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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 2009)
HI-TECH ON RULING HOLD WELC WINS ON PESTICIDES One of President-elect Obama’s strategies for pulling the country out of reces- sion is to invest in new and “green” technologies and education that will put the U.S. back in a leadership role in the global economy. But will an infusion of capital into The U.S. companies and universities happen (WELC) quickly celebrated enough to a keep of ear- the Western Environmental Law Center legal ahead victory Chinese, Brits and With the downturn in that the economy, a lot application of advanced lier this month over Russians? a Bush administration policy allowed the of U.S. technology is currently on hold, awaiting capital. pesticides to waterways without a permit. “The Russians are Circuit making Court a massive financial commitment, in research On Jan. 7, the 6th of Appeals in Ohio vacated a not U.S. only Environmental but in financing potentially viable initiatives,” Oregon nanotechnol- Protection Agency rule put in place business in November 2007, said which said that pesticides applied in accordance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, Act ogy consultant Brian Lundquist this week in an interview with and EW. Rodenticide “The Chinese (FIFRA), were thousands exempt from the research permitting requirements of the Clean Water Act. are training of new scientists and engineers in nanotech. The Under the last court’s ruling, we now all commercial to, month before (October) saw nearly more nanotech patents pesticide applied for application by a Chinese over and around will require National system.” Pollutant Discharge Elimination university than the waterways whole University of California System permits. NPDES strategies permits allow for citizens to comment the for plan the to UO’s apply Whether Obama’s will mean more money right on away pesticides and demand oversight by regulatory agencies. agencies to will to growing nanotechnology center remains to be seen. UO is The considered be have on the evaluate individual applications on fish and wildlife, monitor forefront the of effects “green of nano” and pesticide chemical-related nano research. The Oregon the amount of and pesticide that goes into Institute U.S. waterways and operates monitor in what the cumu- Nanoscience Microtechnologies (ONAMI) collaboration lative is on and aquatic according National to WELC. Laboratory on nanotech with impact OSU, PSU the organisms, Pacific Northwest The case WELC won a lawsuit Talent Irrigation research. The began patents when from academic research often (Headwaters end up being v. sold (“transferred” District) in which term) Headwaters and firms Oregon Wild (then ONRC) but alleged that the an market Oregon is the industry to private or the government, reaching irrigation district had violated the Clean Act by aquatic herbicide with improved products and processes can Water be a long and applying expensive process. to canals without a NPDES lost initially but won (www.nanotech-now. later when the case Lundquist, president and permit. CEO WELC of Nanotechnology Now was later overturned by the area, 9th Circuit com), based in the Portland says in Court order of for Appeals. the U.S. to compete, the country Charlie Tebbutt, the attorney the case, says that financing after WELC’s 2001 victory, needs to do more than just fund on research. “We need to help new U.S. a companies representative of the industry dropped by his Eugene office and told ramp up their pesticide technology and start producing marketable products.” him, He “If said you that don’t “venture withdraw your victory, we’re going to to Congress and get this capitalists and IPO markets are go cautious of putting money overturned.” into emerging technology. The government can make a difference by filing this Tebbutt says, “I said, ‘Good send companies me a postcard.’” need for capital, owning a stake luck; in these and speeding up the time from The pesticide industry eventually succeeded in getting the EPA to overturn the discovery to market.” case One through EPA rule under the Bush administration exempted the pesti- of the an funding problems, Lundquist said, is that the that technology is changing cide applications to waterways under FIFRA. In 2008 the issue returned to the so quickly that private venture capitalists are wary of funding a manufacturing plant courtroom, and obsolete Tebbutt before argued it against the production. EPA’s rule in the Republican-dominated that could be goes into Shortening time-frames is a 6th Court of Appeals. key Circuit to being competitive, he added. And existing manufacturing companies also The access EPA defended rule by arguing that to the stay terms of the Clean Water Act are need to the new its technologies in order up-to-date and competitive in ambiguous, but the when the judges made their decision, they wrote, “We cannot the world market. agree. Clean Water Act is not ambiguous,” says and the vacated rule, which is applies The The U.K. website www.contractoruk.com British the government plan- to aerial and truck-based applications of pesticides, not farm ground. technies ning to make £1 billion of venture capital available but to “help early-stage Tebbutt says under permit there is more close monitoring and more who have fallen victim the to both the process borrowing crisis