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D e ce m b e r 22, 1999
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Charles H. Washington
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Joy Ramos
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Gary Ann Taylor
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Letter to the Editor
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Articles do not
necessarily reflect or
represent the views of
Opinion
Portland
Dear Editor:
Across the state o f Oregon, there are
hundreds o f toxic waste sites. Ten of
these are federal supertund sites. The
superfund law was passed in 1980 in
response to a growing concern over
the number o f hazardous waste sites
across the country, including Love
Canal. A range o f serious health risks
are associated with toxic chemical
exposure, such as cancer, birth
d e fe c ts,
and
re p ro d u c tiv e
abnormalities. For instance, in the
last thirty years breast cancer rates
have doubled, while prostate cancer
rates have nearly tripled. During the
sam e p erio ds, a corresponding
increase in toxins have been released
in to the e n v iro n m e n t. K now n
carcinogens, such as dioxin, PCBs,
benzene, and tuolene, have been
found in extremely high levels at many
sites th ro u g h o u t O reg o n . In
particular, the am ount o f toxic
chemicals found in the Willamette
River justify its classification as a
Superfund site.
Unfortunately, two bills proposed in
Congress (HR 1300 and HR 2580)
would inhibit the Superfund program
from c le a n in g up th e se toxic
contamination’s properly, shifting the
costs from the polluters to innocent
ta x p a y e rs.
S u p risin g ly ,
Representatives Blumenauer and
DeFazio are supporting one o f these
bills that would create an incentive
for industries to disregard toxic
releases into our environment. We
need accountability for the multitude
o f toxic waste sites around the nation,
not a reduction in clean up standards
and an industry exemption from
liability. I urge citizens to contact
these representatives and let them
know that we refuse to pay for these
cleanups, and how important it is that
polluters be more responsible for the
health o f our citizens, children, and
the environment.
Sincerely,
Diana Miri
Portland
Dear Editor
Current scientific research in the
Arctic tells us that global warming is
happening and at a much faster rate
than what was expected. Recent
decades have seen dramatic increases
in weather disasters like droughts,
rainstorms, hurricanes, heat waves,
and flo o d s, c o n siste n t w ith
scientists’ predictions.
Coastal states like Oregon have
show n them selves p a rtic u la rly
vulnerable to the terrible destruction
global warming may bring. Weather
disasters nationwideclaimed455 lives
and nearly S25 billion in economic
losses last year- the hottest year ever
recorded.
Many big businesses say it will cost
too much to tackle global warming.
The truth is we can’t afford not to.
This year has seen hundreds killed in
heat w aves, some o f the w orst
droughts ever recorded, and record
hurricane damage in North Carolina,
with near record precipitation across
the Pacific Northwest and parts o f
O regon d ec la re d a g ric u ltu ra l
disasters.
A virtual consensus among scientists
agree that global warming is real.
People across the state and around
the country are suffering. If we
continue to fiddle while the earth
burns, we can only expect more
tragedy in the future. Congress needs
to take action now to stop global
warming.
Sincerely,
Just think. Your son
is b rig h t, h ea lth y
a n d h e a d e d fo r
college one day You
love the direction your
career has taken. You're doing a lot of the things you planned
and even a few you didn't. Living life to the fullest is easy when
you
have family behind you. American
Family Mutual
Insurance. Call and talk to one of our helpful, friendly agents.
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What you do next is up to you and w e ll be here to help you.
u have family behind you.
Diana Miri
Portland
ir e c t o r
Shawn Strahan
4747 NE Martin Luther King,
Jr. Blvd.
Portland, OR 97211
503-288-0033
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