Dear John,

Later this week, our state lawmakers will meet to discuss state business. As drought and wildfires continue to plague our state, there isn’t a better time for us to be loud, use our voices, and remind them to make justice-centered climate action a statewide priority.

The buildings we live in, work in, and send our kids to learn in are an often overlooked major contributor to climate change — in fact, buildings are the second largest source of greenhouse gas pollution in our state. What’s more, the majority of Oregon homes and buildings are currently unprepared to protect us from climate change’s ever-worsening effects. We must urge our lawmakers to take action towards Oregon’s transition to clean, healthy, and climate-resilient buildings as swiftly and equitably as possible. [[link removed]]

Buildings contribute to climate change in a variety of ways, yet among the most pervasive and harmful ways they pollute is through the burning of methane gas – a dangerous fossil fuel that the industry markets as “natural” gas – to power and fuel our homes. Combusting methane in buildings releases toxic chemicals indoors, including carcinogens that drastically increase the risk of debilitating health conditions affecting the heart and lungs, often leading to asthma.

A dire consequence of burning methane for our heaters and stoves is that children are the most susceptible demographic to suffer from the health impacts of its indoor pollution. Further, low income and Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) communities are at higher-risk of developing adverse health conditions from higher levels of building-sourced fossil fuel pollution. We need our lawmakers to treat this like the public health and climate crises that they are by asking them to prioritize clean, healthy buildings. [[link removed]]

It is paramount that our state transitions to use energy-efficient heat pumps to heat and cool our homes and buildings, build smart from the start with better building standards, and create high quality local jobs upgrading existing buildings to be more efficient, resilient, and healthy.

Only positive outcomes can come from making new and existing buildings more energy efficient, durable to climate change, and safer for their inhabitants. The transition will create jobs that cannot be outsourced, lower people’s energy bills, and improve the indoor air quality for thousands of Oregonians. Investing in clean and healthy buildings across our state should be a no-brainer for our lawmakers, so will you send them a message while they’re meeting to let them know that Oregon’s people are calling for safer, healthier, clean-energy-fueled buildings that can endure the changes in our state’s climate? [[link removed]]

Thank you,

Julia DeGraw
Coalition Director, OLCV
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Oregon League of Conservation Voters
321 SW 4th Ave Ste 600
Portland, OR 97204
United States

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