opinion
00R FALLING DOLLAR,
(WHICH CHEAPENS
OOR LABOR COSTS).
>
Shield law
protection
House Bill 2418 is not just a bill asking for
protection of Oregon newspapers and media
reporters. It also asks for citizen protection.
The bill would amend the six-year-old shield
law in Oregon which now states, “no person con
nected with, employed by or engaged in any
medium of communication to the public shall be
required by a legislative executive or judicial of
ficer or body, or any other authority having power
to compell testimony or the production of eviden
ce to disclose . . . sources ... or unpublished in
formation.”
The new amendment would include “by means
of search warrant, subpoena or otherwise” after
the word “evidence” in the current law.
This bill would insure that confidential infor
mation gathered from sources for use in an article
or broadcast would remain confidential. It would
prevent law enforcement officers from busting in
to a pressroom to confiscate material to be used
in an article. This tactic of confiscation has been
used before, but passing of the new bill amen
dment would make it against the law.
As it stands now, the bill has passed through
both a legislative sub-committee and the House
Judiciary Committee and will be coming up on
the House floor soon. If approved by the House, it
will go to the Senate for approval.
Approval of this measure is of great importance
to citizens outside the media field. A confidential
source who actually may fear for his personal
safety if his identity became known would be safer
under the new law.
We support this bill and hope the House and
Senate see the importance of such a law to be
placed on the books.
J
_______
AND, NEED I MENTION
MV STANO ON ABORTION,
AND BIRTH CONTROL?
vp&if-K’W
feedback--------
Your editorial regarding
reinstatement of the Draft
(“Draft, Anyone?”, March 7)
doesn’t really state clearly
whether or not you oppose
resurrecting the Draft or enac
ting some form of national ser
vice, but it does leave the
definite impression that you
don’t.
I believe that some sort of
national service ought to be
required of every American
when he or she is graduated
from high school.
The service could be in the
form of military service or, for
those whose personal convic
tion would make military ser
vice difficult, another kind of
commitment, such as working
in a mental hospital, or with
retarded persons, or on an In
dian reservation, or in a ghetto,
or in any one of dozens of
other occupations which are
always in need of talent.
With such a national man
datory
national
service
program in effect there surely
would be enough young
people who would choose the
military as their commitment
that armed forces quotas would
be satisfied.
A strong national defense
program, including sufficient
manpower, is necessary to
protect the United States and
its assets.
More important than having
will be 10,000 tons and by the
end of the century, 100,000
tons. Depending on the type of
fuel used, the nuclear waste
has a half life (a period of time
after which it’s considered non-
lethal) of anywhere from 1,000
to a million years. The average
is around 20,000 yegrs.
At the present, there is no
known method of safely
disposing of these waste
materials, and opinions vary
significantly as to what to do.
Currently, these waste
products are being buried at
various sites around the coun
try. According to a U.S.
Geological Survey, when six of
these sites were inspected they
were all found to be unaccep
table because of geological
characteristics of those areas.
One such site at Maxi Flats,
Kent., was closed in Decem
ber, 1977, because radioactive
rainwater had seeped from the
area.
Thirty-three states have
passed laws governing the
burial of nuclear wastes and
four states have halted building
any new reactors until a
method of safe disposal can be
developed. In the West Valley
area of New York, one nuclear
reactor was shut down when it
couldn’t dispose of the
600,000 gallons of highly
radioactive waste it has
produced. The company in
volved asked the state to take
over the site, and the state in
turn asked the federal gover
nment to take over the site.
While opinions vary concer
ning what to do about the
nuclear waste problem, one
thing is quite clear: everybody
seems to be passing the buck.
Gus Speth, a member of the
President’s Council on En
vironmental Quality, put it this
way, “I find it amazing that a
problem this distressing and
obvious hets been swept under
the rug.”
In addition to the nuclear
fuel waste, there is another
form of waste involved: the
nuclear reactors themselves.
They have an operational life
span of only 40 years, but can’t
be dismantled and disposed of
for at least 100 years. There
are also 21 commercial fuel
fabrication plants, 20 uranium
mills and 300 Department of
Energy facilities out of use
because of the situation.
Americans, through taxes and
electric rates, are footing the
bill for all this waste,
While there are no easy
solutions to the problems of
what to do with nuclear waste,
there are alternatives that could
effectively reduce theamountot
To The Editor:
enough soldiers, howeve
the need for America’s yoi
get out of its collective ru
experiencing service of a
ble nature. Perhaps 1 soun
a supercritical, over-ze
adult, but I believe that to
youth are spoiled and havi
things too easy for too long
In a few years, this cri
late 1960s and 1
youth—my generations
only will be our counfl
leaders, but also will con
the backbone of Ama
work force. They had bette
their act together!
Gary P. Corn
10807 S.E. Fuller Rd
lOMilwaukie, On
91
guest shot*
By Kevin Marcott
For The Print
It seems that in recent years
the United States has had an
increasing amount of energy-
related problems to cope
as
a result of the energy crisis,
contrived or not.
We currently find ourselves
in a situation where our
dependence on foreign oil has
increased our dependence on
nuclear power in an attempt to
offset our dependence on
foreign oil, all while the power
companies are attempting to
keep Americans dependent on
their services for the sake of
high profits. What all this adds
up to is a “Catch 22” situation
for Americans and a dilemma
of what to do with nuclear
waste. The problem is serious
enough that both the power
companies and the? State
Department are shuffling their
feet on the issue.
Just how Serious is the
problem? Consider this:
' At the present, there is an
estimated 5,000 tons of spent
nuclear fuel waste in the United
States. Within five years there
sprint
19600 S. Mollali* Avenue, Oregon City, Oregon 97045
Office*: Trailer B; telephone: 656-2631, ext. 309 or 310
editor Cyndi Bacon * news editor Mike Koller
art* editor Leanne Lally ‘sports editor Mark McNeary
photo editor Kelly Laughlin ’ staff writers Happie Thacker,
Mike Koller, Elena Vancil, Brenda Nolan,
Ramona Isackson, James Rhoades, Brian Rood
staff photographersGreg Kienzle, Charlie Wagg,
Pat Carlson ‘ cartoonist Mary Cuddy ‘ graphic designer Bev Boston
production manager Janet Vockrodt
business manager Mark Barnhill ‘ professional adviser Suzie Bos*
The Print, a member of the Oregon Newspaper Publisher*
Association, aims to be fair and Impartial journalistic medium
covering the campus community a* thoroughly as possible. Opinion*
expressed in The Print do not necessarily reflect those the CCC ad
ministration, faculty or the Associated Student Government.
Page 4
nuclear wasted produced
at the same time effect
reduce the American pei
dependence on the pi
companies.
What are these alterna
The many forms of s
geothermal and wind pg
all of which have not be J
ficiently explored or put to
If the hundreds of millid
dollars spent on out-d
energy facilities would |
been spent on researcl
development of these II
sources, our present sit|
might not be so precarious
Franklin Roosevelt once
that dealing with the!
Department is like watch!
elephant become pregr
Everything is done on a
high level, there’s a lol
commotion, and it takes
months for anything to I
pen. This is one situs
where the elephant just c
seem to conceive.
What can you do abot
Let you Congress know
you want some alterna
because technology is aval
that could reduce your def
dence on the power comp!
by as much as 25 pea
That’s not only good for y
but for the environing
well.
. „ . .a
Wednesday, April 4, ■
inches
D50 Illuminant, 2 degree observer
Density -------