Speakers: Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder and Dr. Catherine Thomasson, Physicians for Social Responsibility

Your input is needed! How concerned are we about congestion and the effects of congestion on clean air, global warming? Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder will give an update on Metro’s Regional Transportation plan and Dr. Catherine Thomasson with Physicians for Social Responsibility will present the health effects of global warming. Your input is requested on the Regional Transportation Plan and on Oregon solutions to global warming.

Metro is currently updating the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) a blueprint to guide transportation investments in the Portland metropolitan region for the next 20 years. A goal of this planning effort is to produce a plan that is more streamlined and that better advances regional policies, public priorities and local efforts. Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder will give an overview of this update and wants to hear what outcomes stakeholders want for the Portland region's transportation system. For example, do we want to invest our money in more highways or in public transportation? How concerned are we about congestion and the effects of congestion on clean air, global warming? How does our transportation system affect our health and do we want to make changes to address this?

"The Need for Energy Independence: Reducing Global Warming and Securing a Healthy Future."

Global Warming is already happening, caused primarily by humans burning fossil fuels—coal, oil and natural gas. At the same time countries are competing for a dwindling supply of oil and natural gas creating security risks in our own country and civil wars in many others. We can and need to achieve energy independence. The most important opportunity is to improve our transportation system and citizen use.

Dr. Catherine Thomasson with Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility will discuss these issues and outline solutions to this difficult problem. PSR will discuss solutions including wind and solar power, biodiesel, pollution regulations, and energy conservation and efficiency, and current policies that help or impede their progress.