Barbara Bernstein

The gravest risk to Portland and much of Northwestern Oregon is posed by the enormous tank farms that line the North Reach of the Willamette River. These tanks hold 90% of the fossil fuel used in the entire state of Oregon as well as other hazardous substances. When a big e... Read more

According to the fossil fuel industry, the Mountain Valley Pipeline is recognized as a critical infrastructure project, essential for our nation’s energy security and energy reliability. But for communities from West Virginia to Southern Virginia this 300 mile-long pipeline... Read more

Transportation generates the largest share of Oregon’s carbon emissions. It's one of the hardest sectors to decarbonize because it involves changing our daily lives. In order to achieve our climate goals, we need to not only drive less, but to act upon the realization that ... Read more

While Oregonians were fighting to stop the behemoth Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline and Jordan Cove LNG Terminal in Southern Oregon, communities in Virginia were facing a similar struggle to stop an even larger and longer pipeline that would have crossed the Blue Ridge Mount... Read more

Drax, a major British global manufacturer of wood pellets for bioenergy, plans to build an industrial-scale wood pellet plant in Longview, Washington.. The proposed siting of the Longview facility, along with two proposed two large biomass mills in California, would mark a ... Read more

We are at the precipice of a climate emergency. If we do not seriously begin to cut our carbon emissions now we will be entering an uncharted territory of climate chaos. But instead of accelerating the adoption of verified and trusted climate solutions, governments and indu... Read more

The Willamette River Basin once supported tremendous salmon runs. Today, less than 10,000 wild Chinook salmon return each year to the Upper Willamette River basin, approximately a 97% reduction of the historic estimates. And one of the main culprits for the threatened extin... Read more

After promising to ditch crude oil, documents show that Zenith Energy intends to expand its Portland, OR, terminal while continuing to handle fossil fuels. The amount of liquid fuels passing through the terminal is projected to increase more than 2.5 times above 2022 levels... Read more

Woody Biomass is being promoted as a carbon neutral climate solution. Proposals for industrial scale wood pellet projects are popping up in California and Washington State, that claim they will help to protect forests and benefit rural communities—as well as combat climate ... Read more

On April 1, forest defenders launched a tree sit to stop old growth logging on federal Bureau of Land Management land in Southern Oregon. They are opposing the Poor Windy timber sale, which targets thousands of acres of mature and old growth forest. The timber sale is just ... Read more