Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1994)
J une 1, 1994 • T he P ortland O bserver P age A2 R ainbö W ■jUurtlattb ©bserrier (U SPS 959-680) OREGON’S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN PUBLICATION E sta b lish e d in 1970 by A lfred L. H end erso n Joyce W ashington P u b lish er C O A 1U 11 I I O ]N T H E V O T IN G T O U R Justice Demands River Clean Up S T A N D U P F O R Y O U R R IO R T S ’ M AY 27 - J U N E 6 7 asm™ NC BY K? by Ö B E ernice /M M * T h e P O R T L A N D O B SE R V E R is lo cated a t 4747 N E M L K .J r . Blvd. P o rtla n d , O reg o n 97211 503-288-0033 Fax 503-288-0015 Rocky Mount Greenville NC Durham Greenboro Winston-Salem Ch ariette Deadline for all submitted materials: A rtic le s:F rid a y , 5 :0 0 p m A d s: M o n d a y N o o n P O S T M A S T E R : Send A ddress C h an g es to: P o rtla n d O b se rv e r, P.O . Box 3137, P o rtla n d , O R 97208. Second Class postage p a id at Portland, Oregon. The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned. If ac companied by a self addressed enve lope. All created design display ads become the sole property of the news paper and can not be used in other publications or personal usage, with out the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has pur chased the composition of such ad. © 1994 TH E PO RTLA N D O BSERV ER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. Subscriptions :$30.00 p er year. The Portland O bserver-O regon’s Oldest African-American Publica- tion-is a member of the National Newspaper Association-Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Pub lishers, Inc, New York, NY, and The W est C oast B lack P ublishers Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver. The Rainbow /CBC V oter Registration & Voting Rights Bus Crusade will go to 17 cities in 7 states in 10 days. In addition to highlighting Shaw V. Reno, part o f the focus o f the crusade is passage and implementation, at the state level, o f the National V oter Registration Act (NVRA), which was passed and signed into law in 1993. Tw enty-one states have yet to com ply fully with the law, with a deadline o f January 1,1995 for all but Virginia, which has a deadline o f 1996 because o f necessary state constitutional changes. The chart below sum m arizes seven southern states w ith regard to key voting procedures. STATES VOTER REGISTRATION PROCEDURES TX LA FL GA SC NC VA In Full C om pliance W ith T he NVRA N N N N N N N X .................................................. - - - - X Passed (S tate H ouse & Senate) X X Sen - Im plem enting X X - - No Bill In tro d u c e d Yet Bill P ending X N Y N Y Y N C e n tra liz e d V oting File Y Y Y N Y N Y E arly V oting (P rio r T o E lection Day) Y N N N N N N F a ilu re T o V ote (Y ears) 2 N 2 -3 2 2 4 Felony C onviction Y Y Y Y Y Y Y M ental In com petence Y Y Y Y N N Y Moved Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Agency B ased R eg istratio n Y N N N N N N D eputy R e g istra rs Y Y Y Y Y Y VR D eadline, G e n e ra l E lection (O ct.) 8 24 10 10 8 - 17 1 1 ............................................................... D ays B efore E lection 30 P u rging P ro ced u res: 24 30 30 30 21 Y 31 Notes On Voting Rights & The NVRA: In LA, Senator Bagneris and the Black C aucus are the state’s biggest advocates for the NVRA; in SC, G overnor Cam pbell may veto the NVRA legislation, and a federal judge is expected to approve nine majority black state legislative districts in June; and in N C, M ickey M icheaux is leading the efforts in Raleigh to pass the NVRA legislation. Hide Your Genes; Somebody May Patent Them abilities. A m o d e r n h e a lth c h e c k u p m ig h t see an in d iv id u a l’s g e n e tic p ro file re la tiv e to a s u s c e p tib ility to r a d ia tio n fro m x -ra y s, c ig a re tte sm o k e , n u c le a r p la n t a c c i d e n ts , h ig h v o lta g e tra n s m is s io n lin e s , s u n ta n s , c