This Earth Day, Let’s Talk About Who Gets Left Out of Climate Conversations
At Our Just Future, we believe in building a world where everyone has a safe place to call home. And as Earth Day approaches, we’re reminded that creating a livable planet isn’t just about recycling or riding a bike—it’s about climate justice.
Climate justice means recognizing that some communities are hit first and worst by environmental crises. And that includes the people we serve every day: individuals and families navigating poverty, housing insecurity, and/or homelessness.
This Earth Day, while we plant trees and clean up parks, we’re also asking: Who gets to be protected in a changing climate? And who doesn’t?
The Climate Crisis Hits Unhoused People Hardest
It’s no secret that Portland’s climate is changing. What used to be a reliably mild, temperate city now sees longer, hotter summers and dangerously cold winters.
As recently as the summer of 2021, our region experienced an unprecedented “heat dome,” with temperatures reaching 116°F. That event claimed 69 lives in Multnomah County alone. Many victims were elderly, isolated, or unhoused—without access to air conditioning, shelter, or support. Since 2021, there have been more heat-related fatalities each summer, with five recorded deaths in 2022, six in 2023, and another six just last summer.
More recently, in early February 2025, a man experiencing homelessness died from hypothermia in Southwest Portland. The city declared a weather emergency, but as with so many crises, it came too late for some.
And it’s not just temperature. In 2021, wildfires swept through parts of East Multnomah County, triggering evacuations and blanketing the region in thick smoke for days. Those without stable housing had no way to escape the toxic air—no doors to close, no filters to run, no safe place to go.
The year before, in 2020, Oregon’s wildfire season consumed over a million acres and destroyed more than 4,000 homes. Eleven people died, 40,000 were evacuated, and another 500,000 lived in evacuation zones. The air was so hazardous that public health emergencies were declared across the state.
Many of those displaced turned to already-strained urban shelters for help. In some cases, fire evacuees were prioritized over people who were already unhoused—highlighting the painful, often invisible tiers of vulnerability in our crisis response systems.
Climate threats come in many forms—and the unhoused are often left to face all of them alone.
These are not isolated incidents. They’re the new normal in a warming world—and the people most at risk are those with the fewest resources to cope. Climate resilience, it would seem, is a privilege, not a guarantee.
Not All Neighborhoods Are Created Equal
Portland is one of many cities with a stark “urban heat island” effect: neighborhoods with more concrete and less tree canopy can be 10–15 degrees hotter than leafier areas just a few miles away during a heatwave. The majority of heat-related deaths in 2021 happened in the Lents and Rockwood communities—communities Our Just Future serves.
These are not coincidences. The neighborhoods with the fewest trees are often the ones that have been disinvested in for decades—lower-income, historically redlined areas where many BIPOC families live. These communities face a perfect storm: hotter summers, fewer resources, lack of adequate air conditioning or updated HVAC systems, and skyrocketing rents that push families closer to the edge. When climate change and housing insecurity collide, it’s not just uncomfortable—it’s dangerous.
Housing Is a Climate Justice Issue
When we talk about climate resilience, we need to talk about housing. Because no amount of cooling centers or emergency alerts can make up for the safety and stability that permanent housing provides.
That’s why we believe in Housing First. It’s not just an evidence-based approach to ending homelessness—it’s a public health strategy and a climate survival tool. When someone has housing, they have a door to close against the cold and a fan or A/C to turn on during a heatwave. In other words, with supportive housing, people have a fighting chance to be resilient.
What Earth Day Can Be
Earth Day isn’t just about the planet—it’s about people. Especially those whose lives are treated as disposable in climate conversations. It’s about reckoning with how systems of poverty, racism, and environmental harm are deeply connected.
And it’s a chance to do better—a chance not just to celebrate the earth, but also to recognize our interdependence with it.
This year, as Portland celebrates Earth Day with parades, park cleanups, and community events, let’s also commit to protecting the most vulnerable among us—not just through words, but through action, policy, and resource allocation.
Because everyone deserves a livable climate—and a place to call home.
Want to make an impact this Earth Day?
- Join our email list to learn more about how we’re building climate justice from the ground up through affordable housing and emergency shelter that protects those most at risk in our changing climate.
- Join the city’s Earth Day – Together As One Celebrations
Celebrate with the City and dozens of sustainability partners, with free family activities, food, networking, community resources, and fun! - Visit EarthDay.org for ideas, strategies, and helpful tips to embrace on Earth Day and every day.
Sources:
- Multco.us, 2021 heat killed 72 people in Multnomah County; most were older, lived alone, had no AC, 2022
https://multco.us/news/2021-heat-killed-72-people-multnomah-county-most-were-older-lived-alone-had-no-ac - Multco.us, Hypothermia Death Occurring Feb 2, 2025
https://multco.us/news/multnomah-county-medical-examiner-identifies-one-hypothermia-death-occurring-feb-2-2025 - Thomas Meinzen, Urban Heat Islands: A Peek into Portland’s Shady History, 2020
https://www.columbiaslough.org/blog/portland-urban-heat-islands - Skanner News, Portland on List of Cities with Tree Canopy Inequity, 2021
https://www.theskanner.com/news/newsbriefs/31631-portland-on-list-of-cities-with-tree-canopy-inequity - Hines, Petteni, Kowlton, Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative, 2022
https://www.pdx.edu/homelessness/stories-outside-oregon-wildfires-2020 - National Alliance to End Homelessness, Housing First
https://endhomelessness.org/resources/toolkits-and-training-materials/housing-first/
