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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 2006)
EN OP DAY S OR CH DO EA M 8A Fahy said that Compound 1080 is still being used illegally in the Willamette Valley to kill eagles and other sensitive and endan- gered species. “There’s much more 1080 out there than anybody knows about,” he said. “I believe it is domestic terrorism when some- one goes out and deliberately kills an endan- gered animal.” For more information, visit predatorde- fense.org — Kera Abraham CLUELESS AT THE TOP Eugene identical twins Harriet and Charlotte Childress are making waves with their book, Clueless at the Top, which follows the principles of George Lakoff’s book, Don’t Think of an Elephant. The twins will be talking about their book at the next meeting of the Oregon Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND). The title of the talk is “The Next Step After Lakoff: Freedom from Hierarchies.” The event is from 7 to 9 pm Thursday, Jan. 12 at the McNail-Riley House, 13th and Jefferson in Eugene. Social hour/ reception begins at 6:30 pm. The event is free and open to the public. “We’re ready for the next step — shifting our country to fit the values we express,” say the Childresses. Lakoff states that our politics are organ- ized around two opposite views: conserva- tives preserve hierarchies and progressives value equality. “Because progressives want more equality and less hierarchy, it’s tempt- ing for progressives to demand that conserva- tives change. We point fingers at people who appear to be intent on building hierarchies, especially our current leaders. But another way for progressives to decrease hierarchy and therefore increase the relative amount of equality is to focus on what we can directly control. We can examine our own uninten- tional support of hierarchies and then create alternatives that build equality,” say the Childresses. The sisters spent 13 years researching hi- erarchies throughout the U.S., and have found that “even though hierarchies are pow- erful and pervasive, they are elusive in that most of us support them without knowing it.” For more information, call 343-6443. BY PAUL NEEVEL JIM GUTHRIE “Anyone with a beating heart is a drummer,” says Jim Guthrie, princi- pal organizer of Drums Of Peace Eugene, a weekly drum circle on the Federal Building Plaza at 7th and Pearl. “We welcome all ages and all skill levels. We’re there every Sunday from 2 ‘til 4, rain or shine, until the end of the Iraq war. We’re into rhythm, not rhetoric.” A California transplant, Guthrie hit Eugene in 1972, “right after the Grateful Dead show.” Since then, he has worked mostly at lumber salvage and forest restoration. He started out at the Oregon Country Fair as recycle-booth coordinator in 1976, and later served on the OCF board when the fair property was purchased. A pond on the OCF wetlands-mitigation area, visible from highway 126, is named Lake Guthrie in his honor. Since 1987, Guthrie has lived at The Bulb Ranch, two-thirds of an acre in Glenwood, between Eugene and Springfield, where he hosts benefit concerts on a backyard stage during the dry months. “The very first party was ‘Jesse Jackson for president,’” he recalls. “We’ve had half-a-dozen to a dozen shows a year since then. This year we raised money to buy an ambulance for a village in Guatemala.” SATURDAY, JAN. 14 TH 10 AM PUBLIC VEHICLE & BICYCLE AUCTION PREVIEW FRIDAY, JANUARY 13 TH 8 AM TO 5 PM EX\VHOOWUDGH eagles, grizzlies and other threatened and en- dangered animals. Predator Defense, a Eugene-based nonprofit, has been pushing the federal government to ban the compound for years. But DeFazio’s recently introduced bill was presented less as a wildlife protection measure than a counter-terrorism measure. A report to the CIA showed a can of Compound 1080 that coalition troops recovered in Iraq, and the FBI and the U.S. Air Force Service identified the chemical as a substance that terrorists could use to contaminate public water supplies. Even small doses of the chemical can be lethal to humans. “It started off as a wildlife and community safety issue, and then in the post-9/11 world, [DeFazio] began to realize implications [of Compound 1080] on national security,” said DeFazio spokeswoman Kristie Greco. DeFazio is a senior member of the House Homeland Security Committee. In March 2004, DeFazio requested that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ban the production of Compound 1080. The EPA replied that the chemical was “tightly regulated” and suggested that DeFazio look to the Department of Homeland Security. That department gave DeFazio a classified risk assessment and said it could not prohibit or recommend the prohibition of chemicals. “It’s alarming that the administration doesn’t recognize the danger and isn’t re- sponding,” Greco said. “Everyone should be concerned about the proliferation and use of such a dangerous poison. The congressman felt he needed to take matters to Congress and introduce legislation.” First developed in Germany (possibly for use as a rodenticide or, during World War II, chemical warfare), Compound 1080 is now primarily produced by Tull Chemical Co. in Oxford, Ala. The Nixon administration banned the odorless, tasteless toxin in 1972, but the Reagan administration re-authorized its use for livestock protection collars. When a predator bites the neck of an animal outfit- ted with such a collar, it ingests Compound 1080 and dies. There is no antidote. Fahy said that although law requires ranchers who use the collars to incinerate the bodies of the dead predators, misuse is widespread and proper disposal of the poisoned carcasses is rare. Former Gov. John Kitzhaber banned the use of Compound 1080 collars in Oregon in 1998. TOXIC CAR INTERIORS You strap on your seatbelt, turn on the headlights and windshield wipers, obey all traffic signs and drive defensively. Yet, ac- cording to a new study conducted by the Ecology Center, a nonprofit environmental organization, you’re in danger in your auto- mobile before you even turn the key. The center’s Jan. 11 report, Toxic at Any Speed: Chemicals in Cars & the Need for Safe Alternatives states that seat cushions, arm rests, floor coverings and other interior car parts contain high levels of toxic chemi- cals, PBDEs and phthalates, that have been linked to birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity, premature births and early pu- berty in laboratory animals. The study also ranks the 11 leading car manufacturers based on the level of toxic chemicals found inside their vehicles through the collection of windshield wipe samples from 2000 to 2005 models. Volvo and BMW were found to have the lowest level of phtha- lates in the tested cars while Hyundai and Volvo had the lowest levels of PBDEs. Chrysler and Mercedes automobiles had the highest concentrations of PBDEs and Hyundai and Ford the highest levels of phtha- lates. PBDEs were developed in the early 1970s and are used as fire-retardants, while phtha- lates are used to soften PVC plastics. The re- port found that concentrations of these chem- icals in cars were five to 10 times higher than those found in homes or offices. According to the Ecology Center, this means that, “Given the high levels of PBDEs in cars compared to homes or offices, exposure during a 90- minute drive is similar to exposure from eight hours of work.” — Tim O’Rourke EARLY DEADLINES EW offices will be closed in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day Jan. 16, which brings early deadlines for reserving space in the Jan. 19 issue. The display ad deadline will be 5 pm Thursday, Jan. 12. The classified ad deadline will be 5 pm Friday, Jan. 13. Questions? Call 484-0519 or e-mail of- fice@eugeneweekly.com IDVKLRQ WKDW SD\V WR EH PH ◆ Consignments Welcome ◆ Free Bidder Registration ◆ 18 & Under in Designated Areas Only, Please 90485 AUCTION WAY • EUGENE, OR 97402 541-689-3901 • www.brashers.com (WK$YH EHWZHHQ2DN 3HDUO %8))$/2(;&+$1*( &20 DECEMBER 12, 2005 9