e r ta in p e s tic id e s a n d h e rb ic id e s , sa c c h a rin e an d o th e r sp e c ific fo o d a d d itiv e s , m i c ro w a v e s o r a n y o th e r io n iz in g r a d ia tio n , in c lu d in g ra d o n g a s in th e h o m e o r ra d io /T V to w e rs. - Y p e r s p e ’m serious! A lot o f readers have been following my se ries, “S eeds o f C h ange,” w here I’ve described how interna tional corporations are waging fierce battles to gain firm legal control and a proprietary interest in the genes of the plants and livestock that feed us. Have these new concerns diverted our attention for the first line o f defense - - the body itself? Just last w eek, Portland hosted the 25th annual international m eet ing o f the “Environm ental Mutagen S ociety.” A m utagen is an agent - chem ical or radiation, deliberate or accidental - that causes/prom otes a change in the chrom osom es (genes). M ore than 400 scientists and govern m ent regulators gathered to discuss how to m easure the scale o f risks from c o u n tle ss en v iro n m en tal hazards. They are w orking toward developing a “genetic zip sheet” that might warn people o f their ow n special vulner X M ail-In R eg istratio n According to Phillip C . Hanawalt, have only to cite their perform ances professor of biology at Stanford U ni in respect to syphilis or the A ID S/ versity, “Although the DNA in each HIV situation which has rendered human cell is like a tape (or floppy their endeavors suspect no m atter the disk) containing all the inform ation depth and com m itm ent o f other ac necessary to re-create that individual, tivities. A t the least there could have the body routinely makes use of only been adequate monitoring o f the more 3 percent - and is not very good at reckless contingent. There is further shock and dis repairing the other 97 percent if som e tress for those who th ing happens to it.” Aside from the question of why pick up the June G od, in all his infinite w isdom , has issue o f the very not more closely monitored his in widely-read “Sci vention which obviously was intended entific A m erican to be fail safe, we would make further M agazine” - are inquiry as to why these hum ans he you ready for this? created spend so much time stupidly There, beginning typing to alter the “garden/environ- on page 108, is a how to do it yourself m enf ’ that matches their genetic struc article on GENE M ANIPULATION, “ G e n e tic a lly A lte rin g ture? Laboratory rats and chim pan title d E scherichia C oli.” You heard me zees always seem perfectly happy in right! T hat is the little bacteria that their natural environs (and healthy) until we either modify their habitat or closes up the ham burger joints, kill ing and crippling patrons across the cruelly experim ent upon them. country. “Because E. Coli is already It w ill no d o u b t o c c u r to som e present in your gut there is little to o f us th a t th e b u sin e ss o f the “ E n v iro n m e n ta l M u ta g e n S o c ie ty ” worry about,” have fun. T he ste p by ste p in stru c tio n s c o u ld very e a sily beco m e th a t o f an “ E x p e rim e n ta l M u tag en S o c i (w h ic h can lead to b ig g e r and b e tte r tric k s w hen m a ste re d ) b e e ty .” Such a development would sur g in , a c c o m p a n ie d by illu s tra tio n s prise none who have been shocked an d a lis t o f to o ls any high school and distressed by the conduct o f the stu d e n t m ay o b ta in , “ T he e s s e n m edical and scientific com m unities. tia l tric k to m a n ip u la tin g E .C o li And this w hether we speak of indi g e n e tic a lly is to get the c r e a tu r e ’s viduals, professional associations, sin g le c e ll to th in k th a t a fo re ig n universities, governm ent agencies, g en e is one o f its o w n !” Is th is corporations, or other entities. We how A ID S b e g a n ? S le e p w ell. c t Danger! ‘ ? Civil Rights Journal P owell J ackson he Imperial Valley is