350 Salem OR is a grassroots organization taking local action for a stable climate and sustainable planet.
350 Salem offers recommendations regarding the new Salem CAP.
Salem is moving forward with its Climate Action Plan and a new subcommittee will make recommendations on strategies for early implementation of the plan. Speaking for 350 Salem OR, Laurie Dougherty submitted comments recommending changes in the make-up of the CAP subcommittee.
She also urged the CAP subcommittee to align current development patterns with city climate goals. Development is ongoing and results in infrastructure that lasts for decades, so these actions need to begin as soon as possible. Read our recommendations.
Join Tom Ellis on 350 Salem’s radio program, The Elephant in the Room as he interviews Heather Dimke, newly appointed manager of Salem’s Climate Action Subcommittee. Dimke talks about how the city’s first Climate Action Plan will be implemented.
Support the Salem Bike Vision!
We hope you’ll support the Salem Bike Vision being promoted by City Councilor Virginia Stapleton, Cherriots Board Chair Ian Davidson, and Salem Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Vice-President Dylan McDowell.
Funding a connected network of buffered bike lanes throughout Salem is one of the best things we could do to get people out of their cars and reduce emissions to meet our climate goal of Net Zero by 2050. You’ll recall that cars and trucks produce more than half of Salem’s emissions. Let’s do this! LEARN MORE
Take action on old growth forests!
President Biden recently signed an Executive Order on Strengthening the Nation’s Forests, Communities and Local Economies, an important step in recognizing the importance of mature and old-growth forests in mitigating the climate crisis. The order directs federal agencies to inventory remaining old-growth forests on lands managed by both the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). But the order fails to protect these last remaining mature and old-growth forests while this inventory is conducted, and ignores the threat posed by logging.
Take Action: Tell President Biden that U.S. climate strategy should protect older forests!
Heavy metal concentrations are higher near Covanta incinerator, study says.
A new study of pollutants found near the Covanta Marion garbage incinerator shows elevated levels of heavy metals near the facility, located just north of Salem.
350 Salem OR is working with other environmental and health organizations to shut down the incinerator. Covanta is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Marion County, and a significant health hazard for vulnerable communities. Watch this website for ways you can be involved.
Take a walk with us!
Join 350 activists and friends with “Just Walk Salem Keizer” for friendship and exercise on Wednesday morning walks. Participants meet at 9 a.m. at the mobile sculpture on the west side of the Cherriots Bus Station, on High Street. Walks to Riverfront Park usually bring sightings of heron, osprey, ducks, geese and hawks, and sometimes deer.
Climate Science Basics: just the facts …
Fifty years from now people will likely look back on this era through the lens of having seen catastrophic climate changes that we cannot even imagine. Our legacy will depend on the level of moral courage we display in this difficult challenge.
350 Salem OR Co-coordinator Phil Carver