Last month Multnomah County filed suit against several of the largest fossil fuel and coal-producing corporations to hold them accountable for damages from the 2021 Pacific Northwest Heat Dome, one of the deadliest and most destructive human-made weather disasters in American history, in which 69 Multnomah County residents lost their lives. The County alleges in this lawsuit that the historical carbon pollution from the use of Defendants’ fossil fuel products was a substantial factor in causing and exacerbating the heat dome, which smothered the County’s residents for several days.
On this episode of Locus Focus we talk with John Wasiutynski, Director of Sustainability for Multnomah County, about this historic lawsuit. We also talk about Climate Planning and Climate extremes and the ongoing concerns about Portland's Critical Energy Infrastructure hub and how the county can weigh in on mitigating its dire hazards.
- KBOO