Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 2003)
Wellsprings Friends School An Alternative Accredited High School Celebrating Our Tenth Year On-going Enrollment: Students on school district referral Private tuition students based on unconditional acceptance • experimental learning emphasized small classes, supportive community • problem-solving approach to social & academic issues valuing non-violence, diversity & living in the Quaker spirit of mutual respect “A Culture of Affirmation” 3590 W. 18th Avenue Eugene • 686-1223 FRIENDS SCHOOL Breema Northwest 630 Lincoln Street, Eugene OR 97401 Fall Open House Days at Breema Northwest! Free Breema ® Bodywork Intro Classes Thursday Oct. 9 ~ 7–9 PM Sunday Oct. 12 ~ 3–5 PM Free Introductory Breema Sessions Sunday Oct. 12 ~ 1–3 PM * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Don’t Miss! 3-day Breema Intensive November 7–9 Treat yourself to a taste of Breema: The Art of Being Present For more information, or to sign up, call us at 344-8741 Lane County Planning Commission Public Hearings and Citizen Information Work Sessions Public hearings on Lane County’s Periodic Review Work Program in the Siuslaw Watershed and Long Tom Watershed are scheduled for: • October 21, 2003 (Tuesday) at 7:00 P.M. in Harris Hall, Lane County Public Service Building, 125 E. 8th, Eugene; and • November 4, 2003 (Tuesday) at 7:00 P.M. in Mapleton High School, East Mapleton Road, Mapleton. There will be two citizen information work sessions prior to the public hearings. The information work sessions are scheduled for: • October 14, 2003 (Tuesday) at 6:30 P.M. in Mapleton High School, East Mapleton Road, Mapleton; and • October 16, 2003 (Thursday) at 6:30 P.M. in Fern Ridge Middle School, 88831 Territorial Road, Elmira. Signs will be posted at the school entrances to inform citizens of the specific locations of the meetings within the school buildings. An information packet is available in Lane County Land Management Division that includes staff reports and proposed amend- ments to Lane County Rural Comprehensive Plan Policies and Lane Code Chapter 16 regulations that are being considered for adoption as part of the Periodic Review Work Program in the Siuslaw Watershed and Long Tom Watershed. The proposed amendments to Lane Code include: Lane Code 16.292: Rural Industrial Zone (RI, RCP) -- Lane Conservation & Development Commission rulemaking to OAR 660-22-030(3) and (11) “Unincorporated Community Rule” amending standards for “small-scale, low impact” development of Rural Industrial sites. Lane Code 16.400: Plan Amendments (RCP) -- House Bill 2614 amending plan amendment processes for rezoning abandoned or diminished mill sites to Rural Industrial without taking exceptions to statewide Goals 3 (Agricultural), 4 (Forest), 11 (Public Facilities), or 14 (Urbanization); and allowing industri- al development; and Lane Code 16.292: House Bill 2614 providing for extension of sewer systems and development of mill sites in Rural Industrial Lands west of the summit of the Coast Range. Lane Code 16.291: Rural Commercial Zone (RC, RCP) -- Clarifying limitation for establishing new community sewer systems. Discussion on current development standards and housekeep- ing revisions to the Rural Commercial regulations. Lane Code 16.232: Destination Resort (DR, RCP) -- Implementing Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 197.435 - 197.467 for the siting and operation of destination resorts. RCP Goal 2: Errors or Omission Policy 27 -- Reinstating an errors or omission policy in the Goal Two Plan Policies of the Rural Comprehensive Plan. Preliminary Compliance Report -- Addressing OAR 660-22-030 criteria and standards; and Unincorporated Community Reports -- Siuslaw Watershed (Glenada, Cushman, Mapleton, Swisshome, Deadwood, Greenleaf, Triangle Lake, Blachly and Walton). Long Tom Watershed (Lancaster, Franklin, Cheshire, Alvadore, Elmira, Noti, Crow and Lorane). For additional information or to obtain copies of the information packet, contact Bill Sage, Associate Planner -- Telephone: 541-682-3772 Email: bill.sage@co.lane.or.us • Fax: 541-682-3947 Lane County Land Management Division - 125 E. 8th Ave • Eugene, OR 97401 8 OCTOBER 9, 2003 BY MARY O’BRIEN Wise Collaboration It’s remarkable what groups can accomplish. A few years back, singer/songwriter Arlo Guthrie offered this encouragement at one of his concerts: “In a world that sucks — like this one does — you don’t have to do a lot to make a difference.” While preparing a handout for an Environmental Citizenship and Leadership