Oregon – Page 2 – Desdemona Despair

Residents rest at a cooling center during a heat wave in Portland, Oregon on 28 June 2021. Photo: Maranie Staab / Bloomberg

July 3, 2021

Climate change in the U.S. has gotten deadly, and it will get worse – “The suffering here and now is because we have not heeded the warnings sufficiently”

By Sarah Kaplan 3 July 2021 PORTLAND, Oregon (The Washington Post) – The emergency department at Oregon Health Sciences University had rarely been this busy, even during the worst stages of the covid-19 pandemic. Physicians raced to provide fluids to patients who arrived breathless, dizzy, and drenched in sweat. Others were brought in on stretchers, […]

Satellite view of the Northridge Terrace neighborhood in Phoenix, Oregon before and after wildfire, 10 September 2020. Photo: Maxar Technologies

September 12, 2020

Satellite images show Phoenix and Talent, Oregon, have been “substantially destroyed” by wildfire – “This could be the greatest loss of human lives and property due to wildfire in our state’s history”

By Paul P. Murphy 10 September 2020 (CNN) – Swaths of the small southern Oregon cities of Phoenix and Talent now lie in ash, satellite images show, as wildfires wage unprecedented destruction across the US West. A massive burn scar cuts through parts of Talent and Phoenix, home to about 11,000 people combined. The wounded terrain, seen […]

Oregon state Senate President Peter Courtney pauses after declaring in the state Senate on Tuesday, 25 February 2020, that amid a boycott by Republican senators, not enough lawmakers were present to reach a quorum. The drastic move by Republicans in Oregon highlights how pitched the debate over how to respond to global warming is becoming, with the GOP saying leaving the Capitol was the only way to halt legislation they view as too extreme in a Legislature dominated by Democrats. Democrats warn that doing nothing at this point is too dangerous. In an interview with The Associated Press, Courtney, the longest-serving legislator in Oregon history, said he has not found a way out of the impasse and is broken hearted. Photo: Andrew Selsky / AP Photo

February 26, 2020

Republican lawmakers walk out after Oregon climate bill advances

By Andrew Selsky 25 February 2020 SALEM, Oregon (AP) – A rebellion by GOP politicians in liberal Oregon intensified Tuesday when Republican members of the House joined their Senate counterparts in a walkout, freezing legislation on climate change, wildfire mitigation, homeless assistance and a landmark compromise between the timber industry and environmentalists. [cf. last year’s […]

Difference in water cycle intensity in the U.S., 1945-2014. Data: data from Huntington, Thomas, et al., 2018 / Journal of Hydrology. Graphic: Lauren Dauphin / NASA Earth Observatory

July 28, 2019

Water cycle speeding up over much of U.S. – “As the planet warms, we anticipate that the warmer air, which holds more moisture, will lead to more evaporation and precipitation”

By Kasha Patel 26 July 2019 (NASA) – Water is everywhere on Earth, and it is a unique molecule that is critical for life. Where, when, and how it moves—the water cycle—is equally critical. Water falls over Earth’s surface as rain, snow, or ice. From there, it evaporates and returns to the atmosphere; seeps into […]

A TV reporter interviews self-employed logger Bridger Hasbrouck, of Dallas, Oregon, outside the Oregon State House in Salem, Oregon, on Thursday, 20 June 2019, the day the Senate is scheduled to take up a bill that would create the nation's second cap-and-trade program to curb carbon emissions. Senate Republicans, however, walked out so there wouldn't be enough lawmakers present for a vote on House Bill 2020, which is extremely unpopular among loggers, truckers and many rural voters. Photo: Gillian Flaccus / AP Photo

June 29, 2019

The insanity in Oregon over climate legislation is a glimpse of our very dark future – People with guns block carbon market bill with threats of violence

By Charles P. Pierce 24 June 2019 (Esquire) – In these times, everything looks like an ill omen. The capitol is crowded with crows. But it is not an exaggeration to say that if you’re not following the ongoing insanity in Oregon, you are missing a look into a very dark future. It begins with […]

A truck moves around the Oregon state Capitol during a protest against climate bills that truckers say will put them out of business, in Salem, Oregon on 12 June 2019. Photo: Sarah Zimmerman / AP Photo

June 22, 2019

Threats from militia groups shut down Oregon capitol a day after GOP lawmakers fled over climate bill: “safety of legislators, staff, and citizen visitors could be compromised”

By Nicole Einbinder 22 June 2019 (Insider) – Oregon lawmakers have shut down the state capitol after receiving threats from militia groups who are vowing to protect Republican senators who bolted earlier this week to prevent the passage of climate change legislation. Conflict first arose on Thursday when 11 GOP senators went into hiding to block the […]

Student leaders with the lobbying group Renew Oregon, which helped craft landmark climate change legislation currently under debate in Oregon, pose to show their T-shirts after a news conference in Salem, Oregon, on 20 June 2019. Minority Republican senators walked out Thursday to block a vote on the proposal, which would be the second of its kind in the nation. That prompted Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, to activate the state police to bring absentee senators back against their will. Photo: Gillian Flaccus / AP Photo

June 21, 2019

Oregon governor sends police after Republican senators who fled Capitol over climate legislation

By Sarah Zimmerman and Gillian Flaccus 20 June 2019 SALEM, Oregon (Associated Press) – Republican senators in Oregon engaged in a high-stakes game of brinksmanship Friday with Democratic lawmakers and prepared to remain absent from the Capitol for a second day to block a vote on a landmark climate plan that would be the second […]