Daily Emerald £f(llt01*l£tl
Area economies
must diversify
As exported. Congress declared the northern spot
ted owl a threatened species last week The bird will
be protected under the Endangered Species Act offer
live July 2.) Under the law. threatened species cannot
be harmed nor can their habitats be destroyed without
federal government approval
A threatened species is considered likely to be
come extinct without protection, whereas an endan
gered species is most certain to become extinct
A US. Forest Service study completed in April
states that the northern spotted owl has lost about two
thirds of its natural habitat since 1801) The panel that
completed the report recommended that more than t
million acres of previously unprotected forests be set
aside to preserve the owls' habitat.
Timber industry representatives claim that pre
venting logging of the old growth forests will cost the
Northwest between 25-75.000 jobs But blaming the
northern spotted owl on timber industry problems ig
nores the real problem. Regardless of whether owls
need protecting, and they do. the beauty of old growth
forests is reason enough to explore alternatives to cur
rent timber company practices.
The timber industry has known for a long time that
its obscene clearcutting policy could not last forever
While not always visible front the family oar. the rape
of our forests can clearly be seen from the air.
It is unfortunate that timber industry workers .ire
suffering the most. But during the previous decade
many area mills have shut down while laborers blessed
enough to keep working took pay cuts. Signs that the
glory days of logging are over have been evident for a
long time. The increased shift to automation in mills,
the rise of raw log exports, and the failure to transform
to second-growth timber base are to blame for the ma
jority of lost jobs But to continue cutting old growth
forests simply to keep people working is foolhardy and
unfeasible.
If society eliminated crime, thousands of law-en
forcement officials, lawyers, judges and prison workers
would lose their jobs. If people became more health
conscious. thousands of doctors, nurses and hospital
workers would lose their jobs. Because jobs would be
lost, does this mean that a lawful, healthy populace
isn't desirable? Of course not.
The benefits to society would outweigh the disad
vantages. The United States has made the transition
from agrarian to manufacturing to service-oriented so
ciety within the past (it) years New jobs were created
to replace the antiquated ones. Togging towns, like
family farms, will soon he a page in history. Instead of
lighting the inevitable, legislators must work together
with timber companies and their employees to devise
and implement alternative economic opportunities.
Listing the spotted owl as a threatened species is
forcing the Pacific Northwest to do what should have
been done a long time ago — diversify its economic
base.
Oregon Daily
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TWIN PEAKS
i—r
T
T
Letters
Debatable
bins is in reply In Ihi' i mil
mcnlaiA In A11m*tIt* Bridges on
i en.sorship .mil pornography I
()l II 111 in- l'i| I disagree u illi
hoi \ leu s mi sevcral i mints
I list i it .ill, 1 llfl li*vr tli.it I Ilf If
mov.il ot the .dorfmcnlimn'd
magazines is i ensorship. il it
xx alks like .1 ilntk I Ilf
c|uestion boils don n to il il is
true that pornography i .iiisi-s
\ iolfiu c to wonif n do these ft
tfi ts outweigh the damage
i .uised In promulgating t en
sorslup in this i ountrx ' I re.il
i/.e this is ,i sensitive value
judgment but I lor one believe
that the potential eltei ts ot i en
smshlp t.u outweigh am otliei
i misider.ition I bis Is not to
sax I condone violent e upon
women personally 1 don't con
done x lolein e m general
Sei oildlx the issue .Is to
whether pmnograpln (erotica)
causes violence to women is
debatable *1 es. there is a i orre
lalion between the two but i or
relations merely suggest a po
tential causal relationship I
would not at all be surprised it
there are complex variables be
txx ecu the txx o
hast (although these are rela
t ix el x unimportant!. Ms
Bridges implies that pornogra
phv (erotii a) is "hi and tor
men " This is just plain naive
|e Heliexe It or not. Annette,
there are plentx ot women that
both enjoy pornography and
i ontribute to its publii .itiou
| i e tile publii at ion ) rllon
Silk| Also bondage per se is
not always prat tit ed m a \ io
lent manner
)oilii Hainhridge
Kugene
Respect life
Suppose .1 famous pianist
loses two fingers ill .m .» 1 ideni
and i .in ncvei plav again I te
1 alls I )r krv 01 kiail (niakei oi
the infamous intravenous sui
i ide mat hine| ami savs I )oi
I i an t heat the pain and loss ot
(Inputs and livelihood hook
ini' up to you 1 mat hine
Mien Donald Trump 1 alls be
t a use Ms Maples dumped
him He has dei hired bankrupt
i \ and run I take the loss iif
"quality ol life " indignity and
emotional distress What vs ill
the criteria be to dei ide who
mas leg.ills < onimit suit ide:'
What is dignity' CJualitv of
litev Should the thousands of
terminally ill Ameru ans who
go into rt mission eat h v ear
have ended their struggle upon
diagnosis even before the
good news' ( ertamlv not, and
neither should have |anet Ad
kins
Ameru an sot lets fails to re
spei t the sain tits of human life
before birth (abortions) and
now ill the name of "dignity,
quality of life " and even
’ love." seeks to eliminate life
w hu h tails to meet the 1 riteria
Ibis is a grave emu The trip
pled, retarded, comatose and
senile elderlv all lai k "qualitv
ot life' bv some standards The
suffering also earn our synipu
tin and we must ease their
[rain, i o in fort i ng the afflicted
and healing the sii k Hut never
should we assist in the unnatu
ral death of an innocent person,
even oneself for all the wis
dom and 1 huraoter so many
have gained through suffering
and trials, how spiritualh poor
our world would be it we al
ways bailed out of life at the
-Letters Policy__
Letters to the editor must be limited to no more than
250 words, legible, signed and the identification of
the writer must be verified when the letter is submit
ted.
The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for
length or style.
sight nl adversity
Brandon Shepard
K ugene
Poor planning
Millions ol American basket
hall fans watching the Blazers
Pistons game v ere exposed to
the raw he,nitv ol Ml Hood
over Portland the other night
Phis exposure of our prec ions
natural resouri e is no douhl
worth millions in puhlii rela
lions tor (Oregon's tourism el
fort
What Amerie airs couldn't see
from the t dIS i amera view point
is the expanse ol i lean ills ahut
ting the miniature wilderness
area surrounding the base ol
Mt llood The\ would he
sill)i keel
Anybody taking oil on a c lear
d.n m a jet plane heading Hast
from Portland i an see for them
selv es the extent of logging and
clean uts in the ( ,w ades Tim
her industrs arguments that en
v ironmeutalists have "locked
up" the lores! don't seem verv
persuasive at that moment
Is there some moral inipera
live that Western c ivilization
must c onsume and destroy the
oldest and most prec ions ol our
natural resoun es. destroy and
fragment an entire living ecu
sy stem all tor the sake of timber
industry profits''
Automation, log exports,
lack ol planning and invest
merit (public and private-) tor
the transition to a second
growth timber economy are the
real culprits ol job loss in the
lores! products industry
Resolution of this issue de
fines ()regon as a state- c ommit
ted to our long-term environ
mental needs or as a state
where short-term thinking
reigns supreme as our forests,
air. water, fish and wildlife
gradually deteriorate
I sev let 's vote on it
State Kep. Dave McTeugue
District 25