Story by Pete Shaw After last week’s election, the Portland Occupier published a column I wrote about how regardless of who won the election, the same work of organizing for a more just world faced us. Had Hillary Clinton won, she at most would likely have made slightly tepid changes, but I doubt those changes…
Story by Pete Shaw Fair trade advocates gathered outside of Oregon Senator Ron Wyden’s Lloyd Center office on April 1, demanding he not be fooled by the empty promises of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The event was part of a statewide action that saw opponents of the TPP converge on the congressional offices of Representatives…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw A resolution opposing projects in Portland, Vancouver, and the Columbia River Gorge that would increase the number of oil trains passing through the region was approved by Portland City Council on November 4 by a vote of 4-0. A second resolution which would declare the City’s opposition to the…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw “It looks like a festival out here!” That cry came from one of the 75 kayakers Wednesday evening on the Willamette River, off the shore of Cathedral Park. Over 350 people had gathered in the park in support of those kayakers and the 13 Greenpeace climbers suspended from the…
Story by Pete Shaw Despite the overwhelming number of people testifying in opposition, the Portland Planning and Sustainability commissioners voted 6-4 on April 7 to approve a zoning change that may pave the way for a propane storage and export terminal at the Port of Portland’s Terminal 6. Prior to the vote, the land upon…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw Fair trade advocates scored a major victory earlier this year when Congress failed to hand over fast track authority on trade issues to President Obama. That triumph, which currently has quashed hopes of passing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), was due to extensive and effective organizing on the part of…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw A boisterous crowd of over 100 people descended on the Northwest Headquarters of the Army Corps of Engineers on August 28 to demand an environmental and public health impact study for all four possible export coal terminal sites, as well as planned routes for the trains and barges that…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw The Lombard Overpass of the railroad cut that bisects St. John’s – from the Willamette River to the Columbia Slough – was the site of an August 18 demonstration, with over 75 activists protesting and educating people about the proposed transportation of coal through Oregon and Washington. With faces…
Story and photos Pete Shaw Three years ago I was in Haarlem, Netherlands, watching a televised debate on climate change. For a few moments I felt I had bent my balance: something was bothering me, but I could not figure out what it was. And then I realized that the debate was not about the…
By Pete Shaw Labor unions and environmentalists have sometimes been at each other’s throats. A workshop on jobs and the climate held June 20 at Musician’s Union Hall in Northeast Portland was about building common ground and strategies for the two groups to work together for some shared goals, as they did when their cooperation…