and the retreat of seed investors careful application from the sector.” of pesticide, “just by paying attention, it reduces the amount of pesticides a lot. emergency He says, “It fund will be nice work with a new at administration that will The British will be to targeted primarily “innovative spin-off protect the set waterways the chemical industry.” Camilla Mortensen firms that up on the instead back of of university-funded research — into high-value ideas” in the fields of nanotech, biotech, sustainability and information technology. Information on Russia’s high-technology push can be found at en.rusnano.com — Ted Taylor news briefs JOURNALISM’S ‘APPALLING’ CONDITION 8 JANUARY 22, 2009 EUGENE WEEKLY COURTESY INDYMEDIA SWIFT NOW A CIVILIAN The new year marks the end of Suzanne Swift’s active military duty. She sent her mother a text message after she finished handing in her discharge paperwork. “DONE,” it read. Swift, 24, of Eugene, said she was sexually harassed and abused during her first tour of duty with the Army in Iraq, and suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. Her complaints were ignored, and she went AWOL when she got orders for a second tour in Iraq. She was arrested, accused of desertion, demoted and threatened with prison. Her story got its first media attention in EW March 30, 2006. Her mother, Sara Rich, spoke to the Take Back America rally, and Rich’s speech was printed as a commentary. The story was then picked up by other media nationally and worldwide and is the subject of a website (www. SuzanneSwift.org) that organizes support for women in the military and calls for an end to “command rape” and other abuses in all branches of the U.S. military. Rich sent a message to her email list in early January. “I wanted to write one last email to you all to thank you for your care and support through the past few years,” she wrote. “It has been a long, long haul. Your emails and prayers have been crucial in helping Suzanne get through this.” Swift was honorably discharged and had re-earned her rank of specialist. She has the GI Bill on her list of benefits and plans to come home to Lane County and continue her education. “We have had some meetings with the local VA people, and they are really helpful and kind,” Rich says. “She is going to get more involved with activism through counter-military recruitment and with Iraq Veterans Against the War.” “She wants to put her life back together,” Rich says. “She is optimistic about her future and looking forward to becoming more active in ‘real’ life.” — Ted Taylor PR people in town. But Gleason called Kahle’s question a “fallacy,” arguing that the “symbiotic, not adversarial” relationship between news and PR “benefits the pub- lic.” Many media ethicists condemn public relations as propaganda. The “church and state” separation of journalism and advertis- ing and public relations is a key ethical ten- ant of journalism. But the UO “journalism” school has twice as many courses dedicated to advertising and/or public relations as it has dedicated to news-editorial. Gleason said people aren’t reading less news; they’re just reading it online where newspapers haven’t been able to sell Just how bad is the state of much advertising. “The challenge journalism? isn’t there’s a lack of demand for UO journalism school news; the problem is how we dean Tim Gleason described pay for it.” the economic “crisis” in mainstream newspapers as An iTunes for news, “severe and getting where readers pay a small worse.” But then, raising amount for each story they an issue that has caused read online, could be a solu- some to question whether tion, Gleason said. mainstream journalism is worth But under that news model, the Tim Gleason saving, Gleason declared that jour- future of serious journalism remains in nalism has a “symbiotic” relationship with doubt. The most popular, widely read article public relations. online of any newspaper in the Northwest in “What’s happening in newsrooms is recent years was a story about a man who appalling,” Gleason told the City Club of died after having sex with a horse, accord- Eugene Jan. 16. He described the mass lay- ing to Steve Smith, former editor of the offs at papers losing ads to the Internet and Spokane Spokesman-Review. the down economy. “Maybe information —Alan Pittman wants to be free, but the reporters who cre- ate it would like to be paid,” Gleason said. Don Kahle, publisher of the now defunct Comic News, was chosen to ask the first question. Kahle said that about a third of UO Journalism School students major in public relations, that The Register-Guard The Jan. 8 town hall meeting with has had reporters and editors leave for PR Oregon State Sen. Vicki Walker and Reps. positions at EWEB and PeaceHealth and Chris Edwards and Nancy Nathanson at that 75 percent of news originates in press North Eugene High School kicked off con- releases. To applause, he asked Gleason, if troversy when Walker discussed logging there was a “secret marriage” of journalism state forests to raise money for Oregon and public relations. schools. Gleason admitted he’s married to a PR The Elliott State Forest is part of the person. The journalism school dean’s wife, public lands designated for Oregon’s Jenny Ulum, is one of the leading corporate Common School Fund. When Oregon LOGGING FOR EDUCATION? WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
