Symposium speakers discuss
threats to national forests
Keynote speakers Marc Fink
and Andy Stahl discussed
the value of forests and the
struggle to keep them safe
By Caron Alarab
Senior News Reporter
Since the war against wildfires began
more than a century ago, more than
900 lives have been lost, professional
forester Andy Stahl said at the 13th En
vironmental Law Symposium Thursday.
"But this war cannot be won," said
Stahl, executive director of the Forest
Service Employees for Environmen
tal Ethics.
Stahl was one of two keynote
speakers at the symposium, which
drew about 50 students, faculty and
community members. The sympo
sium, organized by the University's
Journal of Environmental Law and
Litigation, focused on the environ
mental risks and commercial implica
tions of wildfires in the country.
Stahl compared the struggle to save
forests with the struggles of America's
past wars. From the airborne battle
tactics of Vietnam to the fueled con
flicts in the Persian Gulf, Stahl equat
ed the art of war to the tools of mod
em firefighting, including hazardous,
fire retardant chemicals and back
fires. And even if he didn't offer an an
swer to the "wildfire war," Stahl did
provide an alternative: To clear vege
tation surrounding homes in high
risk areas and ultimately making
those homes fireproof.
"When you've moved people out
of harm's way, you've ended the
war," he said at the end of his half
hour-long speech. "Let's withdraw
from it honorably."
The second keynote speaker, Marc
Fink, who is a staff attorney of the
Western Environmental Law Center,
gave a detailed presentation on the For
est Service's refusal to assess the nega
tive effects of post-fire timber sales.
Marc Fink, of the
Western Environ
mental Law Center,
lectures to students
and faculty
concerning
international,
national and
regional
environmental
issues Thursday
evening.
Lauren Wimer
Photographer
"The Forest Service has lost tire bat
tle by shifting to logging forests to pre
vent future fires," Fink said. "Hence,
the timber industry's voice is louder
than that of conservationists."
Fink said time-consuming "snags"
inherent in injunction and appeal
processes distract courts from the ac
celerating pace of post-fire logging.
He said it is important for the U.S.
Department of Agriculture Forest Ser
vice to disclose more information to
the public about risks related to fire
fighting methods.
"Historically, wildfires are not
widely questioned by the general
public," he said. "If all this can get dis
closed to the public, perhaps the For
est Service's methods will change."
The symposium ended earlier than
expected due to a last-minute cancel
lation by the third keynote speaker,
Scott Homgren, an attorney who has
represented the timber companies in
post-fire timber sale cases.
JELL editor Daniel Ellison, who co
ordinated the event with fellow editor
Lan Nguyen, said it took about four
months to decide on a symposium
topic and invite recommended ex
perts to speak on related issues.
Participants had several questions
for the forest fire experts. The majority
of questions centered on Fink's case
against post-fire timber sales and the
forest Service's refusal to disclose risks
associated with the use of flame-retar
dant chemicals.
While disclosure might not win the
wat Stahl said, it should strike a blow
for public interest.
"If we succeed in (making the For
est Service disclose this information),
they will have to explain all their oth
er tactics of firefighting," he said.
Contact the business/science/
technology reporter
at caronalarab@dailyemerald.com.
PRIMARY
continued from page 2
down one, to eight, one could per
haps think that choosing whom to
endorse would be that much easier,
which is not the case.
The announcement that Carol
Moseley Braun has withdrawn and
given her support to Howard Dean
does not change things. Braun with
drew because she was not going to
win, and endorsing Dean does not
mean the few who were going to vote
for her will in fact vote for him.
To be brutally honest and com
pletely undemocratic, citizens need to
vote for the person who is most likely
to win the nomination and who can
be tolerated. Voting for Al Sharp ton
because one agrees with all his view
points is perfectly acceptable, but vot
ing for another candidate who could
actually win the Democratic nomina
tion and who has similar beliefs is the
wiser move. This goes against the
democratic establishment the country
was founded on, yes, but it can actu
ally net better results.
Ihe Democrat who faces George W.
Bush will have his work cut out for
him. The war in Iraq is a success, at
least by the standard that Saddam
Hussein has been captured. The War
on Terrorism is a success, at least by
the standard that the United States
has not been attacked again. The
economy is indeed in trouble, but De
mocratic candidates committed to re
pealing tax breaks and increasing so
cial services do not seem capable of
reversing the situation.
What those in the Democratic party
need to decide are what issues are
most important to them and to what
extent those areas can be improved by
someone other than Bush.
The areas of most concern should
clearly be: A) Height, B) Tie selection
and C) Ease with which one can say
the candidate's name.
According to unscientific research,
Bush is 6 feet tall. Only John Kerry
(6'4"), Dick Gephardt (6'1") and John
Edwards (6'0") can stand up to Bush.
When it comes to tie selection,
President Bush wins, hands down.
The subtle blues and striking reds of
ten work so well with his suits that
one has to wonder whether Barbara
has stopped dressing her son.
The final factor — names — will
truly determine the next president of
the United States. Gephardt loses here
because he has too many tricky con
sonants and because, as a practice,
people named Dick don't tend to
make popular politicians. Kerry — a
John from Massachusetts — can use
his Kennedy-like style only so far. But
when push comes to shove, will
Americans really want President Car
rie negotiating for them?
So there it is: Edwards. He's equal
ly as tall as the incumbent. He can't
beat W's tie selection. But Edwards is a
good, strong name.
Except no one knows anything
about him, and he has no shot at
winning.
Which means four more years of
Shrub.
The point here is not to belittle the
candidates, democracy or the impor
tance of voting. The message is to vote
for whom you believe is the best can
didate, based on your own criteria.
Listening to others will only get you
so far.
Contact editor in chief Brad Schmidt
at editor@dailyemeraid.com.
His opinions do not necessarily
reflect those of the Emerald.
NEWS BRIEF
Oregon Hillel will host two free
Israel workshops designed to pro
vide a "training opportunity for
people who want to learn how to
stand by Israel while working for
peace," according to a release from
Executive Director of Oregon Hillel
Hal Applebaum.
The forums will look at "critical as
pects" of Israel's history and methods of
educating people about Israel despite
rampant misinformation in society.
Participants will also receive a free
copy of the book "The Case for Is
rael" by Alan Dershowitz.
The workshops are scheduled for
Jan. 28 and Feb. 4 at 5 p.m. at the Hil
lel House, located at 1059 Hilyard St.
Applebaum, University student
Lach Litwer and representatives of
the Jewish Community Relations
Council of Lane County are putting
on the workshop.
Those interested in attending
should contact Applebaum at
hal@oregonhillel.org.
— Jared Paben
017626
Arcade
Novelties
Ganes
HE & SHE I
290 River Rd., Eugene
688-5411
ADA accessible
HE & SHE II
720 Garfield, Eugene
345-2873
ALBANY
1-5 EXIT 233, 3404 Spicer Dr.
541-812-2522
New Releases weekly
VHS & DVD
5-day Rentals
Over 3,000 DVDs
• Homemade Soups
• Fresh Salads
• Fresh Pizza • Hamburgers
• Fish & Chips • Pastas • Ribs
• Microbrewed Beer and full bar
'Pizza Pipeline
X-Large 2-Item Pizza
s10"
FREE D
and 2 FREE
Soft Drinks
Eugene:
686-5808