Charlie Hales is getting on a plane and headed east to talk climate change for the second time in the past two weeks.
The Portland mayor will attend a Monday conference at the White House to discuss the Environmental Protection Agency's plan to cut emissions at the nation's power plants.
Dana Haynes, Hales' spokesman, said the invitation arrived Friday, the day after Portland made national headlines for a dramatic Greenpeace-led action on the St. Johns Bridge protesting Shell Oil's Arctic drilling plans.
Hales will be one of either 10 or 11 U.S. mayors at the conference, Haynes said. Haynes said he didn't know any more specifics about the conference.
While the conference isn't specifically connected to drilling in the Arctic, Haynes said the mayor believes the invitation is the "perfect opportunity" to share Portland's story from the past 72 hours. "Here is what we just heard from thousands of thousands of Portlanders on the area of fossil fuels," Haynes said.
On Friday, Hales specifically took a stance against drilling in the Arctic.
"Protest is important because that's how you reach the attention of lawmakers, who listen and then act to change the laws. I listened," Hales said in a statement. "In fact, I agree that the arctic should be off-limits to oil exploration."
Hales will also try to meet with U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, who wants to ban drilling in the Arctic.
Hales just returned this week from a trip to Italy, where he participated in a special summit hosted by Pope Francis and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
The city of Portland paid for the Vatican trip, and will pay for Hales' trip to Washington D.C.
Hales, who was supposed to be on vacation, will be in Washington for about 24 hours.
-- Andrew Theen
atheen@oregonian.com
503-294-4026
@cityhallwatch