PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, FEBRUARY 26, 2021
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Is there a future for birds?
Preparing for the unthinkable
Icy roads are a nuisance. Losing them. We need not worry about an
electricity for a few hours is an an- ice storm in August or a heat wave
noyance. Losing electricty and com- in January. Yet every day of the year
munication for days on end is tragic we all live under the threat of an big
and dangerous, as we have seen in the earthquake. That is the disaster every
household needs to be prepared for.
past weeks.
An earthquake that destroys ev-
The spirit and generosity of Keize-
rites was evident everywhere you erything will affect those that tra-
turned after the city was hit by an ditionally respond: fi re and police.
ice storm. Neighbor assisted neigh- Households need to take the steps to
look after themselves.
bors residents jumped in to
The recent ice
help clear the community.
storm and power out-
In times of trouble Ameri-
ages demonstrate the
can society doesn’t ask how
it can help, it digs in for the
editorial importance of having
the items needed in a
benefi t of their fellow man.
major event.
We have to wonder what
Any fi re district or
would happen if everybody
fi re department can
was in the same boat in a
lifechanging disaster? Some say that provide vital information about pre-
our region is overdue for a major paring for an emergency.
What should every house have
earthquake but predicting an earth-
quake is nigh impossible. Experts can stocked in its emergency kit? Start
speculate, but nature doesn’t check in with water, several gallons per per-
with humanity before an earthquake. son. Non-perishable food items and
Modern weather forecasting can a manual can opener. Batteries of all
almost pinpoint windstorms, snow sizes, battery-operate radio, blankets,
and ice storms and heat waves, al- fi rst aid kit, a whistle (to signal for
lowing each of us to prepare for help), face maskes to help fi lter con-
taminated air, plastic sheeting and
duct tape, tools such as a wrench or
pliers, warm clothing and footwear,
candles and matches.
It is a long list but it will help peo-
ple to survive on their own in case
help is not immediately on the way.
An emergency kit is a necessity along
with a plan for one’s family. Some
families hold fi re drills in their house;
families can also design and hold
earthquake drills. The fi re district is a
source of information for these kinds
of drills.
We do not want to live in fear for
what may not happen in our life-
times. Being prepared is being smart.
One thing that can make a disaster
worse is not knowing what to do.
Learning what needs to be done if
a catastrophe strikes should be a top
priority for every household. Neigh-
boring households can team up to
stock kits and have a plan to look af-
ter each other.
A power outage can be fi xed; de-
stroyed infrastruture is a challenge
most of us are unprepaed for.
—LAZ
oil spills, exposure to toxins at waste
By JIM PARR
Since the mid-1970s, approximate- treatment and storage basins and la-
ly 3 billion or roughly 29% of the goons, habitat destruction, etc. (May-
North American bird population has be this provision of the treaty will be
disappeared. More recently the 2019 restored by the Biden administration.)
What are some suggested large
national annual bird survey counted
scale actions that can be
about 6 million fewer birds
taken to slow and hope-
than was expected. There
fully stop the loss of bird
are numerous suspected
guest
populations? During fall
and known reasons for this
column and spring migration
decline.
times, reduce night time
It is known that indus-
lighting of tall buildings.
trial operations kill mil-
Reduce or stop some
lions of birds each year.
Add to that, the unexpected losses of wind turbine operation during the
birds. For example, over several days dark hours. Many birds fl y at night
this past September, approximately and can be disoriented by lights and
200,000 migrating birds mysteriously sounds leading to fatal crashes. A re-
dropped dead from the air over New duction in large scale insecticide use
Mexico. Examinations by federal can help. Most song birds are insect
wildlife laboratories found the birds eaters and require insects in their diet
to be in very poor condition, as if to maintain condition and to feed
starved. Like they just ran out of en- their young. Minimizing the popula-
ergy and fell from the sky. There are tion of feral cats will reduce bird kills.
What can a homeowner do?
other suggested causes that may have
contributed to the die off but it ap- Create and maintain a bird friendly
pears that starvation is the main cause. backyard. Make your yard a refuge
These migrating birds just simply ran for birds by planting shrubs for cov-
out of energy and died during their er. Provide food during the winter
fl ight south. Birds are also killed by months and water for drinking and
crashes into tall buildings and wind bathing during the summer. In gen-
eral, creating and maintaining quality
turbines and cell towers.