a lush agricultural center about an hour and a half east of San Diego. R unning through this valley is the New River. Some say it’s a new river because it was c re ated w hen the C o lo rad o R iver changed its course, running from the Rocky M ountains into M exico and then northw ard where it em p tied into the Salton Sea instead of the G ulf o f California. O thers say the river changed its course when farm ers started the m assive irriga tion farm ing w hich m akes the land lush and green today. Today the New River is one o f the m ost con tam inated rivers in the world. T he riv e r is p o llu te d w ith chem icals from 200 industrial plants located in M exico. T he firms dum p so m uch discharge from their plants into the w ater that at tim es the river has had a foul sm elling foam on top o f it. Raw sew age and annual excre m ent is dum ped by the city of Mexicali, a town of between 600,000 and one million people, with a sew age system built for no m ore than 300,(XX). As the river winds north though C alifornia’s Imperial Valley, itgoes past parks and new housing divisions inhabited mostly by poor Hispanic Americans with little political clout. Children play near and in the river. The C alifornia Regional W a ter Quality Control Board has spot ted considerable debris in the river, including vegetables, shoes, greasy globules, bottles, animal carcasses and even a dead human body. The state has found invisible pollutants in the river, m ost notably viruses carrying polio, encephalitis, hepa titis and bacteria such as salm onella and E coli. But the incredible and deadly pollution is now new. Fifty years ago the state noticed the pollution of the river. Yet, despite many m eet ings and discussions since then with / V both the U.S. and Mexican govern ments, nothing significant has o c curred. The Mexican governm ent pleads lack of funds and the U.S. claim s lack o f authority. Even com- prehensive monitoring data and risk assessm ents have not been done. The only firm data available is from fish in the New River which con tain high levels o f PCBs, D D T and Toxaphene, all known to cause can cer. But tw o new developm ents have brought hope to residents who live near the New River. President C linton has signed a bill and a treaty which might provide some relief. U nder the Environm ental Justice Act, the governm ent is re quired to show remedies for sites where environm ental racism can be proven. And under the new North A m erican Fair Trade A greem ent, the governm ent has com m itted it self to negotiate with the Mexican governm ent around environm en tal problem s. Im perial County officials are hoping that the Environm ental Pro tection Agency will agree that it has the authority to take action in M exico. And that it will then issue subpoenas to the corporate pollut ers and order the M exican plan m anufacturers to pay for the much- needed study of the New River pol lution. The Com m ission for Racial Justice has been w orking on issues o f environm ental racism for the past 12 years. O ur expertise tells us that the U.S .-M exico border region is one integral eco-system which stretches across m an-m ade politi cal boundaries. O urcom m itm ent to justice tells us that the people who live near the New River deserve to live in a safe, clean environm ent and that their voices much be heard by their gov ernm ents on both sides o f the bor der. The New River must be cleaned up. Justice dem ands no less. 6 S of Change’ Are In Your Tank - More Ethanol c o rro siv e q u a litie s o f a lc o h o l. xasperated Portland/Oregon g a s-d e riv e d m e th a n o l. “C a rb o h y T H E R E P O R T A L SO SAYS: d r a te ” c o rp o ra tio n s lau g h a ll the drivers may not have seen • O x y g e n a te d fu e ls c o s t se v n to w ay to the b a n k . ‘nuthin’ yet! The corporate 10 c e n ts m o re p e r g a llo n . W hen you read my list of “Com agricultural m achine that does busi • T h