August 2016
NEWS
SELLWOOD BRIDGE
(Continued from Page 6)
treat stormwater from the west half
of the bridge and the interchange is
still in progress. The swale has been
excavated and a liner installed.
The trail takes an abrupt right turn
and wanders up a slight incline to the
new bridge. It will eventually continue
south on an underpass below the
bridge. Piers are in place.
On this particular day, the bridge
was only open to pedestrians and
bicyclists. A concrete pour and cure
for the deck was needed without bus
or auto traffic.
The auto underpass is now open for
those heading to or from Lake Oswego
without getting tangled in the old
cloverleaf interchange.
B r i d g e s i d e w a l k s a re a l m o s t
complete. Pedestrians should be
alert to bicyclists as they share the
sidewalk on the north side of the
bridge. Viewing parapets have nice
new displays outlining the history
of the area, the river, and of all the
bridges in Portland. Peering over the
bridge, two trusses of the old bridge
were sitting on a barge.
“The truss pieces will be recycled
after they float down the river,” said
Dave Austin, Multnomah County
spokesperson. “Each large segment
weighs about 400,000 pounds. We did
offer the bridge for re-use, but there
were no takers.”
Heading back, grading is underway
for the historic trolley track lines
w h e re t h e y e v e n t u a l l y w i l l b e
reinstalled. Trolley crossing signs
are awaiting placement.
The entire walk is about three miles
from Willamette Park to the east end
of the bridge and back.
To learn how contractors safely
removed the old bridge, check out the
story and photos online at www.
sellwoodbridge.org.
A new trail along the Willamette River will eventually continue south beneath the new
Sellwood Bridge. (Post photo by Erik Vidstrand)
The Southwest Portland Post • 7
A large taro field sits at the bottom of a mountain in Kauai, Hawaii.
(Photo by Rod Ramsey / FlickrCC)
EarthTalk
(Continued from Page 2)
term effects is still inconclusive.
Consumers want to know what’s in
their purchases.
Chemical companies are denying
them this right by refusing to label
those products containing genetically
modified ingredients.
Unfortunately, the state of Hawaii
has hesitated to enact any legislation
banning some of their most lucrative
business ventures. Responsibility has
fallen to the counties.
Three Hawaiian counties initiated
ordinances and moratoriums against
additional GE crops and pesticide use
in 2014.
However, large companies like
Monsanto and Syngenta sued to
prevent these measures from being
implemented, temporarily postponing
these bans.
While the companies did win their
initial suit in late 2014, the counties
have appealed the decision through
the federal 9th circuit court of appeals
in a trial which started this past June.
The cases hinge on the concept
of preemption, i.e. does the county
legislation conflict with state rulings?
The counties believe that the state’s
acceptance of genetically engineered
products does not mean that the
counties cannot implement their own
harsher regulations.
Whichever way the federal 9th
Circuit Court of Appeals decides will
set an important precedent. If the
court decides the federal law allowing
GE products preempts the rights of
the Hawaiian counties, any future
GE bans would likely experience a
similar ruling.
However, the converse is also true.
The judge allowing the counties
to construct their own regulations
regarding genetic engineering would
pave the way for other counties and
states to do the same.
The cases will hopefully be resolved
before the end of 2016. Safe to say,
Hawaiians, chemical and agricultural
companies and the rest of the nation
will be watching.
Contacts: Dow Chemical, www.
dow.com; Monsanto, www.monsanto.
com; Syngenta, www.syngenta.com.
EarthTalk® is produced by Roddy
Scheer & Doug Moss and is a registered
trademark of the nonprofit Earth Action
N e t w o r k . To d o n a t e , v i s i t w w w.
earthtalk.org. Send questions to:
question@earthtalk.org.
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