Page 2 - Heat Response Program News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

One year ago, unprecedentedly high temperatures killed 69 people in Multnomah County and nearly 100 statewide. Portland broke heat records three consecutive days in a row, culminating in a record-high 116 degrees on June 28, 2021. Officials called the heatwave a “hard lesson,” one that underscored the lack of hot weather infrastructure the region has and how quickly Oregonians will have to adapt in order to respond to the changing climate and extreme weather that...

Portlanders who are most vulnerable to the heat are starting to receive portable cooling units through the city’s Heat Response Program. The first of an estimated 15,000 units was installed on Thursday through the program, created by the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) in response to last year’s unprecedented heat wave. “Last summer, Portlanders suffered immensely under the extreme heat emergency caused by the worsening climate crisis,” said PCEF Program Manager Sam Baraso. “We are...

Portland City Council stripped a local green energy nonprofit of a city-awarded grant Wednesday after an investigation by the Oregonian revealed the organization’s executive director had a history of financial crimes. The city ordinance, passed unanimously, transferred the $10 million grant to nonprofit Earth Advantage to carry out the grant responsibilities, which aims to distribute cooling units to vulnerable Portland residents before the next heatwave. Following the record-breaking heatwave in June that killed at least...

[You can read all of the Mercury’s “Top Stories of 2021” here.—eds] Not to be outdone by last year’s historic wildfires and ice storms, 2021 delivered deadly heatwaves and drought conditions. As the impacts of climate change became more apparent this year, the city took unprecedented action against a major polluter, a new program delivered its first round of eco-energy funding to frontline climate communities, and youth climate activists pushed leaders for faster action in...

Portland City Council will consider approving an accelerated funding timeline Wednesday for a new program to protect vulnerable Portlanders during the next heatwave. According to the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF), the city’s voter-approved eco-energy fund which is presenting the request to council, the accelerated timeline is essential to distributing the program’s first round of heat-mitigating tools to homeowners and renters this summer. This new PCEF program, called the Heat Response Program, was one of...