e y can h u r t c a r s if ness as the “Renew able Fuels Asso mon Problem s...” and you become im p r o p e r tly b le n d e d . ciation” has the blessings o f the EPA angry beyond belief at the revela • F o r o ld e r c a r s : to siphon more gasoline out o f your tions, ready to grab the phone to call A lc o h o l a t t r a c t s m o is tu r e . tank and more dollars out o f your your favorite politician - keep in w allet. DEQ stalls on 1995 clean air m ind that he may already have been T he w a te r th a t o fte n fo rm s on the r e q u i r e m e n t s , re a c h e d . T h a t R en ew ab le Fuels to p o f the fuel in the tan k is d if f i how ever, for ex- Assocation spent several months lob c u lt fo r the sy ste m to p ro c e ss. It aetproportionsof bying the W hite House to get the EPA can lead to filte r and je t p lu g g in g . A lc o h o l c o lle c ts s e d im e n t. ethanol in gaso to require that 30 percent o f the na tio n al eth a n o l m a rk e t is c o n tro lle d W hen th e d e b ris e n te rs the fuel line. L ast month, by A rc h e r-D a n ie ls-M id la n d C o ., sy ste m , it can c lo g a c a rb u re to r, in my “ S e e d s of th e U .S .-b a se d m u ltin a tio n a l I d e in je c to r o r f i l t e r . ( T h e r e a re C h a n g e ” se rie s, sc rib e d so v iv id ly last m onth. T his c la im s th a t so m e d e te rg e n ts and I d e sc rib e d how m u ltin a tio n a l c o r frie n d o f th e R e p u b lic a n P arty d e p o s it- c o n tr o l a d d itiv e s c a n p o ra tio n s in th e a g ric u ltu r a l fie ld h a s now sw itc h e d its se v e n -fig u re m in im iz e the d e b ris .) A lc o h o l is a s o lv e n t. W hen a re b e g in n in g to m a n ip u la te the c o n trib u tio n s to the C lin to n a d m in is tra tio n . R ead the fo llo w in g an a u to m ust use a lc o h o l-b le n d e d e n tire e c o n o m y th ro u g h the g e fu e l, i t ’s b est to c h a n g e ru b b e r n e tic m a n ip u la tio n o f fo o d p la n ts a n d w eep. C o m m o n P r o b le m s o f O x y h o se s, p la stic c a p s, g a sk e ts and -- w h ere natu ral d iv e rsity has been fuel filte rs to m e ta l, w h en ev er sa c rific e d fo r p a te n ta b le c o m m e r g e n a te d F u e ls : c ia l p a ra m e te rs th a t w ill in su re • O x y g e n a te d fu ie s d o n o t h a v e p o ssib le. th e sa m e e n e r g y c o n te n t as A lc o h o l fu m e s m a y m a k e p ro fita b ility . O n M ay 3, I b a re ly g a s o lin e , sa y s a re p o rt in the c o n s u m e r s s ic k . M o to r is ts in to u c h e d th e tip o f the ic e b e rg , A utoW eek issue o f Feb. 21. Poor A la sk a , w ho pu m p th e ir ow n g as, “ C o n tr o llin g P la n ts F o r Y o u r fuel ec o n o m y is a co m m on c o m c o m p la in e d o f d iz z in e ss and h e a d B ody O r A u to m o b ile .” a c h e s. p la in t. T o d a y , I am in c lu d in g a very “ T he b e st th a t c a n be said p re c is e c o m p ila tio n o f p ro b le m s • A u to W e e k a ls o r e p o r t s f e a r s a b o u t c o ro s io n o f o ld e r en g in e a b o u t e th a n o l, re p o rts A utoW eek, v e h ic le o w n e rs m ay e x p e c t from p a rts, v ap o r lock and d riv a b ility “ is th a t a sid e from h e lp in g s u p the g o v e rn m e n t e n fo rc e d u se o f p ro b le m s . M any a u to m a k e rs p o r t g r a in p r i c e s , it g iv e s “ o x y g e n a te d fu e ls” from s u p p o s have re p la c e d p la stic fu el sy s a u to m a k e rs so m e w h a t o f a break e d ly 'r e n e w a b le re s o u r c e s ’ -- 30 tem p a rts w ith m etal c o m p o in th a t no new e m issio n c o n tro l p e rc e n t o f th e a lc o h o l m u st co m e n e n ts sin c e 1980. T h e m etal e q u ip m e n t w ould be re q u ire d as a fro m g r a in - d e r iv e d “ e t h a n o l ” p a rts are m o re re s is ta n t to the re su lt o f usin g o x y g e n a te d fu e l.” r a th e r th an th e c o a l o r n a tu ra l