portland independent media center  
images audio video

en-vi-ron-ment
noun
1: the totality of circumstances surrounding an organism or
group of organisms, especially:

a: the complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors
(as climate, soil, and living things) that act upon an organism
or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form
and survival
b: the aggregate of social and cultural conditions that
influence the life of an individual or community -en-vi-ron-men-tal

This page is for anything pertaining to the environment.
i.e. the air, global warming, wildlife, erosion, environmental justice, permaculture, oceans, urban gardens, streams and rivers, your back yard. It goes on and on- to all areas of the earth.

"We shall never understand the natural environment until we see it as a living organism" (Paul Brooks)


environment 08-Feb-2010 09:56

Radical Botany: Skillshare - Spring plants in Cascadia - Nettles and the potherb

From the open publishing newswire: It is the time of year to begin harvesting in the wild. Spring tonic plants are available due to our warm winter weather. Also, plants used for basketry and fiber are available. Go out in the woods and connect!

here a number of native plants that are very important to health, nutrition and ecosystem support. This is the time of year to start looking for basket-making plants.

Nutritional - Medicinal

There were a number of plants that were known by First-peoples of Cascadia that helped humans survive starvation and nutritional imbalance. Know by Europeans as "Spring tonic" plants, these plants with their new shoots are full of nutrients that are helpful to our well being. For instance- stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) when picked young, can be steamed and eaten in February and March. This plant has been known to alleviate muscle pain, depression and tiredness. Because of the unusually warm weather this winter in Cascadia, I have already begun to harvest young Stinging Nettle. Stinging nettle is often found in semi-wet well drained areas. The plant is often found near Horse Tail (Equisetum arvense).

read more >>


environment | police / legal 19-Jan-2010 12:26

FOREST ADVOCATE FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST EUGENE POLICE OFFICER, CHIEF, AND CITY

BOYCOTT (ST)UMPQUA BANK From the open publishing newswire: On Thursday, January 14, Josh Schlossberg and the Civil Liberties Defense Center filed a lawsuit against Eugene Police Department Officer Bill Solesbee, Chief of Police Pete Kerns, and the City of Eugene regarding a March 13, 2009 incident where Schlossberg was falsely arrested, injured, and jailed by Eugene Police Department Officer Bill Solesbee while Schlossberg was legally distributing brochures from the edge of a public sidewalk in front of Umpqua Bank in downtown Eugene.

Link to Utube Video

read more >>


corporate dominance | environment 18-Jan-2010 14:45

Video: Bark Hike To Proposed Nestle Bottling Plant

Osbow Springs at Oxbow Fish Hatchery, Nestle Proposed Tap Source From the open publishing newswire: Currently, Nestle is proposing a new bottling plant in the town of Cascade Locks on the Columbia River, capturing the pristine water of Oxbow Springs. This video is from the January 2010 Bark Field Trip to the proposed Nestle bottling site. Hike is led by Loriann Burd of the forest advocacy group Bark and Julia DeGraw, of Food and Water Watch

Food and Water Watch Fact Sheet

24 minute Video Of Bark Hike
Sign the petition!

Article from the Bark Site

Bottling a hundred million gallons annually, Nestle is seeking to turn a profit on our most valuable public resource. There are several groups working together to support the residents of Cascade Locks who don't want a multinational bottling plant in their community; low-wage jobs or not. If you are interested in getting involved in this effort, contact amy@bark-out.org and stay tuned to Bark for upcoming actions you can take.

read more >>


environment | green scare 14-Jan-2010 06:40

Steve Murphy Update - Plea Agreement

From the open publishing newswire: Steve Murphy has plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit arson. Today [1/11/10] court documents were filed in which Steve Murphy plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit arson. The charge carries the Terrorism Enhancement. Steve is now facing 5 years in prison. The documents filed today mention an unindicted co-conspirator.