In another blow to birds, in the bird habitat, along with a good mea-
last days of the Trump administration, sure of interest and a caring attitude, is
rules that required industry to min- a great long term strategy.
These are tough and challenging
imize or eliminate accidental and/or
incidental harm to birds as a result of times. We need the simple joys that
their operations were removed. In- birds bring to our daily life. Imagine a
dustry of course does not set out to day or evening without the songs and
kill birds. Before the rule change, pro- chatter of your favorite birds. Modern
visions of the North America Migra- life and our modern world is hard on
tory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, required birds. Their populations are plummet-
industry to minimize or prevent inci- ing. When was the last time you saw
dental harm to birds as a result of their a Rufus-Sided (aka Spotted) Towhee
operations. Examples of accidental or scratching around under your shrubs?
(Jim Parr lives in Keizer.)
incidental harm include such things as
Rush Limbaugh’s success
Rush Limbaugh would not have
before Limbaugh.
By DEBRA J. SAUNDERS
Republicans credited the bom- become a GOP deity.
I met Rush Limbaugh before he
Pundits have commented on
bastic host for their victorious take-
became a god.
It was the mid-1980s. Our ca- back of the House in 1994, which Limbaugh’s ties to former President
reers had begun but had not tak- had been under Democratic con- Donald Trump, who awarded Lim-
en off. Rush had a radio talk show trol since 1952. That shift of power baugh with the Medal of Freedom
on Sacramento station KFBK-AM was followed by then-President Bill during the State of the Union ad-
1530. I worked in the California Clinton’s decision to sign a GOP dress in 2020.
Trump was not the fi rst Repub-
welfare reform bill with a work re-
legislature.
lican president to honor the college
Later he moved to New York quirement.
Since those heady days, the left dropout. President George H.W.
for the syndicated talk show that
has complained that Bush invited Limbaugh for dinner
put him in car radios, as
Limbaugh—one man and an overnight stay in the Lincoln
he would say, “across the
—had outsize infl uence Bedroom. Rush was tickled that the
fruited plain.”
in the news media. Lib- patrician president carried his lug-
More than once, Rush
other
erals spoke as if Rush gage.
told me that his show
Former President George W.
owned all of talk radio,
would never fall out of
voices
against which TV news Bush, who released a statement
favor, as so many other
networks and newspa- Wednesday calling Limbaugh a
shows did, and that he ex-
pers couldn’t possibly friend, phoned Rush for his 20th
pected to broadcast until
compete. It just wasn’t fair, they ar- anniversary show in 2008—and
the end. Turns out, he was right.
George H.W. Bush called in as well.
You can’t defy gravity, I respond- gued.
Few realized that Rush was able So, it’s a mistake to see Limbaugh as
ed at the time, TV and radio shows
rise and fall. Rush believed that he to amass that kind of power precise- a GOP disrupter.
As Trey Bohn, White House di-
ly because he offered something big
would be different. And he was.
Rush, 70, never lost his audience. media could not provide—balance. rector of radio media under the
He put a premium on being en- No, not in his show, which was un- junior Bush, noted: Limbaugh was
tertaining and it paid off. Limbaugh apologetically conservative, but by buoyed by “an unwavering belief in
ditched the standard talk show for- presenting arguments that were not American Exceptionalism.”
Rush didn’t bristle at disagree-
mula of hosts talking to a series of treated as credible by the media es-
ment. I took him to task more than
tap-dancing guests. Limbaugh made tablishment.
“Dittoheads” often thank Rush once and found that he enjoyed the
the show about himself, his shtick,
his pet issues and conservative ideas. for giving them the ingredients to give-and-take. Of course he did, he
We remained friends over the make arguments that were missing was at the center of the action.
(Creators Syndicate)
years. After his syndication, we’d get from their pre-Rush news diet. If
together for an adult beverage or a big media had been more balanced,
meal if we happened to be in the
same town. Later we’d communi-
cate over the phone or by email.
We disagreed on a number of is-
Submit a letter to the editor (300 words),
sues and his language choices, but
this is not the time to rake up dead
or a guest column (600 words) by noon Tuesday .
leaves.
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