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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2020
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Cap and trade supporters a vocal minority in Eastern Oregon
By ANTONIO SIERRA
STAFF WRITER
Cap and trade had already
become the most contentious
issue for the second year in a
row, but at least on Feb. 4,
the Oregon Senate was still
in Salem to debate it.
Of the 103 people who
signed up to testify for and
against Senate Bill 1530 at
a Senate Committee, only
one of them identifi ed them-
selves as being from East-
ern Oregon — Confeder-
ated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation Board of
Trustees Chairwoman Kat
Brigham.
By the time Brigham
spoke, the committee had
been discussing the fi ner
points of some amendments
to the bill for more than an
hour. But she set the stakes
in simple terms: Without
action, a rapidly warming
planet would threaten a way
of life her people have prac-
ticed for thousands of years.
“All of us are going to
feel the impacts of climate
change,” she said. “The
tribes are going to feel it
more because we live off the
land. Our culture, our his-
tory is all a part of the land.”
About three weeks later,
most Republicans would
join together in a bicameral
walkout to deny Democrats
the necessary quorum to
pass SB 1530.
Their ranks included
Northeast Oregon’s entire
legislative delegation —
Rep. Greg Barreto, R-Cove,
Rep. Greg Smith, R-Hep-
pner, and Sen. Bill Hansell,
R-Athena.
Business in Salem is now
frozen over cap and trade, a
program that “caps” carbon
emissions for polluting busi-
nesses at a certain level and
sets up a marketplace where
they can “trade” credits that
can keep them under that
threshold.
Many of the GOP’s com-
plaints about the Democrats’
handling of cap and trade
are procedural: a rushed pro-
cess, an unwillingness to
include Republican amend-
ments, refusal to send the
issue to voters.
But to Republicans, it’s
also another battle in the
urban-rural divide, a law
mostly supported by peo-
ple in the Willamette Valley
but imposed on rural Ore-
gonians who don’t want it
and will feel it in the form
of higher gas and electricity
prices.
Republicans have put out
statements saying they’re
representing the needs of
2 million Oregonians, cit-
ing the various county com-
missions and organizations
that have passed resolutions
or proclamations opposing
cap and trade, including the
half-million people repre-
sented by the Eastern Ore-
gon Counties Association.
But Eastern Oregon isn’t
a monolith, as evidenced by
the tribes.
Tribal spokesman Chuck
Sams said the tribes had
already started to notice
changes in the microcli-
mates at their fi sheries in the
1930s through the 1950s,
and by the 1980s were look-
ing at ways to mitigate its
effects.
The tribes call the natu-
ral resources that have tra-
ditionally sustained the
tribes First Foods, a list that
includes berries, roots and
salmon.
Sams said the advent of
industrial farming may be a
boon for supermarkets, but
it also creates carbon emis-
sions and threatens areas
that used to produce berries
and roots.
Warming rivers also
threaten salmon in the
Columbia River and its vari-
ous tributaries.
Over in Heppner, Hunter
Houck describes the local
effects of climate change in
terms of natural disaster and
agriculture: the extended
droughts that increase the
prevalence of wildfi res, the
fl oods that erode soil and
make it harder to plant crops,
the carbon dioxide-fi lled
atmosphere that make it eas-
ier for invasive plant species
to thrive.
At age 14, Houck has
already organized climate
change protests in his home-
town and questioned U.S.
Rep. Greg Walden’s position
on global warming.
In an email, he had some
critical words for the legisla-
tors who walked out.
“They have the option
to vote against a bill. If
they disagree with a piece
of legislation, they should
vote in opposition, but they
shouldn’t make it impos-
sible for people in favor to
vote that way,” he wrote.
“These legislators are turn-
ing a blind eye towards
my generation, the gener-
ation who will have to suf-
fer the consequences of their
actions.”
Although organizations
that support efforts to reduce
climate change are much
less prevalent in Eastern
Oregon than they are west of
the Cascades, they do exist.
The Eastern Oregon Cli-
mate Change Coalition,
known as EOC3 for short,
was formed as a nonprofi t in
2017 to educate locals on the
effects of climate change.
EOC3 Chairman Dave
Powell said the group meets
monthly to hold discus-
sions on climate change, and
although its membership
fl uctuates, the group reaches
about 100 people in its email
list.
