News Feeds

One Nation's Pauline Hanson has been picked to open one of Australia's biggest farm shows next month, drawing criticism that she will shift attention from agriculture to "political controversy."

The post Old Henty farm show ploughs on despite worry Hanson’s opening act will steer debate into climate-denying rut appeared first on Renew Economy.

Soaring commodity prices have bolstered the profits of Australia's largest oil and gas producer, as it walks away from some of its emissions investment targets.

The post Australia’s biggest oil and gas company abandons clean energy plans after cashing in on global fuel crisis appeared first on Renew Economy.

State regulator suspends another company from participating in energy upgrades subsidy after it was allegedly caught out submitting doctored photos and falsified customer details.

The post Fake photos, fraudulent claims: Regulator suspends another company from energy upgrades scheme appeared first on Renew Economy.

The fight may not be over yet as woman leading the campaign against the Marinus-linked project looks next to the Supreme Court.

The post Network to charge ahead after winning latest legal wrangle over contested Marinus project appeared first on Renew Economy.

New guide launched guide to help farmers and regional businesses assess power and electric options in face of rising bills, soaring diesel prices and supply issues.

The post From pumps to power systems: Guide launched to help farmers go electric and assess renewable and storage appeared first on Renew Economy.

AFSA and partners launch a three-day gathering to advance agroecology, food sovereignty, biodiversity and climate justice across the Congo Basin

Yaoundé, Cameroon — 25 August 2026 — The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), together with the Concertation Nationale des Organisations Paysannes au Cameroun (CNOP-CAM) and Congo Basin partners, today officially opens the Second Congo Basin Convening — “Securing the Heart of Africa: People, Nature, Food and Climate Resilience” — running from 25 to 27 August 2026 at the Franco Hôtel in Yaoundé.

Three years after the inaugural Congo Basin Summit in Kinshasa, DRC (August 2023), this second gathering brings together an estimated 120 delegates from the six Congo Basin countries — Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea — alongside representatives from Angola, Chad, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia. Governments, farmer organisations, Indigenous Peoples, women’s and youth movements, researchers, financial partners and civil society will spend three days reviewing progress since Kinshasa and charting a shared regional roadmap for inclusive agroecology, sustainable food systems, biodiversity conservation and climate justice.

The Convening will be officially opened by His Excellency Gabriel Mbaïrobe, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Republic of Cameroon, whose government graciously agreed to host the gathering. Ahead of today’s opening, the AFSA delegation briefed the Minister on the Convening’s preparations and final agenda, and thanked the Government of Cameroon for its support.

Day One brings the region’s story into focus. Dr Million Belay, General Coordinator of AFSA, will introduce the Alliance’s continental work; Joséphine Atangana, AFSA’s Focal Point for the Congo Basin, will assess the achievements of the past three years and outline what this Convening aims to deliver; and Elisabeth Atangana, President of CNOP-CAM and Treasurer of the AFSA Board of Directors, will deliver welcome remarks ahead of the Minister’s official opening address. The day continues with plenary sessions on ecological resilience and the Congo Basin’s financing needs, a community agroecology exhibition, and a Cameroonian cultural dinner in the evening.

“Agroecology represents an alternative that promotes biodiversity, nourishes the soil, respects indigenous and local knowledge, and strengthens local economies,” says Dr Million Belay, AFSA’s General Coordinator.

Over the following two days, delegates will work through thematic sessions on land rights, climate justice and resource mobilisation, before adopting the Yaoundé 2026 Declaration and a regional action roadmap on 27 August.

About AFSA The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) is the continent’s largest civil society platform advocating for food sovereignty and agroecology, uniting 48 member alliances active in 50 African countries and reaching more than 200 million people.

Press contact
Patricia Mengong — +237 672 38 26 26
Charles Onana — +237 699 51 63 45

Replacing fuel imports with renewable power could save Pacific countries millions of dollars if they can secure enough investment to make the switch.

The post Ditching diesel for renewables could save Pacific nations nearly $1 billion a year, study finds appeared first on Renew Economy.

Angus Taylor releases pro-gas policy, just as a new report highlights the soaring carbon prices needed to keep in line with climate targets.

The post Angus Taylor steps on the gas, but how does that sit with emissions targets and carbon costs? appeared first on Renew Economy.

