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As a school librarian, educator and teachers union member here in Eugene, it’s an obvious choice for me to vote yes on Measure 20-388, the Eugene Clean Energy Fund.
Every day, I think about the world that my students are inheriting, and how I can prepare them to use their voices and skills to guard against hopelessness and improve the world in ways that are meaningful to them.
After a summer of record drought and wildfires, I know that many of my students had to cancel plans to play sports or be outdoors in nature — things we know help improve mental health and well-being. I think about what it’s like to be a young person in this era of unprecedented climate change. With their whole lives ahead of them, I wonder what summers will be like in five, 10 or 15 years.
Thinking of my students’ futures, I know they deserve better than the world they are inheriting, but we can only start where we are. Voting yes on Measure 20-388 is responsible, it is right, and it is hopeful. At a time when the federal government has abandoned its responsibility to future generations, walked away from our climate commitments, and stopped even acknowledging the science of climate change, the need for local action could not be clearer.
The Eugene Clean Energy Fund offers a meaningful and impactful way to move forward.
The Eugene Clean Energy Fund will generate investment to help families, schools and small businesses afford solar power and other money-saving energy efficiency measures. It will also bring training and local jobs in the green energy economy right here in Eugene. Not only will the fund address immediate needs as we reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, but it will set our students up to be part of the solution in the future — their future — and provide opportunities for well-paying jobs, to boot.
In the short term, the clean energy fund will help address the skyrocketing energy costs we are experiencing every day. While solar can have significant upfront costs, grants and other financial support from the fund will offset those costs and deliver decades of free solar electricity in return. Similarly, by helping cover the costs of energy efficiency measures at local homes, schools and businesses (like added insulation or new windows), the fund can reduce monthly heating and cooling bills.
It’s not surprising that there is corporate opposition to this measure. I plan on teaching students about media literacy and how to assess information they find online. The first thing I teach students when we talk about what information to trust is to find out who is behind it: What is their expertise, experience, motivation? And, just as importantly, what evidence supports their claims?
I can’t help but apply those same questions to our local elections. The billion-dollar corporations that would pay a 2% business licensing fee under this measure have an obvious financial interest in defeating it. Of course they oppose it. But that doesn’t mean we should accept their arguments at face value.
Their claim that the fee will raise consumer prices strikes me as an attempt to tap into our very real concerns about affordability. Yet Portland has already raised over $1.7 billion in the past eight years through a similar clean energy program, and there has been no clear evidence that billion-dollar retailers like Amazon or Walmart have changed their local pricing.
The Portland Clean Energy Fund has already invested in local projects, including over $50 million for public schools and student-led climate initiatives. What better gift could we give our students than skills, tools and resources to empower them to build the future they want and deserve?
This is why leading teachers’ organizations, from the Eugene Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers Oregon to the Lane Community College Education Association, have all endorsed the Eugene Clean Energy Fund.
As parents, teachers, grandparents and mentors, it’s not always easy to know how to help students navigate the challenges they will face as they grow up in an age of AI, climate change and growing global conflicts.
But voting yes on Measure 20-388 is an easy and meaningful chance to act on their behalf. It’s an investment in their communities, their opportunities and their future.
And perhaps just as importantly, it’s a reason for them to feel hopeful about that future.
