SPRAWL HITS WALLETS
AND ENVIRONMENT
FASTING CONTINUES
ON THE CAPITOL STEPS
Just as Congress is debating renewal of a
massive federal transportation bill and begin-
ning deliberations over the budget for the
Transportation Department, a new report
documents the negative impact of sprawl on
American families’ budgets.
A July 23 report from the nonprofit
Surface Transportation Policy Project
(STPP) shows that America’s families spend
more than 19 cents out of every dollar earned
on transportation — an expense second only
to housing and greater than food and health
care combined.
The report says that the nation’s poorest
families are particularly hard hit, spending
more than 40 percent of their take-home pay
just to get around, an expenditure that has
risen 33 percent since 1992 and is making it
all the more difficult for lower income fami-
lies to afford housing, health care, and other
critical services.
Transportation costs are
highest in sprawling areas
such as Tampa, Phoenix and
Dallas, due to spread-out de-
velopment patterns, the lack
of transportation choices
and the absence of conve-
nient neighborhoods
within walking dis-
tance of shops and
schools.
These development patterns
force people into vehicles, the report says,
with negative impacts on air and water qual-
ity, as well as wildlife and habitat.
“It makes no sense to build transportation
systems that exacerbate income and wealth
inequalities,” says Rich Stolz, senior policy
analyst at the Center for Community Change.
“It is time for Congress and state and local
planners to make policies that place the needs
of people ahead of automobiles.” See the
complete report at www.transact.org
Inspired by Peg Morton, another Eugene
woman is fasting on the steps of the state
Capitol building in Salem this week.
Kathleen Piper started a four or five day
water fast Monday afternoon after Morton
finished her week of juice fasting to draw at-
tention to Oregon’s shrinking funds for
human services.
Piper is the widow of a man who died
from multiple sclerosis after suffering
through cuts in assistance during the Reagan
presidency. A member of the Eugene Peace
Choir, she has worked with Progressive
Responses, Justice not War, and has volun-
teered at White Bird Clinic. She has lived in
Eugene for four years.
• PeaceHealth is wanting to break ground
on its $350 million medical center in
north Springfield while
waiting for “final” ap-
provals that are still
at least six months
away. Allowing
bulldozers to start
ripping up such a
sensitive environ-
ment near the
McKenzie River is an
absurd idea, particu-
larly in light of
PeaceHealth’s pending legal
challenges.
to describe Eugene in his speech to the
City Club after 100 days on the job. Same
warm response from the audience to the
view that Eugene’s glass is half- full.
Candidates, take note. Oregonians
may be suffering from too much
doom and gloom. No matter
what the numbers, it’s time to
recycle that half-empty glass.
• A comforting old adage seems to be
what Oregonians like to hear these days.
Gov. Kulongoski put it out in a major
speech a few months ago that our
Oregon glass is half-full, not half-empty
and that’s how we should continue to
look at this state as we work to solve its
problems. Positive responses poured
back to him after The Oregonian gave his
half-full glass big play. City Manager
Dennis Taylor used the same line July 25
8 JULY 31, 2003
GUILT-FREE FLYING
The average airline flight pumps one
pound of harmful greenhouse gas into the air
for every mile flown per person.
That’s about 1,700 pounds
of carbon dioxide pollution
per person for the average
flight distance of 1,660 miles.
If that makes you feel
guilty for a recent (or
planned) summer flight,
the Better World Travel Foundation is offer-
ing an easy out. Donate $11 for a do-
mestic flight or $22 for an interna-
tional flight and they say they’ll
offset your pollution.
The foundation funds projects that reduce
global warming emissions, such as replacing
oil burning heaters in Portland public schools.
For more information, surf to www.better-
worldclub.com or call (866) 304-7540.
— Alan Pittman
CITY SEEKS APPLICANTS
The city of Eugene is now accepting ap-
• Too bad the “Harvard News”
website is defunct, no longer pub-
lishing funny headlines. The R-G had
a good contender July 23 with “Indians
fight to get crack at old air base.”
• It’s sweltering and smoky right now and
people’s energy levels are low, but some
invigorating events are ahead with cooler
weather. The third annual Peace, Justice
and Media Conference will be Oct. 9-12 at
UO with national speakers lining up, fol-
lowed by a Eugene appearance by colum-
nist Molly Ivins Oct. 25. Check out
www.justicenotwarcoalition.org for up-
dates.
• President Bush is balking at releasing all
plications for two vacancies on the Budget
Committee, one seat on the Planning
Commission, five vacancies on the Police
Commission, five seats on the Human Rights
Commission, two vacancies on the Toxics
Board and one opening on the Metropolitan
Wastewater Management Commission.
Deadline to apply is 5 pm Sept. 26.
Application and supplemental questionnaires
are available at the City Manager’s Office,
Room 105, City Hall and at www.ci.eu-
gene.or.us Finalists may be interviewed by
the City Council in early October.
CITY COUNCIL SLASHES
RESOURCES INVENTORY
The Eugene City Council turned its
back July 28 on a 5-1 recommendation of the
Planning Commission by adopting a dramat-
of the congressional 9/11 report
on the grounds of national secu-
rity. But with this administra-
tion’s track record, we bet the
reasons are purely political.
The censored parts appar-
ently concern Saudi Arabia’s
role in 9/11. The terrorist at-
tacks were a turning point
in U.S. history and we de-
serve full disclosure of
why it happened, even if
it embarrasses our cur-
rent administration.
• The precautionary
principle is a com-
mon-sense response
to scientific uncertainty. We
should avoid practices that have the po-
tential to cause severe damage, even
when we do not have scientific proof of
harm. The Bush administration thinks this
principle is silly, of course, except in for-
eign policy. Deputy Secretary of Defense
Paul Wolfowitz invoked the precautionary
principle on “Face the Nation” July 27
when he justified the attack on Iraq by
ically reduced natural resources inventory.
The inventory, required by state law (and
delayed since 1992 by a series of political
maneuvers), was adopted to include only
1,100 acres. The planning commission rec-
ommendation covered about 3,500 acres.
The agreed-upon acreage includes about
440 acres of the Willamette River. The adop-
tion of the inventory does actually protect the
areas. City staff will now begin an economic
and environmental analysis of each listed
location, and return to council with an analy-
sis and recommendations for what protection
or regulation, if any, should be applied.
“Eugene should be developing using a
model of growing up, not out, while protect-
ing our valuable natural areas,” says
Councilor David Kelly. “This decision was a
sad day for Eugene that will lessen our quali-
ty of life and our distinctiveness as a commu-
nity.”
say-
ing
that if
we
wait
until
there is
absolute
evidence
of terror-
ism, we’d
have to wait
until after the
fact of terror-
ism. Now, if we
can just get the
administration to
apply that principle to the environment.
SLANT includes short opinion pieces, observations and
rumor-chasing notes compiled by the EW staff. Heard
any good rumors lately? Contact Ted Taylor at
484-0519,