New CIS tender launched for another 1.8 gigawatts of new wind and solar, but in a state where the government utility is happy to write contracts to help replace coal.

The post Bowen launches new wind and solar tender in state happy to write contracts to help replace coal appeared first on Renew Economy.

Western Australia’s renewables bring wholesale electricity prices down, batteries carry that impact onto peaks, but more gas sends prices up. So why is the WA government planning to build more gas?

The post Batteries are quickly turning gas into a costly “sometimes fuel” for electricity. So why build more? appeared first on Renew Economy.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has denied entry to Hossam el-Hamalway, a prominent Egyptian journalist who is scheduled to deliver two lectures at Simon...

The post Federal government blocks prominent Egyptian journalist from entering Canada first appeared on Spring.

Happy late summer! Let’s jump into this month’s newsletter with two wins to celebrate.

The ballot initiative that was attempting to give 25% of the Portland Clean Energy Fund to the police failed to gather enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot (1PDX2026)! Along with the Friends of PCEF coalition, we’ve been organizing for almost a year to do everything we can to keep this off the ballot. Despite spending over a whopping $1.36 million, the police union failed to gather enough community support to hire more armed police by siphoning resources away from PCEF. The effort to gather signatures prompted nearly 100 complaints about improper and misleading practices, but even with these underhanded techniques, Portlanders recognized the importance of our unique fund for climate justice. PCEF funds come through a 1% tax on Portland’s largest corporations — taxing the rich and putting the funds toward those most impacted by climate change — and we can all celebrate that it’s going to stay that way! Learn more here.

Last Thursday, August 13th, 350PDX’s Puppets for Climate Justice showed up with groups in the Oregon Data Center Defiance Coalition to rally against HR 655, which would transfer 150 acres of Mount Hood National Forest land to The Dalles, to expand their municipal water reservoir to feed the growing Google Data Center complex. In a win for Mount Hood watershed, Senator Ron Wyden issued a statement opposing the bill!

We thank Senator Wyden and all those who wrote, called, and advocated publicly to protect this watershed. However, action is still needed! Senator Jeff Merkley and Governor Tina Kotek have not yet stated their opposition to this bill, so voice your concern to them both! Senator Merkley: (503) 326-3386 / contact form, and Governor Kotek: (503) 378-4582 / contact form.

Upcoming Events:

August 27: Show Up for the Multnomah County Climate Justice Plan
This plan is proposed for board adoption next Thursday morning. Join us at this important virtual meeting. The agenda will be posted 8/21. Wear red, show up virtually, and send a letter of support. Let’s make sure we outnumber any opposition! See the Take Action page for more info.

August 29: Bike to the Jade Night Market 
Join 350PDX and Friends of PCEF to learn about the climate investments that are revitalizing 82nd Ave. Learn more and RSVP.

September 8: Stop Data Centers! Rally & Lobby Day in Salem
The rapid build out of data centers without proper regulation is having a massive impact on our communities, energy supply and prices, water resources, farmland, and natural ecosystems. Enough is enough: we demand a 3-year moratorium on data centers now. Join us in Salem for a rally and lobby day in support of a statewide 3-year moratorium on data centers.

September 11: Economic Opportunities Analysis Tour
Portland is developing its economic plan for the next 20 years. Join 350PDX, Coalition of Communities of Color, and other partner organizations to learn about industrial areas, environmental and climate impacts, river health, and labor concerns on this tour. Learn more and RSVP. 

September 13: Chasing Chimeras Film Screening
The Tomorrow Theater (3530 SE Division St.) is screening local filmmaker Barbara Bernstein’s film Chasing Chimeras: The Lure of Deceptive Climate Solutions at 7 PM on Sunday, Sept 13. Learn why “renewable” fuels are not the answer. A panel discussion will follow the film. Get your tickets here.

75 Days Until the Election! Half of Portland’s City Council members are up for election this fall (that’s six seats!). 350PDX is working hard to bring climate justice priorities into the election conversation for all candidates and to make sure all Portland voters are ready and informed to vote. Save the dates for our big Climate Justice Candidate Forums this October — you won’t want to miss this opportunity to see candidates on a stage together discussing our City’s biggest climate issues. These events will be moderated by The Mercury reporters, Jeremiah Hayden and Taylor Griggs.

