I think one thing that Portland has a lot of is creativity. And what I’d like to see for the CEI hub area is Portlanders to apply that creativity to imagining a different future for our community. A future that doesn’t rely on fossil fuels, a future that relies really on the most renewable resource of all, which is human ingenuity and innovation.
John Wasiutynski, Director of Sustainability for Multnomah County
We care about jobs, but we want this landscape to be healthy and safe and accessible as well. We want that for the people that live here, we want it for people that depend on this river for their survival, we want it for the people that work on this landscape, we want it for the wildlife that traverses this landscape.
Bob Sallinger, Portland Audubon
Instead of the Portland Harbor being an industrial sacrifice zone, it could be transformed into a Green Working Waterfront. So, what does that mean? Historically Portland businesses have argued that the existing industrial landscape is an economic engine and major provider of good paying jobs, especially for people without college educations. But the reality is, that the current industries that dominate the harbor do not provide many jobs at all. Community activists and groups such as the Portland Harbor Community Coalition, the Braided River Campaign, Portland Audubon, Willamette Riverkeeper, Columbia Riverkeeper, 350PDX, Green Anchors, the Portland Harbor Community Advisory Group, CedarAction Zenith Work Group, Extinction Rebellion PDX and neighborhood associations in North and NW Portland, argue that far more jobs can be provided by diversifying businesses along the river, creating new jobs in the growing clean energy sector, manufacturing and trade and setting aside space for small locally owned businesses.
The Braided River Campaign has a five point program to transform Portland’s polluted and destructive harbor environment into a Green Working Waterfront:
- Repair, restore & honoring Willamette River communities
- Natural resource conservation
- Community Health, Access and Benefits
- Green Working Waterfront & Sustainable Industry
- Just Clean Up & Transition
Learn more about the work of the groups on the frontlines of transforming Portland’s toxic harbor into a green working waterfront:
Portland Harbor Community Coalition,
The Braided River Campaign
Portland Audubon
Willamette Riverkeeper
Columbia Riverkeeper
350PDX
Green Anchors
Portland Harbor Community Advisory Group
CedarAction Zenith Work Group
Extinction Rebellion PDX