The climate crisis now demands more than one Earth Day
April 22 Earth Week Action: March for Science in White Salmon 10 am -2 pm
This is a satellite for the Washington DC march and the opening event for Earth Week here in the Columbia Gorge. We acknowledge the vitally important roll science has played in our modern society! This is a non-partisan, family friendly event, bringing our community together to celebrate science.
10 am: Procession of the Species and Science Fair
11 am: Speakers
noon: Rally and march
Venue: Rhinegarten Park in White Salmon
April 22 Earth Week Action: Beach Cleanup in Hood River 10 am-noon
Help us keep the Columbia River clean by participating in a beach cleanup. By removing litter from the banks of the Columbia, you will prevent that litter from ultimately entering the Pacific Ocean. We will provide bags, gloves, and light refreshments for everyone after the event. Saturday, April 22, 2017, at 10:00 am – 12:00 pm, meet at the Hood River Spit Parking Area downstream from the Hood River pedestrian bridge. Or in Vancouver: from 9:00 AM-12:00 PM, at Frenchman’s Bar Park 7495 NW Lower River Road, Vancouver, WA.
April 23 Earth Week Action: Spiritual Energy Gatherings
April 24 Earth Week Action: Fossil-Free Divestment 7-8:30 pm
Fossil-Free: It’s all about the money! The case for divesting from fossil fuels. Over $4.3 trillion has been divested in the global movement to curb pillars of support for the fossil fuel industry. Individuals and organizations have done so from a moral conviction that while climate change is wrong, to profit from climate change is even more reprehensible. And divesting in fossil fuels now makes good financial sense. We’ll introduce the Fossil Free movement, learn from stories of divestment campaigns, and engage with experts to help us with the “how to” questions about divesting your money from the fossil fuel business plan.
Venue: Riverside Church in Hood River
April 25 Earth Week Action: Our Role in Global Migrations 7-8:30 pm
“Why are people migrating around the world so much? And what is our role in that?” with Tina Castanares More people are moving around the world today than at any other time in history, even including the diasporas and other migrations after WW II. Most experts agree that the vast majority are “forced migrants,” meaning that they aren’t just seeking a better economic life for themselves. Rather, they must flee their homelands or move within their countries or regions to less desirable places, to escape natural disasters, climate change, wars, other violence, trafficking, religious or ethnic persecution. What are the “pulls” to new places and the “pushes” from the homeland? What roles have we in the United States played to create or augment these forced migrations? What does understanding our roles call upon us to be, as neighbors & citizens of the planet?”
Venue: Riverside Church in Hood River
April 26 Earth Week Action: The Joy of Clean Energy 6:45-8 pm
How the clean energy revolution will enhance our businesses and communities: We are in the early stages of a clean-energy revolution that is driving down the costs of all forms of energy. We will soon enjoy job creation directly from clean-energy jobs and indirectly by keeping energy spending in the state. Learn how households and companies will save money and time, even as they clean up the air. Businesses will motivate employees and improve customer perceptions as they go green. Clean-energy deployment will be paced by economic factors, including technology learning rates, payback periods as influenced by project specifics and financing options, infrastructure replacement cycles, and various government policies. You will see examples and tactics for household and business savings, and options for a comprehensive energy plan for Oregon.
Venue: Hood River Middle School Music and Science Building, 1602 May St. in Hood River
Fossil fuel transport in the Gorge and the latest from the Climate Reality Leadership Corps with Mosier Mayor Arlene Burns. Learn about the latest developments in limiting fossil fuel transport through the Pacific Northwest and Columbia Gorge. Celebrate the incredible success we have had at keeping fossil fuel projects from locating in this region. Next, listen to Mosier Mayor Arlene Burns discuss climate change using the latest slide presentation from former Vice President and climate leader Al Gore. Arlene is an entertaining speaker and just back from a one week Climate Reality Leadership training in Denver.April 28 Earth Week Action: Wine and the Art of Protest Sign Painting 5-7:30 pm
Description: Enjoy a glass of wine and fellowship with like minded climate and justice activists while you design and paint your favorite protest message onto a cardboard sign. All materials provided but if you have your own please bring them.
Venue: AniChe Cellars, 311 Oak St. in Hood River
April 29 Earth Week Action: People’s Climate and Justice March 11 am – 12:45 pm
10:00 to 11:00 am: Yoga and Earth Centered Movement, Hood River Waterfront Park Amphitheater
11:00 to 11:30 am: Opening Ceremony, with Hood River Mayor Paul Blackburn, Reverend John Boonstra, HRVHS Earth Action Club & Music
11:30 to 12:15 pm: March from Waterfront Park to the Hood River Library Lawn
12:15 to 12:45 pm: Closing Ceremony on Hood River Library Lawn, if rainy we will relocate to the Riverside Church chapel.
Climate groups are planning climate justice and social justice marches on April 29, 2017 in Washington, D.C. and all over the country. In Hood River we expect to take the signs we painted on Friday night, convene at Waterfront Park, hear speeches, and march up to downtown Hood River.
“We believe that in this moment of division, turmoil, and fear, it’s important to put forward an alternative vision that inspires and connects,” 350.org founder Jamie Henn wrote. “If we don’t put forward our own vision—of an economy built on justice and powered by clean, renewable energy—then we let fossil-fuel-soaked nationalism, xenophobia, and hatred win. We need to show that more people still believe in our shared vision for the future than in Donald Trump’s.”
The event is expected to be a “major march,” and a renewal of the vision set forth in the 400,000-strong People’s Climate March on September 21, 2014.
“That march made a huge impact, helping drive forward the Paris Climate Agreement and push President Obama to make climate action (including rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline) a priority during his last two years in office,” Henn continued.
“To change everything, we need everyone,” was the motto of the original march. “This spring,” Henn wrote, “we’re renewing that vision—to show that our movement is just as ready to fight Trump’s racism and hatred as we are the fossil fuel industry that’s poisoning our future.”