• District 4: Monday, October 5, 6 PM at First Unitarian Portland (1211 SW Main St.) – RSVP
• District 3: Thursday, October 8, 6 PM at The Porch (6725 SE Kelly St.) – RSVP

Welcome Maeve

This month, 350PDX welcomes Maeve Fellerhoff as our Community Engagement and Program Support Coordinator. Maeve is serving at 350PDX as a member of Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest. As a Jesuit Volunteer, she will be serving the Portland community for a year starting in August. Read more about Maeve here!

We are Hiring

Applications are open for a Development Manager at 350PDX. We are looking for a visionary, self-directed fundraising professional who will assess, strengthen, and drive 350PDX’s contributed income strategy. This position is part-time and open until filled.Click here to learn more and apply.

Book Club

The 350PDX Book Club meets every month on the first Wednesday of the month at 6:30PM. Every other month is in person and the others are virtual.

Reach out to books@350PDX.org with any questions or to join our list, and please RSVP so we can inform you of any meeting changes.

Join us on Wednesday, October 7 at 6:30PM for our next nonfiction in-person meeting. We’ll discuss Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Gardenby Camile D. Dungy, in which the poet and scholar recounts her seven-year odyssey to diversify her garden to reflect her heritage, expanding how we talk about the natural world and the environment.  RSVP at books@350PDX.org.

Save the date for our other upcoming discussions:

• Wednesday, November 4 at 6:30PM (Google Meet) — Book to be selected in October

Art Team

Next Art Build: Sunday, September 13 from 1–4 PM at our workshop space (3639 N Mississippi Ave). We’ll come together to make posters and puppets for upcoming actions. This is a great way to plug into the 350PDX community!

To join the Arts Team at these upcoming events, contact Donna for more information: murph1949@aol.com

• August 23, Oregon Wild Rabble Rouser arts training

• August 29, Saturday, PCEF Tour, we need puppeteers!

Forest Defense Team

The 5th Annual Lents to Laurelhurst Urban Shade Equity Pedalpalooza Ride was a success! We had over 120 Action Night participants and 100 riders! It was great coming together as a community.

Photo: Irene Tejaratchi Hess

Click here to view a new 6-min shade equity film by Irene Hess and sign up to join the Forest Defense Team.

Increase Natural Carbon Storage in State Forests
Oregon’s forests are a significant net carbon sink. That’s one of the many reasons we love them. In good news, the Oregon Climate Action Commission wants to increase natural carbon storage  in natural and working lands. Use this toolkit to both send a thank you email to the OCAC for their updated goals, and to email ODF to urge them to follow these guidelines effective immediately.

Energy Justice Team

Members of our Energy Justice Team volunteered with Community Energy Project in August, helping replace a roof on a home that’s being updated through the PCEF-funded Energy Friendly Homes program! We enjoyed building community, and learning about this important work that helps affordably reduce emissions for low-income Portlanders.

We meet every second and fourth Tuesday, alternating between in person and virtual. Contact Cherice (cherice@350pdx.org) and/or Dineen (dineen@350pdx.org) to join.

Milwaukie Advocates for Climate Justice

Do you live in Milwaukie and want to take action for climate justice with your neighbors? Milwaukie Advocates for Climate (MAC) is a Neighborhood Team of 350PDX, and you can sign up to join here. Right now, the team is getting ready to table at the Milwaukie Sustainability Fair on September 19.

Washington County Team

The 350PDX Washington County Team cohosted the successful second annual Westside Sustainable Living Fair on July 18 at the Hillsboro Saturday Farmers Market. Market attendance was estimated at about 4,000 attendees, and the PGE EV Ride & Drive was well-attended and successful as well.

We always welcome newcomers to our events and to our (mostly) monthly online meetings (6:30 PM on the second Tuesday of the month). For the link, join us here or contact us at 350washco@gmail.com.

Southwest Team

The 350PDX Southwest Neighborhood Team includes neighborhoods on the south and west sides of Portland. We work together to raise awareness of the climate emergency. Our street corner demonstrations continue weekly in August every Friday from 4–5 PM at SW Garden Home & SW Oleson Rd. Street parking is available or reach us via bus or bike. Our monthly meetings happen on the third Monday of the month. To get involved, please contact Pat Kaczmarek at patk5@msn.com.

