the corporation cut jobs and laid off work-
ers for six months.
Roberts, who the city pays to recruit
businesses, has staunchly defended the old
approach of luring high tech companies to
town, even after Sony, HMT and Hynix
have closed or laid off workers. “I think
we’re going to see a comeback,” Roberts
says.
Doppelt says Eugene can’t afford not to
go green. “It is important to set sustainable
development as a top priority.”
Studies show that the most successful
economic development builds on local
strengths and clusters of existing local busi-
nesses rather than trying to go out and
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advantage of that.” But Roberts says sus-
tainable development must stand or fall by
itself on its own economic merits. “I don’t
believe we should give a preference to sus-
tainability because of a political priority.”
Cities like Portland and Seattle have
already made sustainable development a
top priority and Eugene risks being unable
to compete for existing and new businesses,
Doppelt says. “If we don’t make it a priori-
ty to support and grow the sustainability
sector, we may see it leaving.” he says.
Doppelt says he already has talked to
one large natural foods employer who
decided to expand elsewhere. According to
Doppelt, company officials complained,
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THE ACCEPTED DEFINITION FOCUSES ON REDUCING OR
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recruit new industries that don’t fit in well
with a community, according to Doppelt.
“The industrial model has rarely succeed-
ed.”
“We’d be wasting a good deal of time
and money if we were not building on our
existing sustainability sector,” Doppelt
says. “Where do we get the greatest bang
for the buck? It’s going to be building on
our existing strength.”
Roberts agrees that Oregon and Eugene
do have a green reputation that could attract
businesses. “We’d be crazy not to take
“you’re giving all this money to Hynix, we
haven’t gotten a penny from local govern-
ment, so we’re going to go where we think
there’s some local support.”
“If we’re late to the game, all we’re
going to get is leftovers or nothing at all,”
Doppelt says. “We got a great opportunity
here. It would be a real shame to not cap-
ture that if we’re still looking in our
rearview mirror thinking that the jobs of
the future are going to look like the jobs of
the past.”
ew
Mother Kali
B O O K S
Conscious shopping.
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14 NOVEMBER 13, 2003