A retired forester with the
U.S. Forest Service who was
stationed in Pendleton for 24
years, Powell said his under-
standing of climate change
was enhanced by the way
he observed its effect on the
forests.
“Forestry is all about the
long term,” he said.
Powell said he can under-
stand some of the Republi-
cans legislators’ objections
to the bill, he just wants them
to come to one of his group’s
meetings and explain their
position.
Fighting climate change
can be a lonely position in
Eastern Oregon.
When Houck helped
organize a climate protest in
2019, he noted that climate
change was a “taboo” topic
in town.
Electorally, Republicans
dominate state and federal
offi ce in Umatilla and Mor-
row counties, and have long
been hostile to policies like
cap and trade.
Chuck LeBold of Union
admits that the legislators
who walked out are prob-
ably representing a major-
ity of their constituents and
that his positions on climate
change fi rmly put him in the
minority.
“It’s a small group, but
over here in Eastern Ore-
HH fi le photo
Coho salmon smolts shoot out of a hose into the Lostine River on March 10, 2019, outside
of Wallowa. Tribal members say climate change has negatively impacted First Foods such as
salmon, which is why they support cap and trade.
gon it’s defi nitely a minority
viewpoint for sure,” he said.
“I just don’t think a lot of
the folks have really been
exposed to the other side of
the issue.”
Like Powell, LeBold said
he came to understand the
effects of climate change by
working for the U.S. For-
est Service, which he retired
from in 2017.
A veteran climate change
activist, LeBold thinks the
current cap-and-trade bill
doesn’t go far enough, but
it’s a good fi rst step.
As a sovereign nation,
the Confederated Uma-
tilla tribes has presented the
cap-and-trade bill as a way
for the state to join in an
effort the tribes are already
making.
Sams said some of
the tribes ongoing efforts
include installing a wind
turbine and solar panels at
Tamastslikt Cultural Insti-
tute and electrical vehicle
charging stations at Wild-
horse Resort and Casino.
Before fi nishing her
remarks to the Senate com-
mittee, Brigham said if she
could put walls around the
Umatilla Indian Reservation
to protect its resources, she
would.
But she understands that
natural resources fl ow freely
between the reservation
and the rest of the country,
regardless of walls, and they
HH fi le photo
An Oregon Department of Forestry fi refi ghter uses a hose line
to douse some fl ames while battling a fi re on Cabbage Hill
east of Pendleton in 2018. Supporters of cap and trade say
fi ghting climate change will reduce fi res
HH fi le photo
A stacker reclaimer digs up scoops of coal to feed a conveyer
belt that fuels the 600-megawatt Boardman Coal Plant.
must be shared to ensure
their survival in the era of
climate change.
“We have been taught as
tribal leaders that we need
to protect those resources
so we can live off the land,
breathe the air, and drink
clean, clear water,” she said.
“So it’s very important to all
of us. Not just the tribes, but
to all of us.”
Republican lawmakers question Democrats’ hardline stance
By PHIL WRIGHT
EO MEDIA GROUP
Two Eastern Oregon law-
makers remain perplexed
over the Democrats’ refusal
to allow the voters to decide
the fate of controversial cli-
mate legislation. The major-
ity party’s political calculus,
they said, does not pencil
out.
While Republican legis-
lators remain absent from
the Capitol over a proposal
to reduce Oregon’s green-
house gas emissions, Demo-
crats in the House and Senate
said they were determined
to stand against demands to
refer the proposal to voters.
Republican Rep. Greg
Smith of Heppner said last
week that emotions are run-
ning high, and leadership on
the two sides are talking, but
the solution to the stalemate
remains clear.
“In the end, Oregonians
need to have a say on this
issue,” Smith said. “They
need to be able to vote yes
or no on it.”
Republican Sen. Bill
Hansell of Athena said he
has heard from constitu-
ents of his district, which
includes Umatilla, Union
and Wallowa counties, and
they oppose cap and trade
for good reasons. Oregon
emits 65 million metric tons
of carbon each year, he said,
while the United States as a
whole contributes 6.5 billion
tons.
“We have 1% of the total
U.S. emissions,” he said,
and on the global scale, Ore-
gon is a tenth of 1%. On that
front, he said, the Demo-
crats don’t have the argu-
ment to support the need for
Smith
Hansell
the policy.
