A Movement Education Course for Activists, Organizers, and Policy makers

Facilitator: Nick Caleb, J.D., LL.M. Climate and Energy Attorney, Breach Collective
Dates: April 24, May 1, 8, 15, 22, & 29 (2024)
Time: 5:30-7:30 PM PST. 
Place: The Rebuilding Center, 3625 N Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR 97227
& Zoom (registration link) 
& Discord Server (invite link)

Course Description: The Green New Deal is a huge, generational idea still waiting to find full expression in political spaces, policy, law, and collective action. We believe that a Green New Deal must be based on principles of racial, gender, worker, international, and intergenerational justice. The Green New Deal must also create new institutions that embody these principles, transform existing institutions that could still be useful, and transition away from those that are impediments to a just future. To that end, we have put together a free course to discuss the prospects of a Green New Deal for Portland, Oregon, and to empower Portland residents to shape the future of the city.

April 24 - Our Present Moment

Co-Facilitated by Richa Poudyal, freelance facilitator and climate justice practitioner - formerly affiliated with APANO and the Oregon Just Transition Alliance

Recommended Readings & Resources

Ajay Singh Chaudhary, We’re Not in This Together: There is no universal politics of climate change, The Baffler (April 2020). Link: https://tinyurl.com/3s9u7dnv

Marlene Cimons, The Making of the ‘Thin Green Line’, OPB (April 24, 2020). Link: https://to.pbs.org/3CTZrlg

Samuel Bazzi, et al., “Rugged individualism” and the collective (in)action during the COVID-19 pandemic, Journal of Public Economics (March 2021). Link: Bazzi, et al., Rugged individualism and collective (in)action during the COVI-19 pandemic.pdf

William Boyd, Who Will Own the Clean Energy Future?, Legal Planet (June 7, 2021). Link: https://tinyurl.com/3m72pp98

Michael J. Coren, The US oil industry is flailing despite a $10 billion pandemic lifeline, Quartz (Nov. 23, 2020). Link: https://tinyurl.com/59cua8d5

May 1 - Green New Deal Economics 

Co-Facilitated by Mitch Green, PhD., energy economist

Recommended Readings & Resources

(Skim) Yeva Nersisyan & L. Randall Wray, How to Pay for the Green New Deal, Levy Economics Institute of Bard College (May 2019). Link: https://tinyurl.com/bdhkx3vy

Brett Christophers, We are taking a devastating risk with the green energy sector - one that might cost us our future, The Guardian (Feb. 27, 2024). Link: https://tinyurl.com/yc26jupe

Yakov Feygin & Nils Gilman, The Designer Economy, NOEMA (Jan. 19, 2023). Link: https://tinyurl.com/3u89uj92

Dr. Nancy Folbre, An Economist’s View on the Care Economy, U.S. Department of Labor Blog (Aug. 21, 2021). Link: https://tinyurl.com/5n8k75az

Kohei Saito, Degrowth as the Imperative in the Age of the Polycrisis, Georgetown University Global Dialogues (March 6, 2024). Link: https://tinyurl.com/3z9dhxk9

Alessio Terzi, Degrowth Is a Dead End, Project Syndicate (March 6, 2024). Link: https://tinyurl.com/yffscscc

May 8 - Green New Deal Policy - Pt. 1

Co-Facilitated by Sam Diaz, Executive Director of 1000 Friends of Oregon

Recommended Readings & Resources

Joan Fitzgerald, Funding Urban Climate Justice, Planetizen (June 7, 2022). Link: https://tinyurl.com/8uax3kuf

Nick Caleb, et al., Regulating Natural Gas in Oregon Buildings: A Guide for Local Governments, Green Energy Institute and Breach Collective (2023), p. 3-6. Link: https://tinyurl.com/4jfjb24b

Breach Collective letter to Portland City Charter Commission (Nov. 21, 2022). Link: Breach Letter to Portland Charter Commission (Nov. 21, 2022).pdf

Michael Gerrard, et al., Global Climate Change and U.S. Law (3d. ed. 2023), ch. 12. Link: Miachel Gerrard, et al., Global Climate Change and US Law (3d ed) ch. 12 (2023).pdf

Model Legislation, Green New Deal Network. Link: https://greennewdealnetwork.org/green-new-deal/model-legislation/

May 15 - Green New Deal Policy - Pt. 2 (remote only)

Recommended Readings & Resources

The Risks and Rewards of Portland’s Clean Energy Fund, CivicWell (July 22, 2022). Link: https://tinyurl.com/3ak938cj

Nadja Popovich and Brad Plumer, Can Portland Be a Climate Leader Without Reducing Driving?, New York Times (April 21, 2022). Link: https://tinyurl.com/44czwrpr

Gosia Wozniacka, Portland’s fuel terminal ban spurs suit by Montana, fuel industry groups, The Oregonian (Feb. 16, 2023). Link: https://tinyurl.com/yck2t4wa

Jeremiah Hayden, Land Use Board of Appeals upholds Portland’s right to limit fossil fuel storage, Street Roots (Oct. 26, 2023). Link: https://tinyurl.com/2tevwj9a

Nick Cunningham, Portland City Government Compromised with Oil Industry in Private, Documents Suggest, DeSmog (Aug. 23, 2023), Link: https://tinyurl.com/4abvypkr

May 22 - Organizing and Building Power

Co-Facilitated by Damon Motz-Storey, Executive Director of the Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club

Recommended Readings & Resources

Emma Marris, Worried About the Climate? Join the Club – Literally, The New Republic (July 19, 2022). Link: https://bit.ly/3RnnbCl

Katie Myers, In 2023, organized labor became core to the climate movement, Grist (Dec. 20, 2023). Link: https://tinyurl.com/4c6y4hx3

Ramona DeNies, Who Killed Jordan Cove?, Portland Monthly (May 31, 2023). Link: https://tinyurl.com/3dkj8r5x

Lawrence Wang, In New York State, Socialists Have Won a Landmark Victory for Green Jobs and Clean Public Power, Jacobin (July 9, 2023). Link: https://tinyurl.com/5n6jwb68

May 29 - Into the Future

Co-Facilitated by Aaron Brown, Transportation Policy Director for Oregon Representative Khanh Pham

Recommended Readings & Resources

Ajay Singh Chaudhary, Sick and Tired, The Baffler (Jan. 16, 2024). Link: https://tinyurl.com/4vvv8sck