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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (May 17, 2007)
IQVJGCNVJ! TO THE EDITOR ple with unadaptable, old, injured or sick ani- mals to facilities that have no choice but to kill the animals to make room for new arrivals. Each time such a referral is made, there is a greater chance that the animal will be aban- doned instead of taken to a shelter. At some no-kill shelters, “unplaceable” an- imals end up confined to cages for years. They may become withdrawn, severely depressed and unhousebroken or develop antisocial be- haviors that further reduce their chances of being adopted. Well-meaning people who take on the huge physical and financial responsibil- ities of a no-kill shelter often find themselves overwhelmed very quickly, and too often, the animals suffer from lack of exercise, playtime and individual care and attention, ending up warehoused in misery. Some “no-kill” shelters have been shut down by humane officials after gradual neglect turned into blatant cruelty. Curtis Taylor Eugene NOT TRANSPARENT Greenhill’s website says “At Greenhill, we do not euthanize adoptable animals. … However, because humane euthanasia of un- adoptable animals does take place here, we re- fuse to call ourselves a ‘No Kill’ shelter.” Greenhill says it has already embraced the main core of the no-kill solution, which is “no euthanasia of adoptable animals.” Why won’t they implement the rest of the program? Does Greenhill know better than all the other shel- ters and communities across the country that have successfully adopted the no-kill solu- tion? It is not rocket science! An important part of the no-kill solution is accountability to the community. One has to ask, why would Greenhill not welcome trans- parency? A community’s SPCA should be the shining, guiding light towards the no-kill solu- tion. I used to be an untiring, loyal supporter and volunteer at Greenhill. I used to speak highly of their programs, their dedication and the lengths they went to, to save even the youngest life no matter what. Two years ago, Greenhill had a list of over 200 active foster families. The current number of homes stated on their website is only 75. That decline speaks for itself. On another note, I would like to personally thank the staff at LCARA for making small, positive steps towards the no-kill solution. Tamara Barnes Eugene VULGAR SAVAGE Raunchy sexual ads have not blinded EW. After all, more than 250 ads use artistic images and old-fashioned descriptive words to adver- tise every week in this paper, without being vulgar. That is an overwhelming majority of savvy advertisers. EW is listening to the readers as well and has made some reasonable compromises con- cerning the dispute over printing vulgarity. For example, EW has reduced the local red light- like cottage businesses to their own little clas- sified section (no more display ads). And only one downtown bar keeps trying to run a real vulgarity contest in Eugene, which it seems to be losing. However, EW has continued printing the contentious words of Dan Savage. But it isn’t so much what Dan says that plagues many, it is the vulgar grammar. And aren’t Dan’s words really there just to get attention? “Savage Love” is like the “700 Club.” Both publica- tions are simply infomercials — paid-for ads to solicit customers. Savage is not an EW columnist, and the 700 Club is not real TV news. Savage is just being used as a hook in the vulgarity contest to send you to the bar that has more theme nights than a senior cen- ter. What Imus said was vulgar. How gangster- rappers spit on women is vulgar. Demeaning images of anyone is vulgar. Merchandising sex is vulgar. The dictionary tells us: VUL- GAR means a lack of sophistication. Maya Angelou has recently pointed this out. Thank you, EW, for your responsiveness to our community. Deb Huntley Eugene O PEN FOR L UNCH & D INNER (Angela Englert & Bill Town’s New Eatery) Featuring: Mediterranean Inspired Tapas • Fr.-Sat. Smoked Prime Rib • Parties, up to 20 Guests • World Class Desserts • Full Bar featuring Seasonal Drinks Coordinated health care designed just for you and the way you want to live. Monday Nights Cheese Fondue A limited number of Wellness Memberships are also available. SCUM POWER I am writing in response to the “Switch to Switch Grass” article by Camilla Mortensen (4/26). You are on the right track with the switch grass, which is a good nonfood plant source for ethanol production. It outproduces just about every food crop, except sugar cane, in ethanol raw materials. Unlike all of the food-based crops, switch grass is a perennial which means, while it must be harvested, it does not have to be planted every year. One only plants it once. That’s an easy answer for ethanol, which would be the bio replacement for gasoline. There is a very good nonfood source for biodiesel as well. That would be the same plant scientists believe our fossil fuel supply originated from. It is estimated that 70 percent of our fossil fuels came from prehistoric species of algae. Brown algae (diatinous) can out-produce soybeans by a 500 to 1 ratio. Unlike green algae, brown algae does not grow from seeds. It self-propagates. It thrives on human waste and has been a troublesome visitor to sewage treatment plants. This plant can be harvested several times a growing season and can be grown on land that is non-productive for food purposes (like the desert). All it needs to grow are nutrients (sewage), carbon dioxide and sunlight. When dried, it will produce half its weight in oil. It has been estimated that algae produces 70 per- cent of the oxygen we breathe. We should be directing all this energy ar- guing about using food sources to finding ways to get real production of algae going. We should not ignore solar, wind, geothermal and ocean wave generators, but we need to get off the fossil fuel habit. John E. Townsend Boyertown, Pa. www.villagehealthservices.com 1755 Coburg Rd, Bldg 4, Suite 2 541-684-3988 460 Willamette Street • 343-1586 Mon.-Sat. 11-10 • At 5th & Willamette in the Historic Lane Building GRAND OPENING 5555( 541)302-3333 5555 DELI SPECIALS $5.99 MONDAY: Ham Sandwich w/ soup TUESDAY: Grilled chicken sandwich w/ soup WEDNESDAY: Roast beef sandwich w/ soup THURSDAY: Combo sandwich w/ soup FRIDAY: Turkey sandwich w/ soup SOUP OF THE DAY MONDAY: Chicken noodle TUESDAY: Corn chowder WEDNESDAY: Broccoli cheese THURSDAY: Vegetable beef FRIDAY: Clam chowder BIOFUELS BOONDOGGLE The Oregon governor’s biofuels initiative is a bad idea at the wrong time. This plan shows that our state government really doesn’t understand much of anything about forests, soil or the cycle of life. They also seem not to have a clue about global warming. The biofuels plan will subsidize the timber industry. It would require a lot of wood, so it would give a big boost to this industry. The plan is to harvest and burn for fuel all the small size wood that “isn’t economic” to harvest for framing lumber. This plan brings to mind the economy of Haiti or the African countries of the Sahel re- gion, where every stick is harvested for cook- ing fires. The economics of the biofuels initiative will work in the same way. Every stick will be P ub B u r g e r u O ry ecret’s in the Sa rs T “The S $2.50 uce” 1 OFF ANY DAILY SPECIAL $ Coupon Expires May 24, 2007 5 Not Valid with any other special 1201 WEST 11TH AVENUE 5 CORNER OF TYLER MAY 17, 2007 7
