Portland

“It is both true that as a society our energy needs have increased and it is also true that Forest Park is a highly valued environmental resource,” Childs wrote. “This land use case however, is about facts, not feelings.”

...Did she really just paraphrase a thought-terminating cliche from Ben Shapiro in her decision...? What a clown. This isn't about facts or feelings, this is about PGE's refusal to just spend the money to route power transmission around protected land. This is truly fucking insane and if Portlanders actually care about their forest they need to keep escalating this up to and including direct action. Our residential power bills have gone up like 200% in the past few years in the name of funding a green energy transition. Hey PGE, why don't you use some of that cash pile we've been forking over to you on some concern for actual greenery??

For those of you who still use mainstream social media, the headline for reposting this should be "Portland hearings officer Marisha Childs paraphrases Ben Shapiro in decision allowing PGE to cut down Forest Park".

I'm not done ranting. It's shit like that you point at when you need glaring proof that we do not live in a democracy. None of us have any real legal say in this matter, despite living here, despite using and caring about the land that will be affected. PGE's desires here are wildly unpopular in the location those desires would affect, and despite the fact that this location is their main customer base, despite the fact that there are viable and obvious alternatives, they can still get their way. When the only way that a community can achieve the rational and desired outcome is to abandoned the institutions established oestensibly for that purpose and work outside of and in direct opposition to them, then those institutions are not democratic.

What the fuck is a "hearings officer"??? Where is the community vote on what happens to their park?