Environmental Center se asocia con un artista de Oregon Central para dar vida a su visión de lo que representa el Día de la Tierra. Este año, nos asociamos con Alyssia Scott, una artista de diecisiete años y miembro tribal de Warm Springs. Aquí hay un poco más sobre Alyssia y esta […]
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Earth Day 2022 Artwork by Alyssia Scott
April 8, 2022
Each year, The Environmental Center partners with a Central Oregon artist to bring to life their vision of what Earth Day represents. This year, we partnered with Alyssia Scott, a seventeen-year-old artist and Warm Springs tribal member. Here’s a little more about Alyssia and this special piece of art. I specialize in plenty of mediums […]
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Applications open! Join a community conversation to give feedback on energy expenses
April 4, 2022
Community Gathering to Give Feedback on Living Expenses Focused on Energy Expenses Para leer este información en español, vea abajo. Huong (Sherry) Tran will be facilitating two 5-7-person focus groups in early-mid May on behalf of The Environmental Center to gain the perspectives of people from communities who have traditionally not been engaged by local […]
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Electric School Bus Glossary
March 18, 2022
As we all work to electrify school buses it can be challenging to keep up with all of the acronyms and terms that get thrown around. From Kilowatt to V2G here is a start of a resource to help you navigate this transition. Glossary of Acronyms ARPA: American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Federal stimulus package […]
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A Conversation Between Dusty Diesel and Ellie Electric
We have 1,738 electric school buses (ESB’s) are currently funded, ordered, delivered or operating in the U.S. (CALSTART). But 95% of the nation’s nearly half million school buses are diesel. Lots of tension when new technology meets incumbent technology. Just for fun, let’s imagine how these buses might talk to each other in the bus yard. Ellie […]
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Funding coming available in 2022 for Electric School Buses
March 15, 2022
My ongoing mantra is that buses in general are great (they make public education possible!). I also love the people who drive them, ride them and work on them. Electric school buses (ESB’s) are especially great, because they support the health of all those people and their communities, plus the climate we all share. But, […]
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Action Alert: Support the Reach Code Bill
January 19, 2022
Urge your elected officials to support the “Reach” code” bill – Legislative Concept (LC) 39 – in Oregon’s Legislative Short Session next month! Update: This bill is now named SB 1518. Reach Code is a priority bill for The Environmental Center, Oregon Conservation Network, and many cities across the state. It will support communities like […]
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The Money Cannon for Electric School Buses
January 11, 2022
At a recent school bus conference Jackie Piero of Nuvve noted, “There is a money cannon getting ready to be shot out of Washington D.C. for electric school buses” (ESB’s)” Federal ESB funding, along with how equity and raising up disadvantaged communities should, and probably will, be central to how this funding is administered nationwide. […]
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