A4
THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, NOvEmbER 25, 2021
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
DERRICK DePLEDGE
Editor
Founded in 1873
SHANNON ARLINT
Circulation manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production manager
CARL EARL
Systems manager
GUEST COLUMN
The DDT of our generation
N
ow that we know a chemical in
our car tires is killing salmon,
we have to act urgently to keep
it out of the water.
Research published last year con-
firmed that the preservative 6PPD inter-
acts with ozone to kill coho salmon
even in low concentrations in a short
amount of time. The
study, led by Jenifer
McIntyre of Washing-
ton State University, was
conducted over a decade
in partnership with the
University of Washing-
ton at the Suquamish
WILLIE
Tribe’s Grovers Creek
FRANK III
Hatchery.
In the salmon recov-
ery world, it’s rare that
we’re able to pinpoint
the exact chemical at
fault. These findings are
a smoking gun for the
collapse of coho salmon
throughout our region,
DAVID
especially in the urban
TROUTT
and developing areas
where roads and salmon
intersect.
Coho populations are at an all-time
low, having declined steadily since the
1980s. At the same time, we’ve seen
the expansion of road systems into rural
areas. While there are other factors that
have led to declining salmon runs, sci-
ence has shown that 6PPD is a piece of
the puzzle.
Antiozonants like 6PPD make tires
safer by preventing the rubber com-
pounds from cracking and degrad-
ing. When 6PPD mixes with ozone, it
becomes 6PPD-quinone, or 6PPD-Q. It
is omnipresent on our roadways. With
every rain event, the untreated chemi-
cal washes into our streams, rivers, bays
and Puget Sound, killing juvenile coho
as well as returning adults attempting to
spawn.
Not only has this stormwater run-
off been proven to kill coho salmon,
it also has been shown to have sub-
lethal effects on other fish — includ-
ing reduced growth, heart defects and
pulmonary edema — which affect their
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Coho salmon are at risk from a chemical tied to car tires.
ability to avoid predators and can lead
to poor survival.
Solving this problem demands
immediate action and a long-term
commitment.
The first step is to remove 6PPD at
the source by identifying a harmless
replacement to make tires safe. This
will take time, and unfortunately, it’s
not practical to replace every tire on
the road. Even if we could, we would
still have legacy impacts to deal with
for at least 15 to 20 years. In addition
to leaving residual tire dust on roads,
used tires are commonly recycled into
products like crumb rubber fields and
playgrounds.
We need to deal with these impacts
immediately by filtering 6PPD-Q from
stormwater before it enters the water-
ways. The Nisqually Tribe is working
with McIntyre, Long Live the Kings
and the Washington State Department
of Transportation to develop a com-
postable biofiltration system on State
Route 7 where it crosses Ohop Creek. If
we are successful, similar systems could
be retrofitted along all roadways to
remove this lethal, toxic chemical.
The tire industry understandably is
going to be concerned about the eco-
nomic impact of removing 6PPD from
their product, but they understand the
need to prevent it from killing salmon.
In July, a representative from the U.S.
Tire Manufacturers Association joined
us in testifying before the U.S. House
Natural Resources Committee’s sub-
committee on oversight and investi-
gations, citing evidence that filtering
roadway runoff through a rain garden
reduces fatalities in coho salmon.
This is the DDT of our generation. In
the 1960s, we learned that the insecti-
cide was harming bald eagles and other
raptors. It was removed from the eco-
system — not without struggle and
industry resistance — and bald eagles
made a comeback.
We are in a similar struggle. We’ve
been putting 6PPD-Q into Washington
waters and it’s killing the salmon that
are the lifeblood of tribal cultures here.
We must do everything we can as fast as
we can to keep it off our roads and out
of our waterways.
Willie Frank III is the chairman of the
Nisqually Tribal Council. david Troutt is
the natural resources director of the Nis-
qually Indian Tribe.
GUEST COLUMN
The heart
and soul of
our cities
he COVID-19 pandemic confirmed
the critical role that small busi-
nesses play in our daily lives.
Neighborhood restaurants, entertain-
ment venues, service companies and any
business where in-person contact was the
norm endured periodic closure and suf-
fered financial hardship. It sounds cliché,
but our locally-owned small businesses
truly are the heart and soul of our cities
and towns.
Small Business Saturday is our chance
to thank these local heroes
that struggled to survive
over the last 18 months.
People in Astoria can also
participate in Shop Local,
Shop Plaid, an event pro-
moted by the Astoria
Downtown Historic Dis-
MARTIN
trict Association that runs
GOLDEN
from Friday to Dec. 3.
Small Business Satur-
day has slowly become an American tra-
dition following the Thanksgiving holi-
day. Brick-and-mortar businesses across
the country promote their best deals of
the year in hopes of luring shoppers from
online purchases. It was not that long ago
when Americans would visit their local-
ly-owned downtown retailers to pur-
chase all their holiday gifts for family and
friends. Shop owners would decorate their
stores with ornate lights and ornaments, or
create elaborate window displays, to grab
the imagination of a passerby to lure them
inside their business. The holiday shop-
ping season was a magical time of year,
and many of us still hold on to those fond
memories today.
Given the dramatic shifts in the retail
environment over the last 20 years, those
holiday scenes and traditions are in danger
of passing into the realm of nostalgic folk-
lore. Recent surveys show that over 80%
of Americans make regular online pur-
chases throughout the year. Online shop-
T
Small businesses help downtowns thrive.
ping skyrocketed during the pandemic
as more people stayed home to slow
the spread of COVID-19. Many local-
ly-owned businesses struggled to find new
ways to compete with mega online shop-
ping sites and large retailers that remained
open.
To better compete, small-business own-
ers have become very innovative in the
way they sell and promote their products
and services. Some are bringing back the
retail traditions of the past by providing
personalized one-on-one assistance to cus-
tomers and the selling of locally produced
niche items found nowhere else in town.
Although online merchants have driven
many retailers into closing their doors,
small business remains the one stable job
creator in most communities across Ore-
gon. Here at home, Oregon’s 396,925
small businesses continue to generate 2 of
every 3 net new jobs and deliver essential
goods and services in both rural and urban
communities. They employ more than
893,758 Oregonians, and make this state a
better place to live in.
As the voice of America’s entrepre-
neurs, the U.S. Small Business Adminis-
tration celebrates this nation’s 36 million
small businesses that still ignite our local
economies and enrich our communities
throughout the year.
Each year, Small Business Saturday
provides a huge boost to the U.S. econ-
omy when over 100 million consumers
spend more than $20 billion at small shops
and local restaurants. With increased con-
sumer confidence in the economy, and a
waning pandemic, this year’s Small Busi-
ness Saturday looks to be even bigger and
brighter.
Economic prosperity is very good
news not only for America’s small busi-
nesses but for society. In so many ways,
small businesses act as the bond that holds
our communities together. They fund
the local tax base, finance local nonprof-
its and charitable organizations and cre-
ate good-paying jobs that boost the overall
marketplace.
By backing our locally owned small
businesses, you support the thousands of
jobs they create and the families they sus-
tain. Small businesses are the backbone
of our democracy, and the solution to our
most challenging economic problems.
On Small Business Saturday, please
join me in making at least one purchase
from a locally-owned small business in
your city or town. These business owners
are the true superstars of our community,
and they deserve our support, thanks and
appreciation.
martin Golden is the Portland dis-
trict director of the u.S. Small business
Administration.