WEST NILE SKINNY
What’s worse, West Nile virus or the toxic
insecticides that could be used to fight it?
The city of Eugene is wrestling with that
question in trying to figure out
how to respond to the po-
tentially dangerous,
mosquito-borne dis-
ease.
The city plans
to educate the
public about the
risks and monitor
local birds to deter-
mine when and if the
disease arrives in the
area.
The city is “emphasizing
least toxic” ways to kill mosquitoes that could
carry the disease, according to a staff memo.
To control mosquitoes the city is focusing on
getting rid of standing water in city parks, the
sewage treatment plant and other facilities
that could breed mosquitoes.
But “in a city with as many water sources
as Eugene, population control is not feasible
technically even if it were feasible economi-
cally,” according to the city memo.
Using chemicals could kill off much more
than just the mosquitoes, according to the city.
“Many of the methods, such as using oil
which must be applied every 2-3 days, will
kill a wide range of species resulting in signif-
icant ecological and economic impacts.
Therefore, these methods will only be used
when it is absolutely necessary.”
But the city does plan to use some pesti-
cides in certain locations. Surface stormwater
facilities could be treated with a bacterial lar-
vacide, (Bti). Unfortunately, the pesticide also
kills mayflies and other bugs that birds and
salmon depend on for food.
A study by the Northwest Coalition for
Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) found that
Bti generally does less damage to the environ-
ment than chemical insecticides. But Bti can
also damage tadpoles, minnows, trout and
beneficial insects, NCAP found. Another pes-
ticide that the city is considering, methoprene,
can be toxic to fish, reduce diversity in wet-
lands and deform tadpoles, NCAP found.
About 30 percent of the U.S. population
rubs on DEET repellant every year to keep
mosquitoes at bay. But NCAP strongly rec-
ommends against use of the powerful chemi-
cal. DEET has caused headaches, irritability,
loss of consciousness and seizures in children
and even some adults, according to NCAP. If
used, the chemical should be used as spar-
ingly as possible and washed off after
use.
Instead of DEET, NCAP rec-
ommends long sleeves and pants
(light colored), bug nets, window
screens, draining puddles, and
staying indoors at peak hours.
Herbal repellants such as citronella
also often work, but not for as long as
DEET.
Although West Nile is all the rage on
tabloid TV news, people may want to keep
mosquitoes in perspective before they run out
and nuke their bodies and neighborhoods
with chemicals. The common cold kills about
100 times more people a year than West Nile.
— Alan Pittman
PROTEST IN
SACRAMENTO
Thousands of activists including a contin-
gency from Eugene are converging on
Sacramento for a five-day teach-in and
protest June 20-25. The events coincide with
a gathering of government ministers from 180
nations and transnational corporations to talk
free trade, privatization of water, genetic en-
gineering and factory farming. The
Ministerial Conference on Food and
Agriculture is a joint effort of the White
House, USDA, USAID and U.S. State
Department.
Two websites (www.sacmobiliza-
tion.org and http://port-
land.indymedia.org)
are among several
sites helping activists
prepare for the demon-
strations. A local ride
board is posted on the
office door at 454
Willamette St., room
205,
or
contact
Cascadia
Forest
Defenders at 687-8977.
“The Sacramento
• The Eugene City Council has gotten raked over the coals
for not immediately agreeing to rename Centennial
Boulevard after Martin Luther King Jr. But oddly, the
Springfield council, which rejected the renaming months
ago without so much as a public hearing, has gotten off
with scant criticism. Springfield wasn’t given the
Centennial-or-nothing ultimatum that Eugene got. Such a
tactic probably wouldn’t fly across the river. Springfield is
supposedly looking into other options with renaming a
parkway extension to the new PeaceHealth hospital as a
leading option. The city better check with PeaceHealth CEO
Alan Yordy and developer John Musumeci first. They may
have hoped for the Alan Highwayordy or the Musumeci
Motorway. Then again, with the enormous building going in,
Baldy View Road could use another name.
• Speaking of PeaceHealth, Rep. Pat Farr has come out
against Lane County joining the appeal of Springfield’s
approval of PeaceHealth’s new hospital site at RiverBend.
