Portland: Climate Action Town Halls and solar mapping

Two things, Portlanders:

1. We totally rock (but you knew that). Portland's 2009 Climate Action Plan calls us to reduce local emissions by 80% by 2050. Bold? Yes. But do-able, particularly if YOU pitch in. A series of town hall meetings have been scheduled between June 15-July 7 to identify goals and actions that can be taken in the next three years to get us on our way. This includes stuff like walkable neighborhoods, eating less meat, bicycle routes, home energy efficiency as well as bigger infrastructure ideas. YOUR voice is needed to craft this vision. You have ideas -- it doesn't matter how small you think they are -- but they need to be heard. Here's the schedule:

Downtown/Business-focused: Monday, June 15, 5:30-7:30pm: SOUK, 322 NW 6th Ave.

Southeast: Saturday, June 20, 1-3pm: Mt. Scott Community Center, 5530 SE 72nd Ave.

Southwest: Monday, June 22, 6:30-8:30pm: Fulton Park CC, 68 SW Miles St. (any peeps going to join me at this one?)

Northeast: Thursday, June 25, 6:30-8:30pm: Dishmann CC, 77 NE Knott

Downtown/Central Westside: Monday, June 29, 6:30-8:30pm: Lincoln HS Cafeteria, 1600 SW Salmon

North: Tuesday, July 7, 6:30-8:30pm: University Park CC, 9009 N Foss Ave.

2. If you've ever dreamed of putting solar panels on your home, but have been turned off by the cost or perhaps don't think your home gets enough sun, well now you can find out. There's an online map that will pinpoint your home and its potential, calculate the approximate costs and provide a list of installers. (Sometimes it's the legwork that puts people off of these projects, and this will eliminate most of that!) Check out the Oregon Clean Energy Map!