Before closing our newsletter, a few reminders:

• Check out our Take Action page, which we update regularly. It includes actions that may not be in our newsletter.
• Join the 350PDX community Slack channel! This is a great way to stay connected on an ongoing basis. Contact to info@350pdx.org and we can add you.
•  350PDX is still searching for a wonderful, new home. Please reach out to info@350PDX.org if you have ideas for a space where we can have meetings, our arts team can create show-stopping puppets, and more!

 

Thank you for reading our monthly newsletter. We hope to see you soon!

With gratitude,

Cherice, Dineen, Jessica, Maeve, and Noelle

The post 2026 August Newsletter! appeared first on 350PDX: Climate Justice.

Every spring, thousands of people flock to Rowe Sanctuary to witness one of Nebraska’s greatest wildlife spectacles: large concentrations of Sandhill Cranes gathering along the Platte River during...

For students visiting the Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary, a field trip is more than a day away from the classroom. It is an opportunity to experience the natural world firsthand and...

Checks & Balances Project (C&BP) has briefed the FBI on potential fraud involving Sussex County Board of Supervisors Chairman Steve White and the Stony Creek Volunteer Rescue Squad (SCVRS) that he runs.

The briefing followed a July 14 complaint to the FBI that detailed 10 issues of concerns about White’s apparent corruption in office, including his conflicts of interest in voting to send taxpayer money to SCVRS and potential Medicare and Medicaid billing fraud tied to SCVRS.

C&BP also filed a complaint on July 17 with the inspector general of the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid. C&BP briefed an HHS investigator on Aug. 6 about the details included in its complaint.

The FBI and the HHS inspector general reached out to Checks & Balances Project.

The HHS complaint alleged potential fraud involving billing for ambulance calls conducted by SCVRS and the lack of transparency in the squad’s finances.

SCVRS lost its federal nonprofit status in 2023, because it failed to file tax returns for three years. C&BP also reported that in the five years for which tax returns are available – 2015 through 2019 – SCVRS reported a $304,000 surplus.

Outstanding FOIA requests

C&BP is still waiting for Sussex County to reply to Freedom of Information Act requests seeking data on SCVRS response times to calls for help and the number of times White used his state of Virginia email address for Sussex County work.

The county is also in apparent violation of Virginia law for not maintaining public records, including the agenda packets and minutes of supervisors’ meetings, on its website.

Sussex County’s site includes no information on meetings before 2025 and is missing minutes from some meetings after that date.

State law § 2.2-3707.2. says, “Posting of minutes for local public bodies. Except as provided in subsection I of § 2.2-3707, any local public body subject to the provisions of this chapter shall post minutes of its meetings on its official public government website, if any, within seven working days of final approval of the minutes.”

However, attempts to access the links on the site for meetings before 2025 yield this message: “Sorry! That page doesn’t seem to exist.”

Neither the office of Attorney General Jay Jones nor Sussex Commonwealth Attorney Regina Sykes have responded to C&BP’s offers to brief them.

Ray Locker is the executive director for Checks & Balances Project, an investigative watchdog blog holding government officials, lobbyists, and corporate management accountable to the public. Funding for C&BP is provided by Renew American Prosperity and individual donors.

You may also want to read:

Checks & Balances Project files FOIA request seeking Sussex County EMS records

Checks & Balances Project seeks Sussex County’s recusal policy

Checks & Balances Project seeks more tips from Sussex County residents

Share Post Share

The post Checks & Balances Project briefs FBI on alleged fraud in Sussex County appeared first on Checks and Balances Project.

On Thursday, Aug. 27, registered nurses – joined by patients and community allies  – will be mobilizing nationwide to demand hospitals and elected officials immediately cut ties with the artificial intelligence giant Palantir. The nurses belong to National Nurses United, which has opposed Palantir’s growth as a dangerous threat to democracy and human rights.

© SUSSEX.COMSurvival International has been calling on Prince Harry to step down from African Parks for years. He finally has. #

Registered nurses at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton, Calif., will hold a rally and press conference on Wednesday, Aug. 26, to condemn proposed layoffs of critical support staff,

Integrated planning can lower costs to ratepayers by reducing duplicative spending, and New York could lead the way, write experts at Current Energy Group and Advanced Energy United.