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Urge Multnomah County to build 100% clean energy-powered libraries

Last month, Multnomah County voters approved $387 million in bonds for library construction and improvements. We are urging Multnomah County commissioners to commit to constructing a fossil-free library using clean energy to avoid locking in pollution for generations to come.

Libraries are vital community resources, landmarks, and gathering places. Let’s ensure they reflect our community’s values for investing in our future—not just through education, but also in clean air and a safe climate.

Urge your Multnomah County commissioners to invest in our future with 100% clean libraries

Click here to email your elected officials

VICTORY! On Thursday, April 15th, 2021, Multnomah County Commissioners voted unanimously to enact a resolution that requires all new county-owned buildings to be constructed with 100% clean and fossil-free energy.

Multnomah County has already committed to meeting 100% of its community-wide energy needs with renewable energy by 2050. To meet this climate action commitment, new libraries and all public buildings in the County should be built fossil-free from the start to avoid costly retrofits later. Please let your Multnomah County commissioners know that you support this investment in our future by building the next library fossil-free and powered by clean energy.

Author Bio

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Jonathan Lee

Storytelling and Digital Engagement Manager, Climate Solutions

Jonathan Toshio Lee (pronouns: he/him) is passionate about sharing people- and solutions-centric stories that educate and inspire positive change. He has over twelve years of experience developing communications strategies, creating multimedia content, advocating for sound public policy, and promoting equity, diversity, and social justice. 

Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, the importance of protecting the environment was instilled in him at a young age. Jonathan heeded the call to address the climate crisis as a teenager after watching Al Gore's documentary An Inconvenient Truth (2006), after which he sought to reduce his own climate pollution, wrote to his elected officials to support climate policy and pollution reduction, and began to volunteer in the conservation movement. Jonathan is a graduate of Willamette University with a degree in sociology and ethnic studies, which helped equip him to analyze the numerous intersections of climate, environmental justice, and public discourse. 

Before joining the Climate Solutions team in 2019, Jonathan worked in the crime victims' services field and served as a board member and volunteer with OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon.