Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 1982)
emerald platform hany esteve editor’s note Garbage is overflowing Lane County landfills and the University is about to run out of its primary energy source Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could solve both problems at once? Maybe we can. But maybe we shouldn’t. When a University consulting engineer sug gested it would be feasible for the University to bum garbage processed by Lane County's idle "resource-recovery facility,” officials from both sides perked up their ears Currently, the University’s physical plant relies on "hog fuel” — a coarse, sawdust by product of the timber industry — to fire its boilers and produce electricity for the campus. But after a depressed economy forced lumber mills to shut down, hog fuel has been in short supply. Ray Hawk, University vice president for ad ministration and finance, predicts we will run out of the precious source of fuel as early as February In that event, the University would have to depend entirely on oil — an expensive option that could quickly drain the energy budget Meanwhile, a $2.1-million waste-processing facility built by Lane County and never really used, has the potential to provide the University with all the fuel we need. The next steps seem obvious But the most obvious solutions often turn out to be the worst, and this one — as tempting as it sounds — may cause more environmental damage than it prevents • It creates air pollution During the first test of burning waste-derived fuel at the University physical plant, Lane County air pollution control officials measured emissions that were well over the legal limit. The University would have to spend about $1 million in anti-pollution devices before they could legally burn the proposed fuel. • It acts as a deterrent to conservation and source separation recycling Once major energy users, such as the University, become dependent on waste-derived fuel a continuous supply of garbage must be available In this case, the pressure to reduce the solid waste stream is reduced Instead of recycling paper, which makes up 50 percent of the total solid waste stream, the paper is burned Statistics show that paper can be recycled up to eight times before its fibers become useless • It presents a risk of dispersing hazardous wastes into the atmospere Television screens monitor the waste that is fed into the Lane County resource recovery facility, but they may not do an adequate job of ensuring that disposed toxic chemicals or plastics do not wind up as fuel By far the worst way to handle the tremen dous volume of waste Lane County residents produce each day is to haul it to the Glenwood landfill and simply dump it Once there, it slowly breaks down, producing dangerous methane gas and poisonous leachates that surface in the local waterways The best way to handle it is by source-sepa ration recycling Metals, glass and paper are sort ed, transported to local recyclers and used as raw materials for new products Burning garbage as an energy source falls somewhere in between It is one step toward reducing a very big environmental problem, but it is a step away from solving it The bright vision of a waste-free future should not be blurred by the short term appeal of sending our solid waste problems up in smoke letters Open sneer In regards to last week's Sexual revolution?' column: Oh, my, aren’t you (Cort Fernald, editorial page editor) one smug, complacent, ar rogant asshole, sitting up there on some editorial throne, openly sneering at people Somehow, in your godlike omniscience, you consign a roomful of people you’ve never spoken with to the personal hell of "desperation Sounds like projection, to me Some writers, devoid of original ideas, incapable of deep perception, fall back on individual style You, unhappily. have none Dreary, stereo typical description results from your Olympian perspective too far removed to see people in dimensions I only finished reading because I had set it as a project, to see what the angry letters were about Now I know Richard G. Juul senior, journalism Concerning your first statement — you’re only half right C.F Third-rate Cort Fernald's column "De classe at D O.A " is a self-con gratulatory, misguided creed, and a classic example of the kind of shoddy, biased jour nalism I have come to associate with the Emerald It seems as though Fernald wanted to write a review of the film D.O.A., but couldn't find anything to say about it, and wrote instead a third-rate attack at a scene that barely exists Fernald is fooling himself when he says "D O.A was al legedly intended to debunk the Sex Pistols' myth " D O.A was intended to bring cash and fame to the people who financed and produced the film That is not to say that it was a bad movie It did, in fact make a strong statement It is nobody's fault that a few kids interpreted that statement as being "punk rules OK'" No one went to DO. A with the idea of seeing the Sex Pis tols myth debunked People went to D O.A because they wanted to see movies of the Sex Pistols Fernald. however, went to the Bijou Wednesday not to see a movie about the Sex Pistols, but to see a freak show* He saw what he wanted Wherever there is an under ground music scene, one can find a few "weekend punks ." Sometimes, regretably. they are the scene's most visible element That does not mean that every punk in town is a pretentious trendy, nor does it mean that some of us don't have something to say, or that we aren't doing something pro gressive and constructive Labeling every punk" in Eugene a jerk or a poseur is a strange thing to do Perhaps, in his haste to express his cooler than-thou attitude, Fernald for got that punk is about doing what you want to, not what you're told to do I don't need Cort Fernald to tell me how to dress and how to act, and I refuse to worry about how he dresses and acts Fernald says of Terry-the punk "He had no musical talent at all — and no talent is not enough ” Johnny Rotten once said, "Lack of musical talent presents no barriers: one does not need to be a good musician to be a good songwriter or a good performer Or to have fun ” Instead of giggling at punk rock, Fernald should try think ing clearly about it Sid Vicious died a helpless junkie with a murder rap on him Does that mean a kid living with his mom and dad in fairly affluent sur roundings has no reason to feel oppressed, has nothing to rebel against9 There are more impor tant things to hate than mom and dad So what if a few (erks thought they should dress up and "act punk' when they went to see D O.A. 9 They are fools, and are recognised as such I just regret that new wave cretins give punk a bad name, much as short-sighted, self-righteous writers give journalism a bad name Todd Souvignier freshman, pre-journalism Awful mast Well, I just can't hold back any longer I've tried to give it time but, sorry I think the new masthead you've adopted for this paper is awful While it at tempts to be bold and lean, it comes off as morbid and trite I'm not necessarily a tradition alist, but your past masthead read like the name of a news paper This one reads like an advertisement or an obituary Gene Bressler associate professor landscape architecture staff Tha Oragon Dally Emaratd la publlshad Monday through Friday axcapt during finala waak and vacations by tha Oragor Daily Emarald Publishing Co. Naws 686-5511 Advartlslng/Buslnast 666-3712 C la salt lads 666-4343 Production 666-4361 Editor Sally Hodgkmson Managing Editor Gabriel Boehmer Newt Editor Harry ESteve Assistant News Editor John Healy Photo Editor Bob Baker Graphict Editor MaxDeBungs Editorial Page Editor Corf Fern aid Sports Editor Steve Spatz Associate Sports Editor Jeff Dickerson Entertainment Editor Matt Meyer Night Editor John Healy^ Associate Editors ASUO Dane Claussen Community Marian Green Departments and Schools Debbie Hewlett Fsaturet Caroline Petrich Higher Education Ann Portal Politica / Environment Hon Hunt General Staff Advefllalng Dlreclc Darlene Gore detained Advertising Sally Ol/ar Production manager Ann Peterson Controller Jean Ownbey
