NEWS BRIEFS
“Pride and Prejudice: Fighting
for Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Rights in Oregon.” It
will be a chance for students from Willamette, Churchill
and North Eugene to present the work they are doing at
their high schools and benefit from the feedback of
experienced activists.
Claire Syrett, field director for ACLU of Oregon, says
students are flattered to be included in the event and are
eager to learn more effective ways for spurring change at
their schools. “One of the requests that came back from the
high schools,” she says, “was that they would like a chance
to talk to adults about political activity and how to be an
activist.”
“This is really going to give them (high school students)
a chance to have a dialogue with folks,” Syrett says.
Afterward, the attendees will be broken up into
groups to discuss what challenges lay ahead. Much of the
group discussion will pertain to bullying on high school
campuses and ways of gaining support for Gay, Lesbian
and Transgender causes.
Members of Basic Rights Oregon plan to follow up
with Gay/Straight Alliance students in the future on their
campuses. Syrett will also speak about the marriage
equality campaign here in Oregon and throughout the
nation.
The public is invited to this event as well, which will
be held from 10 am to 12:30 pm Saturday, Feb. 25, at the
EWEB training room in downtown Eugene.
—Ted Shorack
CONTINUED FROM P.7
TAR SANDS
MEGALOADS STALLED
While the fight rages on against the massive Keystone
XL pipeline that would bring tar sands oil from Canada
through the U.S. to processing facilities, small groups in the
Northwest and the Rockies celebrate a victory in their fight
against the machinery that feeds the controversial tar sands.
Tar sands oil extraction involves a dirty open-pit
mining process that destroys forests and poisons land,
water and people, opponents say. The Canadian oil sands
project is one of the largest industrial projects on
Earth. According to NASA climate scientist James Hansen,
producing oil from tar sands emits two to three times the
global warming pollution of conventional oil.
Imperial Oil’s Kearl Module Transport Project
involves massive loads of tar sands equipment — some of
it the size of the Statue of Liberty laying on its side and
weighing a half million pounds — being barged up the
Columbia River, then trucked over rural roads in Montana
and Idaho to Canada. Opponents, such as Corvallis
resident Trish Weber of the coalition group All Against the
Haul, have been fighting the loads, objecting both to the
tar sands and to the harm the loads would cause highways,
people and the environment.
A judge has ruled the Montana Department of
Transportation must do a more extensive environmental
review before allowing the oversized loads of oil refinery
equipment to use that state’s highways. State District
Judge Ray Dayton ruled that the transportation department
violated the state Environmental Policy Act in signing off
the megaloads. Eugene-based Western Environmental Law
Center was also involved in the case.
Months before the now-disputed final version was
released, EW found a draft copy of the environmental
review that said the project would have “no significant
impact.”
Weber says, “Judge Dayton’s ruling is welcome, but
hardly surprising, given that Imperial Oil has amply
demonstrated the viability of alternate routes.” She says,
“If Imperial had just chopped them up and shipped them
on the interstate in the first place, it would have saved
them time, money, bad press, and untold thousands fewer
people would have known what the Alberta tar sands are.”
She adds, “It’s a classic case of being hoisted with
their own petard and immensely gratifying to witness.”
— Camilla Mortensen
THE KIVA
GROCERS,
WINE MERCHANTS
AND BOOK SELLERS
Wine, champagne
and beer
Hormone-free and
antibiotic-free
meats
w
Vitamins and
body care products
w
gro
ce ry.c o m
Sandwiches made
to order daily
DOWNTOWN EUGENE SUN.–SAT. 9 A.M.–8 P.M.
125 W. 11 TH AVENUE
541-342-8666
8 FEBRUARY 23, 2012
EUGENE WEEKLY
GET LUCKY AT
Fresh organic
produce
Specialty deli
i va
Hooking up is a pretty basic human need. For some
the only criterion for “getting primal” is a warm body and
a heartbeat. For others it gets a little bit stickier.
Anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski said that the
primal human needs are food, sex and shelter. But for
some, food choices have an effect on their love lives, and
we don’t mean that whole garlic breath makes for bad
kissing problem.
“I know some vegans who won’t date people who eat
meat,” says Sierra Gabrielson of the Cornbread Café and
local animal rights group Eugene Voices for Animals (EVA).
If you don’t believe in eating honey, let alone steak,
kissing someone who just wolfed down a hunk of salami
might just be a dealbreaker. Luckily for local vegans, EVA
is hosting a round of heterovegan speed dating Feb. 26 at
Cornbread Café, where vegans, vegetarians and vegetarian-
leaning singles can find a little deep-fried soul food
oriented love.
EVA will be donating proceeds to Lighthouse Farm
Animal Sanctuary, an animal rescue sanctuary outside Scio,
and use a portion of the proceeds to fund some of EVA’s
activities and promotional needs. Live music and appetizers
will be on hand at the event (but paid for separately), and
there will be a raffle for gift certificates to places like
Brushfire and Sweet Life to encourage daters to stay
connected and to take things to the next level. The group also
plans on hosting homovegan speed dating at a later date.
So, if you’re the type of eater who’s as picky about
your partner as you are your tempeh and kombucha, then
this is a surefire way to stay pure and ethical while getting
down and dirty.
Heterovegan Speed Dating takes place 7 pm Sunday,
Feb. 26, at the Cornbread Café, 1290 W. 7th, $12. Advance
registration required: wkly.ws/173
— Andrew Hitz
Specialty, gourmet
and organic goods
Bulk foods, herbs,
spices, coffees and
teas
w.
k
VEGAN SOUL FOOD
IS FOR LOVERS
$
B BURRITO
U R R I T O & MICRO
M I C R O BREW
B R E W
: :00
0 0 P PM
M UNTIL
U N T I L C CLOSE
L O S E
DAYS
D
A Y S A WEEK
W E E K
A HELL o A DEAL
OFFER
O OFF
FFF ER R GOOD
GOO
GO
O D FOR
F OR
O R DINE-IN
D INE-I
DIN
E- N C CUSTOMERS
E-I
USTOME
UST
O ME E R RS S ONLY.
OME
O ON NL
ONL
N Y Y. . OFFER
OF ER
OFF
R GOOD
GO
G GOO
OO D F FOR
OR ON
ONE
N NE E PERSON,
P RSO
PE
S N N, , PER
PE E R VISIT,
V I S SIT T , PER
VI
P ERR DAY
DAY.
Y.
2864 WILLAMETTE ST. (541) 505-5399 OPEN EVERYDAY 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
760 BLAIR BLVD. (541) 868-0668 OPEN SUN + MON 11AM – 9PM, TUE – SAT 11AM – 10PM
127 NW 2ND ST. CORVALLIS (541) 286-4048 OPEN EVERYDAY 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
www.LAUGHINGPLANETCAFE.com
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM