Opinion
4A
Thursday, May 27, 2021
OUR VIEW
State likely to
look for more
of your money
I
f playing the lottery is your thing, you could
soon get one more chance a week. The
Oregon Lottery Commission will soon be
voting whether to allow an additional Powerball
drawing.
It’s almost certain that the commission will
do it. It doesn’t set the rules for Powerball.
It participates in Powerball along with other
states. And the “Powerball Product Group” has
approved an additional drawing on Monday to
accompany the current drawings on Wednesday
and Saturday. If Oregon wants to keep selling
Powerball tickets, it needs to allow the addi-
tional drawing.
What will the change mean?
The states selling Powerball tickets are not
benevolently trying to create more winners.
They hope it will mean more sales of tickets
and more revenue over time. Staff of the Oregon
Lottery project increased Powerball ticket
sales will mean about a 5% increase in sales in
Oregon.
More drawings can mean more excitement.
Lottery operators hope you buy the fantasy:
Never work again. More millions than you
could ever need. Raining cash down to help
your family, your friends, your favorite causes.
The reality is your chances are pretty awful.
The probability of winning the Powerball grand
prize is 1 in 292,201,338. Winning $4 is much
easier at 1 in 38.
If you have the money to lose, Powerball
can be fun. It’s also like a voluntary tax. Since
1992, Powerball has generated between $10 mil-
lion to $20 million per fi scal year in Oregon for
things like education, state parks and services
for veterans.
The breakdown for 2020 in Oregon was:
Gross sales: $31,196,079
Prizes: $15,589,343 (50 % of gross)
State transfer: $10,615,363 (34% of gross)
Retailer commissions: $2,472,882 (sales) and
$115,176 (prize)
The gross sales fi gures in 2020 were about
half what they were in 2018.
If you buy Powerball tickets thinking it’s the
answer to bring you long-term happiness, you
are likely to win disappointment. Think of it
more as buying a fl eeting dream that also goes
to some good causes.
EDITORIALS
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express the opinions of the authors and
not necessarily that of The Observer.
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OTHER VIEWS
Climate justice for the most vulnerable
JEFF BLACKWOOD
UNDERSTANDING OUR
CHANGING CLIMATE
C
OVID-19 has taught us many
lessons. We have learned how
vulnerable underserved com-
munities, people of color, indigenous
people, women, elder care facili-
ties and prisons can be. They have
been disproportionately aff ected by
sickness, hospitalization, death and
fi nancial stress.
While some at the upper income
levels have fared better than
others, many of those at the lower
end still struggle and are on the
edge of health and fi nancial crisis.
There are similarities between
what we have experienced with
COVID and what the future may
bring with a warming climate.
As documented by NASA, 2016
and 2020 are the warmest years
in recorded history. More people
and more nations are committed
to dealing with a changing climate
than ever before. The impacts of a
changing climate are diverse and,
unfortunately, disproportionate.
Climate justice highlights dis-
parities in how our communities
and governments serve our citi-
zens. We have seen these dispari-
ties in our responses to COVID-19
infections, precautions, and vac-
cine deliveries. If we do not learn
how to better address these ineq-
uities, climate change will dispro-
portionately aff ect underserved
populations.
Climate justice is more than a
term. It is a movement to address
inequities in how climate change
can aff ect vulnerable communities.
“Climate change is happening
now and to all of us. No country or
community is immune,” according
to UN Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres. “And, as is always the
case, the poor and the vulnerable
are the fi rst to suff er and the worst
hit.”
It is ironic and deeply unfair
that people whose lifestyles con-
tribute the least to climate change
will suff er the most from its
eff ects.
Longer, drier, hotter summers
will be more diffi cult and likely
less productive for those working
outside. At home and in the offi ce,
hot days are an inconvenience for
many, but most of us can just turn
up the air conditioning, a privilege
not shared by many with lower
incomes. Recent research has
shown that low-income neighbor-
hoods often experience as much
as 7 degree Fahrenheit increase
in temperature over more affl uent
communities, due to increased
amounts of asphalt and concrete
and less shade.
Heat, respiratory illnesses,
insect-borne diseases and other
health challenges increase in
response to elevated tempera-
tures. To many, hotter, drier sum-
mers and more intense storms are
an inconvenience. When you are
living on the edge, however, these
stresses can be disastrous.
As many organizations and
communities develop diversity,
equity and inclusion policies, there
is an opportunity to turn words
into actions when preparing for
future impacts of a changing cli-
mate. We continue to address
challenges in providing access to
health care, education, housing
and wages that support families.
We are more aware of distrust
in government and communi-
ties relating to systemic racism.
Underserved communities often
struggle to infl uence policies and
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practices infl uencing their lives
and well-being. What many of us
take for granted can be barriers
for others. The more we under-
stand these barriers, the better we
can embrace meaningful equity
and inclusion in addressing issues,
such as a warming climate.
Solutions should meet the needs
of the people most impacted. To do
this, we need a concerted eff ort to
listen and understand those needs.
Which combination of language,
housing, access to aff ordable health
care, education, food security and
other issues do our underserved
and low-income communities see
as their priorities? How can trust
be improved? Only by increasing
our understanding of these priori-
ties and issues can eff ective adap-
tation and mitigation strategies be
developed for climate justice.
With COVID we are estab-
lishing a new normal for how we
work, educate and interact within
our communities. A changing cli-
mate will bring new normals as
well. As we are learning with
COVID, underserved communities
and lower-income populations are
more vulnerable than most. Those
who suff er the most tend to be
those with the fewest options. Our
region is fortunate to have many
diverse communities.
What we are experiencing with
COVID can help us learn how to
deal with societal inequities. We
have the capacity to reduce the
impacts of a changing climate on our
most vulnerable citizens if we have
the collective will.
———
Jeff Blackwood spent his career
with the U.S. Forest Service and is
a member of Eastern Oregon Cli-
mate Change Coalition, a nonprofi t
dedicated to sharing science-based
information on climate change.
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