Our Team Represented The Environmental Center for the First Time in DC!
In September, I traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with Oregon’s congressional delegation and share what climate change looks like from our home here in Central Oregon. The timing of our trip came just as the Flat Fire burned through the region, forcing Deschutes County residents to watch daily fire updates and wonder whether their homes would make it through another season.
As the fires grew or slowed with each shift in temperature, humidity, and wind, it was impossible not to see how closely our lives are tied to the climate. These small, day-to-day changes now have outsized impacts on fire behavior, air quality, and community safety. We all understand that climate change is making fires more dangerous, but seeing it unfold in real time drove home why this work matters – and why Central Oregon’s story needs to be heard in the halls of Congress.
We joined a national coalition of climate advocates called the Climate Action Campaign from across the country to meet with lawmakers and urge them to protect and fully fund key federal climate programs. Together with our Oregon partners Oregon Environmental Council , the Oregon League of Conservation Voters, and the Sierra Club, we met with policy staff and elected officials who helped shape the direction of our nation’s climate response.
Federal agencies like the EPA, NOAA, and FEMA are critical to helping communities prepare for and recover from climate-driven disasters. We shared how these programs must remain strong and well-funded if we’re going to protect people and places on the frontlines of climate change.
This trip also marked The Environmental Center’s first time engaging at the federal level in this way and it was an important step in expanding our advocacy beyond state and local work. We brought to D.C. what we know best. And that is the lived experience of climate change and shared stories that connect policy decisions to real people, as well as our technical expertise experience in transportation electrification, building decarbonization, and waste reduction.
Policy change often begins with a story. For legislators who spend much of the year in Washington, hearing about what’s happening back home can make a world of difference. By describing what it feels like to watch a wildfire spread through your community, or how small shifts in climate patterns change our forests, rivers, and recreation, we can turn statistics into human experience.
At The Environmental Center, we’re learning that our most powerful role may be as a conduit for local voices helping translate what’s happening here into the language of federal policy.
As we look to the future, we’ll continue building relationships at every level, local, state, and federal, to ensure Central Oregon’s perspective shape bold and equitable climate solutions.
Our trip to Washington, D.C. was just the beginning. The work continues, and we’ll keep showing up, whether in Bend or on Capitol Hill, to make sure Central Oregon’s story is part of the climate conversation.
Please share your voice and get involved in our advocacy efforts by joining our advocacy alert email list https://envirocenter.org/programs/advocating-for-change/
– Neil Baunsgard
