Commentary
Oregon Daily Emerald
Thesday, October 11, 2005
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I can't believe he showed up with that SUJTL.Ever since he
started hanging out with her, All he wants to do is get LAID!
■ In my opinion
My job or a blog?
I want to talk about something that
many people are doing and even more
people are talking about. Done by both
pom stars and politicians, the novelty of
this pastime has grown with increasing
frequency. I’m talking, of course, about
blogging. Why? What did you think I
was talking about?
Over the past few years it has become
more popular than ever to post musings
online for the world to see. Numerous
candidates in last year’s election cycle
kept campaign blogs on their Web sites.
But blogging isn’t just for famous peo
ple. Saturday The Register-Guard report
ed that MySpace — a social networking
site — had replaced Google as the most
popular site on the Internet (measured
in page views per month). One of the
more accessible features of MySpace al
lows users to keep blogs in addition to
maintaining their directory profiles.
Some of these blogs are updated once
in a blue moon. Some of these blogs are
updated several times a day. Some of
these blogs focus on day-to-day events
in the author’s life, while others are full
of pseudo-intellectual posturing in the
forms of poems and essays.
Blogging, which originated through
investigative Internet journalists who
gained notoriety in the late ‘90s, has
been a gold mine for the parasites at the
cable news networks. Now, instead of
repeating what they read in
newspapers, they merely have to hop
GABE BRADLEY
THE WRITING ON THE WALL
online and repeat what they read in a
number of prominent news-oriented
blogs.
But the purpose of this column is not
to chronicle the already well-document
ed blogging fad; rather, my job is to pro
vide insight, analysis and pure
speculation.
The first question most people have
about any fad is, “Will it last?” In nine
out of 10 cases, the answer is no. In this
case, though, it’s difficult to say. People
love to express themselves. Whether
people will continue to write their inner
most thoughts and bad poetry is not re
ally the question. The question is
whether they will continue to do so in
an electronic, public forum, or if such
ramblings will return to speckled com
position books from which they
once dwelled.
Personally, I don’t get the appeal of
blogs because it seems like a lot of work
for very little payoff. I mean, how many
people actually read these things? With
hundreds of thousands of blogs out
there, the majority of bloggers must be
sending their thoughts out into cyber
oblivion to die lonely deaths.
When I write something, I want as
many people as possible to read it and
hopefully respond. For instance, I
wouldn’t continue to write this weekly
column if the Emerald didn’t have a
wide enough audience to keep a nearly
constant stream of hate mail flowing
through my inbox.
Perhaps that’s why I don’t get the ap
peal of blogs; they’re not something
new to me. Publishing my random
thoughts for public consumption is my
job, the daily grind, so to speak. There
are some differences, of course. I don’t
get to write my own headlines; I have to
write on a certain time frame and follow
certain guidelines; I have to ask permis
sion in order to use profanity (shit, piss,
damn); also, I have to let other people
cut up my words before they see the
light of day. In exchange for those re
strictions, however, I have access to a
much larger audience than is available
to the average blogger.
So to all you bloggers out there
who want a bigger audience, all you
need to do is have me killed and then
submit samples of your work to the
Oregon Daily Emerald on the third
floor of the EMU.
gbrajdLey@dailyemercdd.com
INBOX
Anti-hnaangerea species
Bill: unacceptable
The Endangered Species Act should
be strengthened to provide more protec
tion for the ever-decreasing number of
endangered plants and wildlife. Pom
bo’s Anti-Endangered Species Bill fails
on all fronts.
Why do biological species become
endangered in the first place? Loss of
habitat. A plant or animal species
cannot suivive u u uas iiu piace iu giuw
and prosper.
Why is protecting plant and wildlife
habitat more important than human’s
short-range economic interest? Because
without plants and wildlife, humans
cannot survive.
Why are laws necessary, and why
do environmental groups and eco
lawyers donate countless hours and
dollars trying to protect biodiversity?
Dtrudust: wuucmcdd diiu wuuiiic iidvc
no one to defend them against human
self-interest.
Developers want to be compensated
for loss of “productive land. ” What com
pensation is offered to the species whose
home is cut down, grazed over or
sucked dry? Ask the Southern California
Kit Fox, or the Wisconsin Cougar. Oh
yeah, you can’t, because they’re extinct.
Michael Frol
Eugene
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■ Editorial
National
government
could learn
from state
When it comes to the environment, Ore
gon tends to be one of the most progressive
states in the nation. Even more exciting is
the fact that the University of Oregon is
about as green as they come.
At the end of last year, University stu
dents overwhelmingly approved an ASUO
ballot measure to power our student union
solely with wind energy. For no more than
60 cents per term, per student, the EMU
now derives its electricity through a renew
able, turbine-driven power source.
Those who campaigned in favor of the
wind energy ballot easily convinced the
student body that in the midst of a global
crisis over energy, it was important for the
University to delve into alternative, envi
ronmentally friendly energy sources. The
University still receives much of its power
from hydro-electric sources, but the success
of the Wind Energy Initiative is a powerful
symbol of students’ commitment to lessen
their effect on the environment.
Also impressive aDoui ine umversuy is
the fact that every year, ASUO Street Faire
planners work to make their event recy
cling-friendly. This year, ASUO Marketing
Director David Watson expressed his desire
to “make it a zero-waste production.” Any
one cruising the sidewalks last week in
search of an available trash can attest to the
fair organizers’ logistical ability to reduce
trash and promote recycling.
Although not specific to Eugene, Alter
NetRides.com is a carpool service now ac
cessible to University students and faculty.
AlterNetRides, with a database of drivers
and riders, provides a simple way to reduce
the burning of fossil fuels. Because modern
infrastructure makes it difficult for many to
operate without the help of a motorized ve
hicle, carpools and other forms of public
transportation provide one of the best ways
to get where you’re going while reducing
your reliance on fossil fuels. We hope stu
dents and staff will take advantage of this
easy new service.
Unfortunately, there are still many places
in the United States that lag behind Oregon
in terms of environmental friendliness. Late
last month, the U.S. House of Representa
tives Committee on Resources passed an en
ergy bill that would have, among other pro
visions, fostered the construction of oil
pipelines in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge. Although Republicans later dropped
the bill, it demonstrated some legislators’
willingness to prioritize short-term fuel so
lutions over long-term environmental stabil
ity. Thankfully, logic prevailed.
But unlike the University, the federal
government is still unwilling to research
and implement non-traditional energy op
tions. Sadly, as long as national govern
ment encourages environmentally harmful
exploits, it will become increasingly harder
to devise and carry out long-term solutions
to conserve our natural resources.
Oregon residents, University students es
pecially, deserve praise for having the con
tinual goal of a healthy, thriving environ
ment. Even when such a goal incurs a
small cost or inconvenience, locals are will
ing to make a personal sacrifice for the sake
of something larger. Such a strong focus on
the Earth should not be taken for granted
and should be emulated even more in
the future. We applaud this state and
this school.