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One of our oldest Working Groups, “EcoSoc” was formed as the Environmental Caucus, then formally recognized by the chapter as the Ecosocialist Caucus in 2018. We officially changed to the Working Group formal structure in 2019.
Mission Statement
We live in a time of pervasive, concurrent crises. Federal agents are descending upon American cities to carry out terror campaigns against immigrants. The cost of the basic necessities of life — healthcare, housing, and food — continues to rise unchecked while our government spends trillions on war. All the while, the planet blows past every red line set by international climate experts.
The climate crisis is not a natural phenomenon – it is a product of exploitation. We wage war across the world to ensure cheap access to oil and gas which fuels climate change and a rolling refugee crisis. Immigrants seeking refuge here are persecuted by the Trump administration. Meanwhile, our cities have been designed for profit and speculation, cementing an unsustainable way of living. In this way, capitalism creates a nightmarish lattice which can appear impossible to escape.
We, the Eco-Socialist Working Group, are a working group within the Portland branch of the Democratic Socialists of America, the largest socialist organization in the United States. We focus on ecological issues within the chapter’s larger mission of building a socialist society. Unlike other environmental groups, we see capitalism as the central driver of the climate crisis, rather than any single industry, individual, or government. Therefore, we cannot simply vote out the “wrong people” to resolve this crisis or pass policies to curb industry’s worst excesses. Instead, we must create a new society, governed by the working class, with a fundamentally different orientation towards people and the planet. As Chico Mendes said: “Ecology without class struggle is just gardening.”
In practice, the Eco-Socialist Working Group fights for both the long-term and short-term actions necessary for a working class response to the climate crisis, focusing on the problems facing the greater Portland area and the state of Oregon. We carry out this work through three different subcommittees: Transportation and Infrastructure, Environmental Justice, and Public Power. To get involved in any of the work we’re doing, find our meetings and contact info below.
Sub-Committees
Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee
The Eco-Socialist Working Group is committed to improving our local transit and pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. The working group has many car-free members who have first hand experience navigating our constantly under-funded TriMet as well as our sometimes scary bike lanes.
One of our projects is the Bus and Turn (BAT) lanes on 82nd avenue. 82nd began as a rural road on the outskirts of a smaller Portland. Rising costs in the center of town drove low income residents and Portlanders of color to congregate around 82nd, forming a vibrant community. Today, 82nd is a vital corridor for many Portlanders. DSA ecosocialists mobilized a well attended rally and maintained consistent pressure on TriMet decision makers. The community turned out strongly in favor of BAT lanes in February of 2026 and TriMet officially recommended the lanes for most of the corridor. But the fight continues. We need to remain activated to ensure they are fully funded and to avoid the inclusion of hydrogen buses.
We have a one-page info sheet about BAT Lanes:
Environmental Justice Subcommittee
The Environmental Justice Subcommittee has three current and ongoing projects: Harborton, Zenith, and Ross Island.
Harborton
PGE proposes to upgrade electrical transmission lines through Forest Park to connect its Northwest Portland Harborton substation to substations in Beaverton and Hillsboro. This will negatively affect 4.7 acres of natural resources within Forest Park with removal of 376 trees, permanent fill of two wetlands, and disruption of two streams. The lines shouldn’t be there in the first place and shouldn’t be further expanded in Forest Park. Portland DSA is actively fighting this construction and on May 7, 2025, the Portland City Council rejected PGE’s Harborton Reliability Project. PGE is appealing that decision.
We have a one-page info sheet about the Harborton Reliability Project:
Zenith CEI Hub
In Northwest Portland, the ‘Critical Energy Infrastructure’ (CEI) Hub poses a severe and persistent threat to the safety of the community and environment. Millions of tons of oil and natural gas sit in tanks built upon unstable sediment. Beyond the day to day risks of storing these materials, the eventual Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquake will put the entire city at risk due to the energy terminal being built upon a liquefaction zone. These toxic and flammable materials would pour into our waterways and ignite fires across the city. An immediate drawdown is necessary. But the city, far too beholden to the private businesses which own and operate the CEI Hub, drags its feet. The Environmental Justice Subcommittee mobilizes alongside other local, environmentalist organizations to demand a prompt drawdown.
We have a one-page PDF about the Zenith CEI Hub:
Ross Island
Are you tired of unsafe conditions in the Willamette every summer? Did you know that the algae blooms we see every summer that make it toxic for us and our pets to swim are not natural and are actually the result of gravel mining on Ross Island which completely altered the natural state of the island and natural flow of the Willamette? Ross Island needs to be restored to its original state to allow water to flow naturally through, because the current pooling that occurs due to the removal of the channel causes warming waters which causes algae blooms. Local environmentalists have been fighting for a solution for years and we’d like to build a coalition to fight for a safer and more healthy Willamette together.
Public Power Subcommittee
The Public Power project aims to build a coalition with local organizers, laborers, and residents to push for publicly owned electric and natural gas utilities. Privately owned utilities like PGE, Pacific Power, and Northwest Natural are obligated to provide more and more stockholder profit while Portlanders and most U.S. residents served by investor owned utilities suffer under constant rate hikes. Publicly owned utilities would have no obligation to shareholders and could better serve the community. Publicly owned utilities would answer to the people meaning we would have access to push our utilities to use more renewable energy, stop utility shut-offs, upgrade our infrastructure, and overall improve transparency with the public.
We have a one-page PDF info sheet about public power:
Book Club
This small group of eco-socialists has read many books together including: Marx’s Ecology by John Bellamy Foster, The Organic Machine by Richard White, and Overshoot by Andreas Malm & Wim Carton. Discussions are grounded in socialist theory as well as ecological history and present. The group meets once a month on the first Tuesday of the month. We typically read about 100 pages or less per month.
Articles
We’ve written about some of our projects in Portland DSA’s blog, The Thorn, in the Ecosocialism Category.
Our current projects’ one-sheets are here:
Join us
Ecosocialism general meetings: We meet every 2nd Tuesday of the month @ 6:30 PM
Visit the chapter calendar to RSVP!
Contact us
ecosocialistpdx@protonmail.com