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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 1987)
Editorial Protect arctic area against oil drilling In these days of uncertainly about the oil supply from the Persian Gulf, the U S. Department of Interior has been considering alternatives to the current over-reliance on foreign oil. And. alas, one of these alternatives, according to Donald Model, U S. Secretary of the Interior, is to exploit wilderness regions, particularly Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). an undisturbed strip of land along Alaska's northern coast that is home to rare mammals and countless species of birds. In an attempt to solve "dependence on unstable sources of foreign oil." drilling for oil at the 1.5 million-acre coastal plain is "vital to our national security." argues Model, who is attempting to persuade Congress to open up the wildlife refuge. Drilling at the refuge, however, would incur long-run costs that outweigh any short-run benefits from the extracted oil. Although about $15 billion dollars of oil potentially could be received from the proposed area, about 180,000 caribou would be displaced — a result that could have negative effects, such as stopping the caribou from reproducing. Other fragile wildlife, such as two million shorebirds, also would be displaced. Fut her more, the drilling would violate the sensitive en vironment and ecosystem of the region. Roads would be constructed, noises and air pollution would be discharged, and the wilderness would be exposed to all the adverse af fects resulting from the presence of people. The Interior Department conducted a study of the en vironmental impact that could be expected from drilling in the area, but according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency it was tainted with inaccurate and inadequate infor mation. Moreover, the report neglected to consider in full the environmental costs of drilling. If the Interior Department is determined to drill at AN YVR, the least it would do is provide an objective study of hte environmental effects along with recommendations. Aside from the potential environmental Impact, other costs exist Drilling at the refuge, where there’s only a 19-percent chance that any oil will be discovered, would decrease the incentive to look elsewhere for a less en vironmentally sensitive location with a higher probability of oil extraction. If the Interior Department adamantly believes that it must increase domestic oil production for the sake of national security, then alternative oil-drilling sights that would not displace a large amount of wildlife or damage a sensitive environment should be considered. The incentive to develop other energy means as a substitute for oil consumption also becomes a low priority. If special interest groups, such as oil corporations, are allowed to exploit the environment at will, the environment with suffer and technological progress aimed at overcoming dependence on increasingly scare resources is less likely to occur. The short-run gains of consuming domestically ex tracted oil will be offset by unrepairable long-run costs to the environment. People with big-business interests, such as Hodel, myopically pursue environmental policies oriented toward short-run benefits, and hence fail to perceive the long-run implications of their actions. Or if they do perceive the implications, they do not care. « *r£jf3 BILLY MARTIN] RETURNS TO j VANMEf Letters Misguided In reading Jeff Morn*rich's letter. it mnu that his com ments are colored by homophobia and misinforma tion regarding the transmission of AIDS (ODE. Oct 19| He claims that the recent Supreme Court Marti wick deci sion is the U S. government's attempt ''to do away with one of the major causes of AIDS." His linking of the court ruling allowing states to uphold or create anti-sodomy laws to AIDS prevention seems misguided at the bust The Hardwick decision allows each state to pass laws barring two people (in many states the law indicates two peo ple of the same gender) from engaging in anal intercourse. Tim Hughes, co-director of the University Gay and Lesbian Alliance, was correct in sug gesting that the court decision is an attempt to restrict the right to ''love whom we choose in the way we choose." Mornarich dismisses Hughes’ comment by stating. "Unfor tunately you are entitled to your own opinion." He further displays his homophobic bias later in his letter by adding. "Why don’t you start attaching your flyers to cast iron trousers?" AIDS is hardly a subject of which to be making light If Mornarich were to educate himself more thoroughly on AIDS and its transmission, he would learn that anal inter course is not the only activity that has the potential of spreading the HIV. Vaginal in tercourse and oral sex can also spread the disease just as effec tively. Why doesn’t he push for laws barring these sexual acts? Even "wet kissing" is con sidered only "possibly safe." Perhaps Mornarich should be evaluating his own practices rather than condemning those of others. AIDS is much too serious for anyone to be poin ting fingers The fact is that anyone who practices unsafely any activity is placing himself or herself at risk of infection Insensitivity and ignorance, as demonstrated by Mornarich. are inappropriate and ineffective methods by which to debate the manage ment and prevention of AIDS. Mark l.anglic Sophomore, theatre arU Cross cultural At 7:15 p m. Friday. Oct. 16. my roommate and some dorm mates are ready to purchase some alcoholic beverages from the cashier of a local store My roommate. 23. shows his driver's license. Then another. The cashier calls another clerk over who says he's in charge. He looks at the two. then another, before saying he can't accept out-of-state I.D.s. He needs three I D s to make this statement. My roommate's neighbor of fers his I D. It will be understan dable if this particular I D. were from Oregon, but it isn't. It is just another out-of-state driver's license My roommate files a written complaint on the spot while a manager conies by. The clerk tells him that this guy is acting like a jerk, and we are eventual ly asked to go elsewhere. The manager explicitly rips up the complaint What is so uncommon about this? The fact is that this kind of thing is too common. My room mate who got his I.D.s rejected is black. Mis neighbor, whose 1.1) was accepted, isn't. |ust plain sad. In today's business and social worlds, it's becoming increas ingly important to be able to get along with, understand and become friends with people of different cultures This is the theme of one such dorm on campus. Adams Cross Cultural. Through relationships with people of different color, na tionality or religion, one can gain invaluable knowledge and much improved attitudes just by knowing different kinds of people (this means by giving them a chance and actually get ting to know them), one can automatically learn important, new physical, social and com munication skills and ultimate ly gain some fresh attitudes on being able to enjoy life even more. There's an entire world out there, so don't live on an island. You won't get anywhere. Neil Takemoto Architecture Oregon Daily Emerald The Oregon Daily Emerald 11 published Monday through Friday except during exam weeh and vacations by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co . at the University of Oregon, Eugene. 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