letters
TO THE EDITOR
host an upcoming traveling road show,
Ringling Bros., that still uses animals as
“entertainment.”
Just a few days ago, USDA inspectors
again cited Ringling Bros. in Colorado
Springs. Sarah, a 54-year-old Asian
elephant has a chronic health condition
and is sick. She fell to the ground as the
circus handlers tried to load her into a train
boxcar. Stress and fatigue likely led to her
dangerous fall. “This elephant’s needs
and incidents like Sarah’s fall, underline
the dangers faced by animals chained
and caged in this impoverished life on
the road,” according to Animal Defenders
International. A formal complaint has
been fi led by ADI, with the USDA, and is
available upon request.
The Humane Society of the United
States wants people to know that circus
acts that use wild animals are inhumane.
“Animals don’t perform because they want
to, they have no choice — they are beaten
until they comply,” states HSUS.
However, people do have a choice.
I would like to urge everyone in our
community, and the State of Oregon,
to support only animal-free circuses.
Personally, I look forward to the day when
the abusive practice of using animals
for entertainment purposes is banned
worldwide.
Janet Black
Eugene
EMBRACE THE INEVITABLE
The article, “Protest Rules: Cascadians
Protest Big Oil in Montana” (7/21) was a
worthy human interest story focusing on
Earth First! activists’ tactics and dedication
in opposing development of tar sands in
Alberta, Canada. But it was ultimately
unsympathetic toward the hard work of
those activists to publish a major article
and not include one sentence explaining
why tar sands are an issue.
There is a reason why various
corporations
are
environmentally
devastating a huge region of Canada by
digging up black, gunky dirt, and then
processing it with vast amounts of water
and natural gas ultimately producing
something resembling crude oil: That
reason is that the world has begun the
slow, painful process of running out of
conventional crude oil.
EW readers would benefi t from
knowing something about peak oil because
the human family needs to understand that
sustainability is not optional. If we don’t
voluntarily stop burning fossil fuels then
we will involuntarily stop when we run out
which is already beginning to happen. As
we have no choice in the matter, we may
as well embrace the inevitable.
Robert Bolman
Eugene
EDITOR’S NOTE: Indeed the discussion of toxic tar sands
was brief, but the topic got much more attention in our
cover story on Winona LaDuke and the battle against tar
sands extraction in our archives for Sept. 2, 2010.
CODDLING CONCERNS
Conservative
billionaire
investor
Warren Buffet recently penned a New York
Times editorial titled: “Stop Coddling the
Super-Rich.” Buffet details how he and
his “mega-rich friends” have been getting
“extraordinary tax breaks” for decades
while most Americans struggle to make
ends meet.
Buffet also debunks the conservative
lies about higher tax rates on the rich
hurting job creation and investment.
“I have worked with investors for 60
years and I have yet to see anyone — not
even when capital gains rates were 39.9
percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a
sensible investment because of the tax
rate on the potential gain. People invest
to make money, and potential taxes have
never scared them off. And to those who
argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I
would note that a net of nearly 40 million
jobs were added between 1980 and 2000.
You know what’s happened since then:
lower tax rates and far lower job creation.”
I say to the mayor and City Council:
Let’s stop coddling the super-rich. In
November of 2012, let the people vote
on a school-funding measure increasing
taxes on the wealthy and super-wealthy.
Our children are waiting for someone
to act. We can’t expect anything from
Washington while the Great Capitulator is
in the White House and the wing-nuts are
running Congress.
Listen to Buffet: “My friends and
I have been coddled long enough by a
billionaire-friendly Congress. It’s time for
our government to get serious about shared
sacrifi ce.”
Joshua Welch
Eugene
HAZARDOUS CHOICES
Why are herbicides such as 2-4-D,
Atrazine and Roundup legal? These
chemicals are poisonous, and some
symptoms such as headaches, swelling
in the throat and face, allergies, tumors,
ADHD, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes and
even cancer have been found commonly in
people exposed to these chemicals.
Recently our neighbor sprayed Roundup
in the alley behind our house and right next
to our garden. From the spraying my mom
had headaches and I had severe nosebleeds,
sometimes fi ve a day, a runny nose and
headaches. This lasted for both of us up to
fi ve days after the spraying and we where
afraid to eat the food out of our own garden
fearing that there might be chemicals in
the food. Imagine all that hard work on our
garden gone to waste because of unnecessary
spraying in an alleyway. I could have cut that
grass and dandelions with our lawn mower.
Imagine how bad it is for the people
in Triangle Lake who have massive aerial
spraying only a mile away. I can barely
guess how that is affecting them! Couldn’t
we fi nd another way to get rid of these
weeds instead of using all these harmful
and sometimes lethal chemicals? For
example, there is a shortage of jobs right
now, couldn’t the government help pay for
workers to go in and get rid of weeds in
public and private places? This would help
make jobs, save lives and save the planet!
Santiago Gause, age 12
Eugene
LETTERS POLICY: We welcome letters on all topics and
will print as many as space allows, with priority given
to timely local issues. Please limit length to 200 words,
keep submissions to once a month, and include your
address and phone number for our fi les. Email to letters@
eugeneweekly.com fax to 484-4044, or mail to 1251
Lincoln, Eugene 97401.
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EUGENE WEEKLY AUGUST 25, 2011
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