At this time, there is no reason to believe that Steve is cooperating, and he still needs your support. More information will be posted as it becomes available.

pdf of plea agreement

Steve's support site is: supportsteve.org

read more >>


animal rights | environment 07-Jan-2010 10:01

Japanese Whalers Sink the Ady Gil

Respect From the open publishing newswire: The Sea Shepherds' stealth ship, the Ady Gil, was just sunk by Japanese whalers in the Antarctic ocean.
The Ady Gil was idling near Commonwealth Bay,south of Hobart, when it was suddenly approached and intentionally rammed by the vessel Shonan Maru. This vessel had been accompanying the whaler Nisshin Maru, deployed to prevent the Sea Shepherds from interfering with the killing of whales.
The Ady Gil was cut in half, and sunk into the ocean. Thankfully, all hands were rescued from the sea.

read more >>


environment | prisons & prisoners 16-Dec-2009 18:21

Free is really FREE!

From the open publishing newswire: Eco-prisoner Jeff "Free" Luers released from prison

PORTLAND - Dec 16th, 2009 - Jeff "Free" Luers, political prisoner and environmental activist, was released from the Columbia River Correctional Institution this morning after serving nine and half years. Luers was originally sentenced in 2001 to twenty two years and eight months for the politically motivated arson of three SUV's at a car dealership in Eugene, OR. This sentence was deemed grossly disproportionate to the damage sustained by the car dealership and was condemned by legal professionals, human rights groups and activists worldwide. At an appeal hearing in 2007 it was ruled that Luers' original sentence was illegal, and was consequently reduced to ten years.

read more >>


corporate dominance | environment 14-Dec-2009 10:15

Medics targeted at Cop15 protest

From the open publishing newswire: Medics including two qualified paramedics, two Red Cross cadets and other trained first-aiders from the UK, Norway, Germany and other countries were stopped in a series of incidents in the Christianshavn area. They were searched three or four times each, photographed and held in cages at Valby temporary police station for 6 hours. Arresting units included numbers 702 and 724.

The detention (not full arrest) was under the Danish Police Act, which permits preventative detention of people thought to be 'a danger to public security' or 'likely to cause a public disturbance' (approximate translation). But police told people they had been detained specifically because they were medics, in order to stop them providing first aid at demos.

One group of seven was initially told they would be released after being searched, but the police unit commander then received orders from his superior to detain the group.

For more info on the COP15 read

COP15: Climate Storm Inside Bella Ctr: "We Will Not Die Quietly"

Klimakonferenz Kopenhagen - COP 15

Report From Cop-enhagen

Call Out For International Solidarity In Support Of Climate Justice

COP15 prisoners riot in "climate jail"

Climate Justice Activists on Water-Only Fast in Copenhagen; Protest Inaction on Global War"

read more >>


actions & protests | alternative media | corporate dominance | economic justice | environment | legacies 08-Dec-2009 15:59

Seattle Inter-praxis

From the open publishing newswire: In the back of a truck on a rainy winter day we pull off I-5 into Seattle. High in the distance a banner hangs from a crane building condos. WTO this way, Democracy that. A guy holding incense flashes a victory sign greets cars as they go into downtown. We find our friends, the house we would be staying in for the week of the convention. This house near downtown became our trenches. We ate from cans of beans with pocket knives.
I was here to take pictures. I had been part of demonstrations in the months leading up to the WTO. I had captured images on film with an old Nikon-F that my father had given me. On our first night, we plastered a Starbucks with political posters. These protest posters were tokens of the revolution. This was before 9-11 so things felt hopeful. Environmental activists and Union activists coming together in unity, in solidarity.

read more >>


corporate dominance | economic justice | environment | indigenous issues 08-Dec-2009 15:50

An Educational Event With the Olympic Resistance Network

From the open publishing newswire: The Olympic Resistance Network will be in Portland to teach about the devastating legacy and impacts of the Olympics as well as describe the state of movement that is building militant resistance to the Five Ring Circus. Come learn how we in Portland can stand in solidarity with our neighbors to the north! The 2010 Winter Olympics will take place on unceded indigenous land in the Coast Salish Territories. Far from being simply about 'sport', the history of the Olympics is one rooted in displacement, corporate greed, fascism, repression, and violence. Those with the most to gain from the Olympics are the political and corporate elite - from real estate developers to private security corporations.

