Legislature

Will Oregon be the first to ban the bag?

by: Toby Van Fleet | 09.02.10 10:37 am

Plastic bags: The facts

The word is out. Single-use plastic bags represent one of the greatest environmental catastrophes of our generation. An estimated 60 to 80 percent of all debris in the ocean is plastic. Plastics take hundreds of years to break down at sea and most types never truly biodegrade. As a result, marine animals often get entangled in the debris or mistake it for food.

With Morse named to "Dirty Dozen" list, Rayfield is the clear choice for voters

by: Katy Daily | 08.30.10 1:35 pm

Today, Oregon State Senator Frank Morse, who represents Albany and Corvallis, made the national League of Conservation Voters’ inaugural state-level “Dirty Dozen” list, a list of12 of the most anti-environment candidates in the country running for state office. Senator Morse won out over hundreds of candidates submitted from state leagues across the

Report From the Road: Across the state, Oregonians express strong support for a clean energy economy

by: Jon Isaacs | 08.10.10 1:17 pm

Over the past 10 days, I have facilitated community discussions about environmental problems in Bend, Ashland, Salem and Gladstone (I'm pictured here at a conversation in Salem with Rep.

Oregon can't wait for federal action on energy

by: Meredith Shield | 07.26.10 12:59 pm

Climate change: Federal legislation falls apart

How Salem can save taxpayer dollars and protect the environment at the same time

by: Meredith Shield | 07.09.10 11:47 am

As summer is upon us, the Oregon Conservation Network, Oregon’s Largest Environmental Coalition, is in the process of choosing its “Priorities for a Healthy Oregon” for the 2011 session. As we make these decisions, we are all very aware of the tough choices Oregon is facing, and looking for innovative solutions to help the State meet its budget challenges and protect Oregon’s environment.

Chance of sunshine in a dark economic forecast

by: Meredith Shield | 07.01.10 10:37 am

The doom: Oregon is facing tough challenges

As we all know, Oregon is in the middle of a budget crisis.

In May, the Office of Economic Analysis issued a revenue forecast for the state General Fund that showed a sharp drop in the money available to fund state programs that support our natural resources, as well as critical services like healthcare and schools. State officials predict a deficit of $577 million for the current 2009-11 biennium, which ends next June.

Behind the scenes: Energy and climate in DC

by: Meredith Shield | 06.13.10 11:05 am

State leagues lobby for federal clean energy/climate bill

Last week, I attended the national League of Conservation Voters' (LCV) annual Lobby Day as well as LCV's 40th Anniversary Dinner in Washington DC. As always, spending time in Washington DC was truly wonderful. It is a beautiful city with a ton of political energy. For political and policy wonks like me, this is one of my favorite places to spend time.

Disaster in the Gulf

by: Andy Maggi | 04.30.10 4:08 pm

You no doubt know by now that this nation is facing one of the worst environmental disaters in our history.

An oil platform in the the Gulf of Mexico exploded and then sank, creating a disaterous oil leak. If not for an election in a few weeks here in Oregon, I would probably be writing about it daily. Instead, I have been doing my best to track the story and now have a moment to reflect on what it means for the Gulf Coast and Oregon.

Video: OLCV Heroes

by: Toby Van Fleet | 04.28.10 7:04 pm

Who we elect matters

Check out this great video, created by our friends at Compass Media, highlighting Oregon's environmental champions and the incredible environmental safeguards they have helped to secure that help preserve Oregon's unique quality of life. This video was unveiled at OLCV's 13th Annual Dinner for the Environment on April 23, 2010. More than 1,100 guests attended.