Cascadia today: What next after OR scraps gas tax? + BC otters full of chemicals + stunning climate art exhibit in Vancouver
Good morning friends. If you haven't yet read the piece I wrote with Drew Alcoser, It's time for Cascadia Independence from the US, please take a moment. Those of us who believe it's time for Oregon and Washington to go their own way are stepping up our movement, and we need your help. This op-ed was submitted to the Seattle Times, but two years in a row they've decided to ignore our call for real conversations about autonomy for our region.
Also, I've a got shiny new feature at Cascadia Journal. All of my original essays, articles, and opinion pieces are now available in the menu Cascadia Features. If you're looking for an article you meant to read but missed it in the flood of Cascadia today news roundups, you can always find it there!
What next after OR rejected gas tax?
Oregon Capital Chronicle reports on a working group convened by Oregon governor Tina Kotek to examine priorities for the 2027 legislative session and how to salvage a state transportation plan after voters soundly rejected a gas tax at the ballot box last month. The takeaway was that it's all about poor messaging, but I'm not so sure.
Average people are being hit hard with high rent, high utilities, and yes – high gas prices. When we've organized our entire society around cars and the gasoline engine, this is the inevitable result. And predictably, the GOP and some centrist Democrats are urging Washington governor Ferguson to pause the Climate Commitment Act to lower gas prices.
Look, there is immense wealth in our region, and our tax system (especially Washington's) is extremely regressive, meaning working people pay more of their share of income than the wealthy. That needs to change.
Nch'i Wana data center energy project opposed by Yakama
Columbia Insight take a deep dive into the proposed $2 billion renewable energy project on Nch'i Wana (the Columbia River) that will disrupt Yakama Nation cultural sites and will provide energy to new data centers. The Yakama are opposed to the project and were poorly consulted. In a letter to the feds, who approved the project, they write:
“Repeating history by approving the Goldendale permit application without free, prior, and informed consent from impacted Tribes is an environmental injustice."
It doesn't matter if the project is renewable or not. Cascadia must honor its obligations to Indigenous groups who have been here since time immemorial. Any autonomous bioregion or Cascadia nation must honor existing treaties and abide by the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Period.
Fight over undercover license plate is just the start
Oregon governor Tina Kotek ordered the state government to not issue undercover license plates to ICE and other federal immigration agencies because of " “repeated violations of state and federal law." The Trump regime is suing Oregon and Washington for refusing to issue the plates. This is the way forward. Portland, meanwhile, passed a law forbidding law enforcement (including ICE) from hiding their identities behind masks. Now comes the hard part: enforce these laws. Don't make the same mistake as New Jersey: our state and local officers need to not be used against us and enforce the law. Arrest ICE agents that break this law.
BC sea otters have forever chemicals in their bodies
Ha-Shilth-Sa, the BC Indigenous news site, reports that harmful "forever chemicals" such as PFAS have been founds in the bodies of dead sea otters in British Columbia. The pervasive chemicals, found in everything from nonstick pans to fire-fighting foam, can cause health issues in humans and wildlife.
Cascadia needs to move quickly to ban and cleanup these chemicals. Predictably, the Trump regime, which brags about supposedly making the country healthy again, rolled back EPA restrictions on the cancer-causing chemicals.
A "stunning" art exhibit on living in a climate disaster
The Tyee has a lovely and detailed review by Dorothy Woodend on what is sounding like a phenomenal 35-artist show at Vancouver Art Gallery: Future Geographies: Art in the Century of Climate Change. It's an ambitious, massive exhibit with art in many genres and from artists around the world – and with a strong focus on Indigenous art and experience. This includse SANCTUARY: The Ancient Forest Experience by T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss, Damien Gillis and Olivier Leroux, which captures the Dakota Bear forest – a threatened old growth grove in BC – in virtual reality.
The exhibit runs through January 17.
Thanks for reading. Keep loving and keep fighting. --Andy