The former Eugene councilor says he’s been a longtime
supporter of PeaceHealth expanding its facilities and,
“It’s regrettable that, once again, politicians think they
can plan hospitals better than health-care professionals.”
10 JUNE 19, 2003
ministerial is not actually billed as a WTO
meeting,” says the Portland Independent
Media Center, “(but) the timing of the meet-
ing to gather support for the U.S. position on
agriculture in the run-up to the WTO ministe-
rial in Mexico is no coincidence.”
The first major protest is planned for 2 pm
Sunday, June 22 at the Sacramento
Convention Center, followed by a 10 am rally
on the west steps of the Capitol building and a
1 pm march downtown.
CORPORATE WELFARE
With the state gripped in budget crisis,
schools with jam-packed classrooms
are closing early and the state is
pushing disabled people out on
the street without health insur-
ance.
But in one area, state spend-
ing is increasing. The Oregon
Economic and Community
Development Department
(OECDD) recently doubled
the money it hands out to cor-
But Farr’s missing the whole point of the county’s con-
cern. The commissioners are not questioning the need
for PeaceHealth’s expansion, nor are they trying to “plan
hospitals.” The county is just echoing a state planner in
saying this project will affect the entire region, and
deserves regional consideration. And do hospital admin-
istrators get advanced training in regional transporta-
tion, housing and employment planning? Obviously not.
• Will the FCC’s recent decision to ease restrictions on
media ownership be allowed to stand? Depends on the
level of outrage expressed by the people, the courts and
by our lawmakers. What can we do as individuals? For
starters, we can educate ourselves and our neighbors
about the dangers of corporate media cartels, we can
pressure our lawmakers to revisit the issue, and we can
turn off CNN, Fox, NBC, CBS, Clear Channel, etc. and get
our news, views and entertainment from more indepen-
dent (and usually better) sources. Likewise, we can stop
patronizing advertisers who support the mega-media
monopolies. The worst option is just rolling over and
whining.
• Gov. Kulongoski signed into law this week a bill that
protects experts’ free speech. The bill, introduced by
porations for supposed job creation. The de-
partment’s budget now includes $13.2 million
for corporate recruiting/retention as well as an
additional $10 million to subsidize “shovel
ready” sites for companies, according to a re-
cent report in Oregon Business magazine.
OECDD claims the handouts create
needed jobs, but state audits have found the
department frequently inflates its job creation
claims.
“What is the next high tech? We’ve got to
cast a wide net,” the new OECDD director
Marty Brantley told the business magazine.
— AP
MARCH FOR JUSTICE
Oregon farmworkers are once again tak-
ing to the streets to support economic, social
and environmental justice. The third annual
Walk for Farmworker Justice begins at 1:30
pm Sunday, June 29 at the Capitol Mall in
Salem, looping through downtown for a 2:30
pm rally at the Capitol.
A bus from Eugene will depart at noon
from the parking lot across from First United
Rep. Phil Barnhart, is a response to the absurd attack on
UO geology Prof. Mark Reed by the Oregon State Board
of Geologists Examiners. Reed testified two years ago as
a concerned citizen against gravel mining off River Road
and pointed out the flawed science provided by “experts”
representing gravel interests. Without Reed’s testimony
(which was validated in the appeals process), our county
government would have been ill-equipped in the deci-
sion-making process. Eugene has a wealth of indepen-
dent experts and scientists. Let’s use them.
• So where was the mainstream press when it came to
questioning the White House propaganda on weapons of
mass destruction BEFORE the Iraq war? The indepen-
dent media were all over the issue in the months prior to
“shock and awe.” There’s not much satisfaction in saying
“We told you so,” just sadness and anger in the growing
civilian and military body counts, the unfathomable debts
we have incurred, our loss of credibility and honor in the
world community, and the chaos and pollution left
behind in Iraq. Our favorite bumper sticker these days?
“It’s time for regime change — at home.”
SLANT includes short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes
compiled by the EW staff. Heard any good rumors lately? Contact Ted
Taylor at 484-0519,