ENVIRONMENT

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges currently facing Beaverton, and Ashley recognizes that. She recognizes the dangers that climate change presents to Beaverton daily. Unforeseen power outages due to snowstorms, forest fires causing record low air quality levels, and increasing temperatures, are all problems that she accredits to climate change. Ashley’s willing to take the serious, actionable change that is needed to ensure that Beaverton is doing its part in the fight against climate change. She plans on reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, achieving climate justice for everybody, regardless of socioeconomic status, and she plans on investing in a greener future for Beaverton.  

Beaverton’s most recent plan for climate change was published in 2019, and while it detailed all the things that the city of Beaverton was working towards, it provided no measurable goals. We need increased transparency from the city, both in terms of the progress made, and progress that still needs to be done. While the establishment of the Climate Action Task Force is a step in the right direction, Beaverton still has a long way to go, and Ashley is committed to improving the path set by her predecessors.

The Current Climate Crisis

  • Air quality/Wildfires

    • 6.7 million acres burned in total in the 2020 wildfire season (California and Oregon combined)

    • Worst air quality on record for the west coast  

    • More than 1,000 people are still displaced due to damages caused by wildfires

  • Extreme Weather 

    • Nearly a quarter-million homes and businesses lost power due to recent winter storms in 2021 

    • Power outages caused by extreme weather forced school districts in Beaverton to pause online learning 

  • Climate Change 

    • Oregon’s average temperature is expected to rise 3-7 degrees by 2050 resulting in more wildfires, droughts, disease outbreaks, and flooding 

    • Communities of color and low-income communities face more environmental stressors while also having limited access to the necessary tools and resources (to cope with these stressors) 

Ashley will Lower Beaverton’s Carbon Footprint by: 

  • Complete the electrification of the city’s vehicle fleet 

  • Support the Oregon Clean Energy Opportunity, a bill currently in the Oregon legislature (All three bills passed in the 2021 Oregon Legislative Session)

  • Create a policy similar to the Oregon Clean Energy Opportunity for Beaverton in order to promote a smoother and faster transition to a carbon-neutral Beaverton. 

  • Partner with THPRD to create a joint plan in place of the current Beaverton Climate Action Plan

Environmental Justice: 

Ashley believes in clean air and water for everybody, regardless of socioeconomic status or location. Communities of color and low-income communities are statistically proven to experience the brunt of harmful air and water pollution. The area of environmental justice is one that involves many other areas of government, including transportation and housing, and Ashley recognizes that.  

  • Ashley will urge local government agencies to utilize EJSCREEN, a tool designed by the environmental protection agency (EPA) to better protect public health and the environment, in order to ensure that future environmental policies adopted by Beaverton help every community equally 

  • Ashley will put equity at the forefront of any decisions involving bettering the environment and climate 

How Ashley will Utilize Green Infrastructure: 

The Clean Water Act defines green infrastructure as "...the range of measures that use plant or soil systems, permeable pavement or other permeable surfaces or substrates, stormwater harvest and reuse, or landscaping to store, infiltrate, or evapotranspirate stormwater and reduce flows to sewer systems or to surface waters." To put it simply, green infrastructure reutilizes stormwater in a way that mimics the natural water cycle, instead of simply diverting it out of the city. 

  • What does it mean for Beaverton?

    • Stormwater runoff is a large source of pollution in urban areas, and by adopting aspects of green infrastructure Beaverton can both reduce the harmful effects of stormwater runoff and prevent major flooding in the future

    • We have seen proof of concepts around the city, we can do more

  • Ashley will help the transition into a new greener standard for new Beaverton construction built in partnership with builders to establish a sustainable model

  • Ashley will promote the use of green development techniques like green roofs, passive solar, and greywater reuse plumbing systems 


Ashley’s Plan for Transportation:

  • Complete the conversion of street lights and traffic signals into LED lights in to increase efficiency 

  • Encourage large employers and the City of Beaverton itself to adopt a partial work from home policy, where individuals are encouraged to work from home 2-3 days a week and limit our impact to the environment and minimizing traffic

  • Encourage companies to provide incentives for employees who use public transportation

  • Partner with Portland and Hillsboro to work with Trimet on transportation systems that meet the changing needs of our communities