“This will not reduce car-
bon, but only raise taxes,”
Hansell said. “It does not
make sense.”
Why the Democrats
won’t budge, Smith said, is
a head scratcher.
“I think those who are in
the majority believe that it is
their responsibility to han-
dle this. They believe they
have the staff and technical
assistance to handle this,” he
said.
But if the proposal is so
good for Oregon, the pair of
legislators said, Democrats
should have the confi dence
Oregon voters will deliver.
The voting math tends to
favor the Democrats, with
almost 974,000 registered
voters in the party, accord-
ing to the January registra-
tion data from the Oregon
Secretary of State, a bump
from December 2019 of
nearly 3,500.
Republicans are verging
on 702,000 voters in Ore-
gon, but they dropped 92
voters from December 2019.
Nonaffi liated voters remain
the second largest registra-
tion block with a little more
than 960,000, an increase of
more than 4,200 from the
end of 2019.
If voters were to approve
cap and trade, Smith and
Hansell said the Democrats
come out looking good.
But, they contended,
Democrats also would look
good if they refer the mea-
sure to the public and it
fails. In that outcome, Dem-
ocrats could at least say the
will of the people prevailed
and democracy in Oregon is
strong.
Democrats in the Ore-
gon House moved to force
Republicans back to the
Capitol on Thursday, issuing
subpoenas to 21 state repre-
sentatives that would com-
pel them to explain their dis-
appearing act from Salem.
House Speaker Tina
Kotek, D-Portland, said
a process server has been
hired to chase down way-
ward Republicans, although
they may be out of state. If
they obeyed, the representa-
tives would have to appear
before the Democratically
controlled House Rules
Committee on Thursday,
March 5.
“Be prepared to tes-
tify about your unexcused
absences during the 2020
regular session of the Leg-
islative Assembly, the need
for members to fulfi ll their
oaths of offi ce and constitu-
tional duties,” the subpoena
states.
Legislative committees,
minus Republican members,
have continued working on
bills and policy discussions.
But it’s unclear if their leg-
islative work will result in
new laws.
Smith said the bills com-
ing out of House committees
are are stacking up. Were
Republicans to return, Smith
said their fi rst motion should
be to kick those bills back to
committee for review.
“It would be extremely
incompetent of me to vote on
those bills without review-
ing them,” Smith said. “We
need to make sure what is in
the legislation.”
The House also would
need to prioritize the bills,
he said, starting with the
budget and polices related to
the budget.
To date, just three bills
have passed both chambers
and been sent to Gov. Kate
Brown to sign into law.
Both chambers, in a for-
mality, convened for less
than 15 minutes on Wednes-
day and adjourned.
“I wish the Republi-
cans would understand the
importance of their being
here,” said President Peter
Courtney, told the Senate.
One bill is aimed at hon-
oring deceased veterans.
Another would protect water
rights in southern Oregon.
Others would reform the
state’s public defense sys-
tem, boost affordable hous-
ing in Pendleton, address
school bullying, require
building standards in tsu-
nami zones and make insu-
lin more affordable.
“So wherever you are out
there, will you please come
back?” pleaded Courtney.
More than 40 bills await
a vote in the Senate, 38 of
which the House has passed.
The Senate has passed 14
bills now waiting a fi nal vote
in the House.
In the House, 118 mea-
sures await action, of which
seven are ready for third
reading and a vote. Another
seven Senate bills are ready
to come before the House
for a vote as well.
Smith said the bills that
need approval “weighs
heavily on my shoulders.”
As a senior member of the
budget process, he said, he
knows Oregonians have
needs the Legislature needs
to address. Hansell, too, said
he lamented the holdup of
legislation that helps every-
day Oregonians.
But the two Republicans
also said the people of their
districts have been clear that
cap and trade is the highest
legislative priority.
Smith said climate pol-
icy “becomes religion on
both sides of the aisle, and
leadership on both sides
needs to work toward mid-
dle ground.” He suggested
Republican and Democrat
leaders fi nd three or four
members of each party that
are not so invested in cap
and trade, put them in a
room together and see what
deal they could produce to
bring the sides closer.
The likelihood of that, he
said, is slim to none.
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