For more info: www.No2010.com, www.OlympicResistance.net, http://cascadiaconvergencenetwork.wordpress.com/

Related Article: Olympic Resistance Network Speaker Prevented From Speaking Out in Portland

read more >>


actions & protests | energy & nuclear | environment 07-Dec-2009 16:19

Protect public land: Tell NW Natural No Palomar Pipeline for LNG

Steve on the land he works. From the open publishing newswire: The new Hey NW Natural Campaign is uniting gas customers with farmers to hold NW Natural accountable and protect our public lands. Over 1500 private landowners, two state forests and Mt. Hood National Forest are threatened by the pipeline. You can take action to protect Oregon farmers and public land.
Oregon gas giant, NW Natural, was recently forced by federal court to release the list of names of the 1500 Oregonian's whose land is threatened to be condemned for a right-of-way for the Palomar gas pipeline. Steve Wick was one of these names - Steve is an old time Oregonian who raises filberts and hopes to start raising grapes -- but now his plans are put on hold because of the threat of the pipeline.
He is not alone. This project poses an imminent threat to the land and livelihood of everyone on that list, at the direct hand of fossil fuel expansion and the desire for corporate profit. The 1500 named landowners along the pipeline route are not the only people impacted by the pipeline.

Related Article: Oregon Landowners Deliver Petition to NW Natural

read more >>


actions & protests | corporate dominance | environment | labor 07-Dec-2009 15:55

Audio and Photographs from D5

From the open publishing newswire: The D5 event was enthusiastic and well attended, with information tables, creative signs, puppets, music and theater. I'd say about 700 people met underneath the Hawthorne bridge to get acquainted and prepare the march to PSU.

Along the way there was a tug of war between the people and the wealthy at the Federal building, and at Hoffman Hall, wealthy men with cigars collected money and stuffed it into their pockets, dolling out pennies to the people.

At the Hall, various speakers addressed issues within the theme of Fair Trade. Speakers at the Rally were: Lori Wallach (Global Trade Watch), Francisco Lopez (CAUSA Oregon), Barbara Byrd (Oregon Apollo Alliance), Brent Foster (Oregon Department of Justice), Ken Allen (Oregon AFSCME). The gathering was also entertained by musical acts Jim Page and Dr. Atomic's Medicine Show.

All praised the victory over the World Trade Organization (WTO)and the corporate Free Trade Agenda in Seattle in late 1999. But, Lori Wallach, Director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch division, went further, saying that stopping the WTO, in Seattle and other places, is only the first step. The next and most important step would be "to turn it around."



Related Article: WTO History Project


Related Article: Video from the D5 Event


Related Article: More Pictures from the D5 Event

read more >>


actions & protests | corporate dominance | environment | labor 07-Dec-2009 15:52

Seattle N30 Commerative Rally at Westlake Park

From the open publishing newswire: I was there for the Peoples Summit in Seattle last weekend. I made a camcorder journey of the rally on Monday, November 30th. I'd say a couple hundred people showed up to protest and commemorate the 10 year anniversary of The Battle in Seattle. Two people were arrested in a lock down, A contingent of people went to their congressman and protest Fair Trade agreements. Another group went to a Seattle employer and protested the firing of immigrant workers. Speeches were made as well as theater. The Yes Men were present as well. I made a 26 minute video of that rally.

read more >>


actions & protests | corporate dominance | environment 01-Dec-2009 23:24

Reports pouring in from n30 day of climate justice action! Compilation here!

From the open publishing newswire: Today, on November 30, one week before the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen open, and on the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Organization (WTO) protest in Seattle in 1999, major demonstrations, teach-ins and civil disobedience are taking place in cities around North America.

read more >>


more features >>

open publishing newswire

publish

newswire archive >>