Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2007)
Susan Wood UO CULTURAL FORUM PRESENTS THE Avett Brothers with Hillstomp Tuesday, January 23 WOW Hall Eugene, OR Doors at 7pm Show at 8pm ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDOUS M AT E R I A L S CONTRACTOR • Mold Remediation “Don’t let mold damage your house and your family’s health.” • Asbestos Abatement • Asbestos Building Inspections “Asbestos fibers in the air pose a significant health threat to employees, the public and the environment. So don’t take a risk during construction, call us first.” DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE IF YOU MENTION THIS AD. Students $7 in advance at UO Box Office General $10 also THE Avett Brothers FREE SHOW Monday, Jan. 22 12:00pm • UO Campus Eugene, OR #CCB119557 www.cleanlodge.com 541.461.8001 10 JANUARY 18, 2007 For more info: culturalforum.uoregon.edu scorecard’s purpose is “not just to hammer the bad players, but also highlight the good players.” In Oregon, Mount Bachelor scored an A for its wind-powered lifts, second-growth tree thinning on existing runs and biodiesel- fueled Super Shuttle. Mt. Hood Meadows, another industry eco-leader, wind-powers two ski lifts, recy- cles oil, has an acclaimed wildflower revege- tation program and encourages visitors to buy mini green tags with lift tickets to offset travel, says Meadow’s Marketing and Sales Director Dave Tragethon. But even with these eco-practices, Meadows received a C. The resort lost points for an expansion plan covering 95 additional skiable acres, which would affect 50 to 70 acres of old growth forest, steelhead trout and a pair of Northern spotted owls. Doon points out, “Ninety percent of ski areas are on public lands.” Tragethon questions SACC’s grading methodology, saying many resorts with rig- orous environmental standards are docked for expansion plans while resorts that lack green policies but don’t expand score higher. Doon says one reason SACC penalizes for expansion is to address what he calls the “ski area expansion arms race”: a trend of over-development to out-compete other re- sorts vying for more visitors. Numbers of visitors have remained flat for two decades. Doon acknowledges that there is a con- certed industry effort toward sustainability. For example, this is the first year that 16 re- sorts are run 100 percent by windpower. Tragethon believes that on the whole, the ski industry comprises people who care about environmental protection. “There is not one thing that is going to change [global warm- ing],” Tragethon says, “but a series of small things.” — Nicole Fancher CLEAN AIR FOR ALL State Rep. Paul Holvey is planning to in- troduce legislation in Salem this session that would ban field burning in the Willamette Valley in favor of other methods of grass seed farming or alternative crops. Holvey is work- ing directly with Oregon Toxics Alliance (OTA) and getting support from Eugene’s Citizens for Public Accountability (CPA) which met this week to work on strategies and lobbying efforts. CPA has identified a field burning ban as a priority project for 2007. The Oregon Seed Council has already hired extra lobbyists to fight Holvey’s antici- pated bill. “High-powered and well-moneyed lobbyists for the grass seed industry have launched an assault on local grassroots ef- forts to achieve clean air in the Willamette Valley,” says Lisa Arkin of OTA. “We are the catalyst behind this cam- paign,” says Arkin, who announced this week the launching of the Clean Air for All cam- paign to deal with field burning and reducing Oregon’s high benzene levels. A gathering for campaign planning is set for 7 to 9 pm Saturday, Jan. 27 at Territorial Vineyards Tasting Room, 907 West 3rd St., Eugene. the event is also a fundraiser for OTA, tickets at the door will be $15 and in- clude wine tasting and hors d’oeuvres. For more information or to RSVP, contact OTA at 465-8860 or email info@oregontox- ics.org CHALLENGES TO HEALTH OF WOMEN Susan F. Wood, considered one of the na- tion’s leading voices for women’s medical rights, will speak in Eugene this weekend as part of the 34th anniversary observation of Roe v. Wade. Wood resigned in protest from a top position in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2005. She was as- sistant commissioner for women’s health and director of the FDA Office of Women’s Health. She will speak at 3 pm Sunday, Jan. 21 in 100 Willamette at the UO, and will be introduced by Mayor Kitty Piercy. “I speak as part of the fight to restore the importance of science-based decision-mak- ing for the health of women and their fami- lies,” she said in a prepared statement. “That is needed because the FDA suffers from a lack of independent leadership, clear legal authority, and adequate resources.” Her talk, “Challenges to Women’s Health,” will focus on her resignation from the FDA on matters of principle, spurred by what she describes as the FDA’s “continued, short-sighted delay for approval of emer- gency contraception methods provided over- the-counter.” Wood has been a research professor at George Washington University School of Public Health and has taught women’s health policy at the Women and Politics Institute of American University. The free program is sponsored by the UO Cultural Forum in cooperation with WAND, Students for Choice, Women’s Law Forum, Women’s Center and Law Students for Choice and will be followed by a public re- ception. Lane County Herbicide Spray Schedule • Lane County Roadside Vegetation Management: Renewals of no spray area Permits are due on Jan. 31. For more information or to request a no spray area permit, call Caroline at Public Works, 682-6911. • For more information on roadside veg- etation management and the Last Resort Herbicide Use Policy see www.co.lane.or.us/RoadMaint/de- fault.htm or call Orin Schumacher at 682-6908. Compiled by Jan Wroncy, Forestland Dwellers: 342-8332, www.forestlanddwellers.org
