letters
TO THE EDITOR
kids and then harass folks who don’t give
them money at intersections. They are
narcissistic, selfi sh, immature folks who
choose not to work or live in an apartment
or get a job. They are not on the street by
accident, but by choice. Those who are
mentally defi cient have made themselves
that way through abuse of drugs and
alcohol. And, since many are amoral,
manipulative and without conscience, they
will do whatever they need to do, in order
to survive, including theft, assault and
murder.
Once, when I was young and naive, I
felt sorry for these miscreants. Now, all I
think is: “How does his family feel about
him taking drugs and abandoning his
kids?”
Jeff Zekas
Veneta
IN DEFENSE OF GOATS
Phil Biboux contends [letters, 8/2] that
“livestock belongs in the country. Leave
farming to farmers.” He is dismissive of
urban goateries. Indeed, he becomes a
voice for the anti-goat movement right
here in the Emerald City.
But I am not going to sign his petition.
I like goats. Their sharp little hooves are
worn smooth on pavement and no mud
pit appears in my backyard. Rigged into
harness they pull a cart requiring no fossil
fuel. Wonderful landscape ruminants,
unlike deer, they enhance neighborhoods
by obliterating unwanted blackberry
brambles. Milk and meat produced on such
a diet is particularly piquant.
Even a billy goat in rut has an aroma
superior to the diesel truck bringing
produce in from Phil’s commercial country
operations.
Support sustainability! Don’t sign the
anti-goat petition!
David H. Tyson
Eugene
COAL AND TIMBER
Coal export, many experienced forest
warriors and I believe, is a cover-up to
ship large amounts of our most precious
resource, forests and logs, out into
processing plants a few miles offshore and
then shipped back for our own use without
providing jobs to Americans. How much is
this going to cost our community? People
in charge of making these decisions need
to put some detail into this expenditure
of resources and pollution to us and our
environment.
Coal dust is notoriously diffi cult to
control. Explosions of coal are probable
as well as derailments, which have
already started to happen. Every coal train
dissipates one pound of coal dust per mile
into our air.
We also need a county level review of
how many gallons of poisons and “inert”
carrying chemicals are seeping into Lane
County’s environment from logging.
Cancers, neurological damage, birth
defects, reduced sperm count, suppressed
immune systems and reproductive harms
are some of the problems wartime agent
orange derivatives such as pesticides,
herbicides, fungicides, etc., cause all living
beings within at least 20 miles of aerial
spraying.
DeFazio’s plan needs a big wrench
thrown into it. It is completely crazy. It
gives zero to the community and allows
Big Timber to steal most of what’s left of
our sorry forests. Out of 2.5 million acres
he gives timber interests 1.5 million acres
and more if forests prove hard to manage.
So to summarize: Big coal and timber
pillage are connected and they both should
be killed.
David Piccioni
Eugene
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EUGENE WEEKLY AUGUST 9, 2012
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