The carbon pollution in our atmosphere from burning fossil fuels like oil and coal is waging a direct and unchecked assault on our farming, fishing and forests – the cornerstones of Oregon’s rural economy.
When Jeff was young, his dad worked as a millwright. He spent his childhood in Southern Oregon timber communities, where timber jobs were what put food on the table and kept roofs over folks’ head. Fires and insect infestations are already killing trees at alarming rates across the Northwest, and climate change will only make these threats to our forests worse. Other iconic Oregon industries like our coastal oyster hatcheries are threatened by ocean acidification, and fishing and farming alike are facing threats from declining snowpacks and increased drought.
Congress needs to wake up. Climate change is real, and it’s bad for our economy and jobs, especially in rural Oregon and the places that most depend on our abundant natural resources.
Merkley: Take Climate Impacts into Consideration when Reviewing New Fossil Gas Infrastructure Projects
Senator Applauds Administration Delaying CP2 approval to Analyze Climate Impacts; Calls for Greater Voice in Decision Making Process Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley applauded the Biden administration for pausing approval of Calcasieu Pass (CP2) in Louisiana, while the Department of Energy takes a greater look at the process
Merkley, Wyden: City of Ashland Will Use $10 Million for Energy Efficiency Improvements
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced the City of Ashland has received a $10 million loan from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Rural Energy Savings Program to help finance a relending program in the city for qualified consumers who will implement energy efficiency
Merkley Applauds Biden Administration Action on His Wildfire Smoke Preparedness Program
Washington, D.C. – In light of the U.S. Environment Protection Agency’s (EPA) announcement to invest nearly $11 million dollars in community wildfire smoke preparedness programs, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley applauded the Biden administration’s action to follow through with federal support for the Wildfire Smoke Preparedness in Community Buildings program,
Merkley, Wyden, Blumenauer, Bonamici, Hoyle, Salinas: $10 Million Heading to Oregon to Boost EV Infrastructure
Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along with U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Val Hoyle (D-04), and Andrea Salinas (OR-06), announced $10 million coming to the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to replace or repair electric vehicle (EV) chargers. These federal
Merkley, Grijalva, Colleagues Call to Center Environmental Justice and Climate Impacts of The Dakota Access Pipeline; Increase Transparency and Tribal Consultation in Final Environmental Impact Statement
Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Representative Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ-07) led colleagues in a bicameral letter to the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE or Corps) expressing their concerns with the agency’s climate analysis in the court-ordered Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Dakota Access Pipeline
Merkley, Colleagues: Seafood Import Monitoring Program Must Be Expanded, No More Misrepresenting Consumer Products
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley led a bipartisan group of Senators in sounding concern about the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) recent decision to withdraw proposed rules expanding the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP)—a program designed to address Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. The Senators’
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