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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 29, 2018)
LET TERS EAT ROADKILL If Oregonians must eat animal car- casses, roadkill is a superior option to the neatly shrink-wrapped plastic packages of meat in the grocery store. Eating roadkill (see “Roadkill: It's What's for Dinner” Eugene Weekly Nov. 21) is healthier for the consumer than meat laden with antibiotics, hormones and growth stimulants, as most meat is today. It is also more humane, in that animals killed on the road were not castrated, dehorned or debeaked without anesthesia; did not suf- fer the trauma and misery of transportation in a crowded truck in all weather extremes; and did not hear the screams and smell the fear of the animals ahead of them on the slaughter line. Perhaps the animals never knew what hit them. Of course, people who want to kick the meat habit can get a free vegan starter kit at GoVeg.com Curtis Taylor Eugene HAM AD SPECIESIST In most cases I find irony to be amus- ing or at least interesting. The irony in last week’s EW, not so much. In the article “A Jive Turkey Holiday” (EW Nov. 21) we learned about a local resident who won a PETA award for a vegan Easter dinner he created. This ar- ticle included information about how most turkeys are basically tortured during the slaughter process. Then on page 12 we find a large adver- tisement encouraging readers to place their orders for a honey ham. The sad irony is that the vast majority of ham comes from pigs that are systemati- cally tortured, including confining breed- ing sows for the majority of their lives to pens that restrict their movement to no VIEWPOINT more than two steps — sentient beings these creatures. I’ve always thought of EW as a thought- ful, progressive paper. The fact it indirectly supports speciesism requires further con- sideration. Dan Dizney Eugene THE INCONVENIENT HOMELESS Regarding “Downtown Businesses Thank City for Nixing City Hall Shelter” (EW blog Nov. 15): Call me naive, but I see the “stakeholders” as the ones who risk, literally, freezing their butts, fingers and toes in Eugene’s winter cold. Maj. Thomas Egan comes to mind. So does Mama Carrie. Talk about being “fragile.” I suggest that Downtown Eugene business owners try surviving one night on the street, much less weeks or months on end, and you’ll discover just how fragile you are. As a resident of downtown Eugene, I support businesses in the downtown core. But I do not support patronizing self-inter- est, no matter how “fragile,” parading as wisdom of “we the sheltered” telling our unsheltered and truly fragile co-Eugeneans where to go. There will always be perfectly reason- able reasons why we can’t respond to ob- vious human needs. But people locked out of the House of Economic Belonging beg a clear and unified moral response — no matter how inconvenient — from the peo- ple (and businesses) that hold the power to rally blessed remedy and mobilize com- mon justice. While downtown Eugene may want to work “in partnership with our elected and public officials to solve problems to- gether,” why not include members of the unhoused community in the conversation? While they are part of the problem for you, you are part of the problem for them. And their problem is life-or-death. Just ask Maj. Egan. Or Mama Carrie. Mary Sharon Moore Eugene SIDEWALK RULES About bikes on sidewalks: In Eugene, only in the downtown “fire district one” area are bicycles prohibited on sidewalks (also, sandwich boards are only allowed on sidewalks in the downtown “fire district one” area). Outside the downtown “fire district one” area, it’s legal to ride on side- walks while yielding to pedestrians (sand- wich boards are not allowed on sidewalks outside of the downtown “fire district one” area). There is no requirement to use bike lanes citywide (and there is no enforce- ment of sandwich boards blocking side- walks outside of the downtown area). Always yield to pedestrians; if there’s not enough sidewalk, stop or get on the street. Painted bike lanes remove street parking for cars and provide a false sense of security for bikes. Gary Trendler Eugene GUNS AND SAFETY There’s a lot we can learn from our neighbors. King County is Washington’s most populous county. Recently the King County Board of Health voted unani- mously to require gun dealers and shooting ranges to post warning signs about the dan- gers of killing machines, i.e. guns. The signs say: “The presence of a fire- arm in the home increases the risk of sui- cide, homicide and unintentional deaths to children.” While this statement of fact is ob- vious to many readers, it’s actually not ob- vious to many gun-worshiping Americans. What the King County Board of Health knows is that many gun owners tragically believe the opposite of the truth when it comes to the presence of guns. Most be- lieve that having killing machines in their home increases their safety. While many gun-lovers ignore any in- formation that contradicts their beliefs, some may read these signs and think twice about endangering themselves, their chil- dren, their families and their communities. Joshua Welch Eugene AT LEAST TRY On Nov. 16, Politico quoted Congressman Peter DeFazio: “The idea that in five years or 10 years we’re not going to consume any more fossil fuels is technologically impossible,” says DeFazio (D-Ore.), who’s in line to lead the Trans- portation and Infrastructure Committee, told Politico. “We can have grand goals but let’s be realistic about how we get there.” Four days later on Facebook, DeFazio clarified his position. He’s long believed climate change is the most important issue of our time and we need “dramatic change in policy” to address it, citing his record, including sponsoring a mandatory cap on emissions and a carbon tax. But, he added, with climate deniers in the White House, Senate and House, we “need renewed energy and activism to achieve real change” and he looks for- ward to working for “massive federal in- vestments” toward “a radical reduction of greenhouse gases,” etc. In the 1975 film of Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1962), Randall Patrick McMurphy, the lead character played by Jack Nicholson, tries to lift a huge washbasin out of the floor to crash through the window to escape while others stand around. After many unsuc- BY P E T E R D E FA ZIO DeFazio on Climate Change THE CONGRESSMAN RESPONDS TO CRITIQUES OF A QUOTE IN POLITICO I n response to Jim Neu’s letter to the editor “Get With It, Pete” (Nov. 21) on the issue of climate change and fossil fuel and carbon pollution: Jim, I’ve been with it for more than 20 years. In November 1998, in rec- ognition of my leadership role on climate change on the Natural Resources Committee, I was chosen as the Democratic House representative to the Kyoto Protocol conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I was sent to the confer- ence to defend the Clinton administration’s signing of the Kyoto Treaty on Nov. 12. The Republicans who controlled Congress at the time scheduled a big press event in Buenos Aires to trash Clinton’s signing of the treaty. I staked out a guerilla news conference outside the Republican event and garnered a lot of press in coun- tering their misinformation. I have long talked about carbon pollution and climate change as an existential threat to the planet. More than 10 years ago, I introduced legislation with Jim McDermott from Washington state to cap, regulate and reduce carbon pollution — very similar to the successful Clean Water Act mandates. 4 November 29, 2018 • eugeneweekly.com In the 2010 election, I was challenged by prominent climate change denier Art Robinson, who was generously funded by the likes of Robert Mercer and the Koch brothers. They wanted Robinson to write a proof that climate change was a hoax. That “proof” was widely circulated in a petition. Climate change was one of the ma- jor subjects during that election cycle along with the Affordable Care Act. I was at- tacked for my advocacy for carbon reduction and support of the Affordable Care Act. Climate change has been a top issue in each of my last five elections where I’ve taken a strong position in favor of the Paris Accords and the need for urgent action beyond the Paris Accords. I will continue to aggressively push for Congress to act decisively and compre- hensively to curb carbon emissions and invest in new and existing technologies to free us from dependence on fossil fuels. It is unfortunate that one very misleading article in the rag Politico has led some like Jim Neu to question my commitment. Congressman Peter DeFazio was first elected to the U.S. Congress in 1986 and is now the longest-serving House member in Oregon’s history.
