Last November, Portland, Oregon, put a major crimp in the fossil fuel industry's plan to turn the Pacific Northwest into a hub for exporting coal, oil, and liquefied natural gas. First, the city council passed a resolution opposing projects that would increase the amount of crude oil being transported by train in and around the city. The following week, it voted to oppose the expansion of infrastructure that would store or transport fossil fuels in the municipality.  

According to the Sightline Institute, a nonprofit think tank in Seattle, since 2012 more than a dozen projects have been proposed to transport crude oil by rail from the tar sands of Canada to Pacific Northwest refineries and port terminals. If the projects were carried out, their total greenhouse gas emissions would be roughly equivalent to adding 28 million automobiles to the region's roads.

"These resolutions are not symbolic," says Andy Maggi, director of the Sierra Club's Oregon Chapter. "Any project that gets developed is almost certainly going to have an infrastructure component that touches Portland." 

For both votes, the city council chamber was overflowing with supporters. The Oregon Chapter worked with other organizations, rallying volunteers to call and email city council members and to attend both hearings. "There's a fantastic grassroots climate movement in Portland," Maggi says. "And we really saw it coming together."