class at Whitman College recently, I came to a related conclusion: To accomplish something that is significantly more socially or environ- mentally respectful than what is going on, just coordinate with enough people, wisely, for long enough. The class handout I was working on was a list of different environmental campaigns I’ve been privileged to be a part of during the past 22 years. In many campaigns, my role was tiny compared to others, I worked pretty hard in some others, and I was one of the ringleaders in a few. But the amazing thing was that we had succeeded in almost all of the 21 campaigns I was remembering. Obviously, we haven’t succeeded in bringing human population numbers or energy consumption within the bounds of Earth’s resources. We haven’t suc- ceeded in restoring habitat needed by the amazing creatures that were wing- ing through air, navigating oceans, or hiking around on land in large numbers, say, 200 years ago. We haven’t prevented the heartbreaking rise of childhood cancer and pre-birth damage caused by toxics in human tykes, salmon finger- lings, or any other of Earth’s kids. (Yesterday I received a note from a friend. Her 13-year-old daughter, having struggled through 2.5 years of chemothera- py for acute lymphocytic leukemia, is now battling a secondary leukemia caused by the chemotherapy.) The world is, ecologically speaking, moving at a brisk pace toward hell in a handbasket. But what I realized while preparing this handout was that nearly all the campaigns had succeeded: Electing an anti-herbicide school board majority and developing processes for alternative grounds management. Writing and passing a state groundwater law. Stopping in Australia what was to be the world’s largest chlorine-using pulp mill. Stopping what was to be the 10th chlo- rine-using pulp mill on the Columbia River. Preventing aerial spraying of toxic pesticides over Lane County for gypsy moth. Co-founding Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide. Writing and passing the only local materials accounting toxics right-to-know law in the nation. Preventing the development of five large drive-in overlooks and a 10-year series of clearcuts on the western rim of Hells Canyon. Vastly reducing the use of herbicides in the national forests of western Oregon and Washington. Protecting high-class farmland on the banks of the Willamette River from being mined illegally for gravel. Protecting the Willamette Valley’s last wet prairie wetlands from an unneeded five-lane highway. Co-founding MADelk and halting the importation of elk to elk ranch- es in Oregon. Co-founding Oregon Toxics Alliance. Switching the destruction of U.S. nerve gas weapons from out-of-control toxic incineration to water- based neutralization at three U.S. sites. And so on. Along the way, there were some “losses” and it’s not yet clear whether we’ll succeed soon at a few other, ongoing efforts. But many of the losses were later turned into successes, by persevering around the temporary obsta- cles. N one of these successes would have been possible without many, many people coordinating on many, many tasks over a long period of time. None of them, in other words, were accomplished by one or two egos acting alone, and none happened quickly or easily. The point, though, is that no matter how bleak the situation, citizens can and do make a difference on behalf of social decency (in contrast, but not opposition, to personal decency), environmental sanity and democracy. We owe the 40-hour work week, unions, civil rights, wilderness, National Parks, Social Security, Medicaid, our ongoing democratic system, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act — indeed, everything that lifts us up above naked exploitation, greed, and short-term profit — to people who worked together, wisely, for a long time. And that’s what it will take to reverse the current and terrifying undermin- ing of everything other than the military that is public, such as public lands, health, social supports, water, and education; the undermining of civil rights, transparent democracy, international rules about waging war, progressive tax- ation — you name it. That’s what it will take to restore older and institute newer ways of taking care of the whole world: people working together, wisely, for a long time. But be assured your help is needed. Those who promote naked exploita- tion, greed and short-term profit are working together, too. Mary O’Brien of Eugene has worked as a public interest scientist for the past 22 years. She can be reached at mob@efn.org
