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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 14, 2012)
Page 8 'r'!‘ ^Jnrtlanb QDbseruer November 14, 2012 Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. New Prices Effective May 1,2010 Martin PRESIDENT _ OBAMA HAS PROMISE T o BE&ÌHTÓ SLOW THE PÌV3E OF THE OceAHS AHP HB\V_ T L E PLANET./ Cleaning Service THATS W MOST P opular punchvînê . How ¿’OAE no one ' s lauehìns ? Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Residential & Commercial Services o Minimum Service CHG $45.00 — A sm all distance/travel charge m ay be applied 'l *4*5' " RWANÉ/’j W A N CARPET CLEANING 2 Cleaning Areas or more $30.00 Each Area w 2012. 1 1 Pre-Spray Traffic Areas (Includes: 1 sm all H allway) 'ft I |r 1 Cleaning Area (only) $40.00 - rr- Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area (Hallway Extra) Stairs (12-16 stairs - With Other Services): $25.00 Area/Oriental Rugs: $25.00 Minimum Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool): $40.00Minimum Heavily Soiled Area: Additional $10.00 each area (Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying) Hurricane Sandy’s Wakeup Call Climate crisis impossible to ignore M ichael B rune I've been w orking on so lu tio n s to the c li m ate crisis fo r a long tim e, but 1 n ev er really ex p ected that it w ould hit hom e for m e quite the w ay it did. C hadw ick B each, the sm all N ew Jersey tow n w here I grew up and w here m y parents still live, w as one o f m any com m unities in Superstorm Sandy's path. It w as an idyllic place to grow up. by UPHOLSTERY CLEANING Sofa: $69.00 Loveseat: $49.00 Sectional: $ 109 - $ 139 Chair or Recliner $25 - $49 Throw Pillows (With th Other Services): $5.00 ADDITIONAL SERVICES • Area & Oriental Rug Cleaning • Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning • Deodorizing & Pet Odor Treatment =“ v • Spot & Stain Removal Service • Scotchguard Protection • Minor Water Damage Services SEE CURRENT FLYER FOR ADDITIONAL PRICES & SERVICES Call for Appointment (503) 281-3949 M y w ife and I still take our kids back hom e each sum m er. It's w here I fell in love w ith the ocean and, by ex ten sion, all o f nature, from redw ood forests to alpine m eadow s. F o r tu n a te ly , m y p a re n ts w eren't hom e w hen the storm slam m ed into the G arden State. T he dam age along the sh o re line is so severe that they haven't been able to get back to th eir house to learn its full extent. But m y u n cle’s house is flooded, the restaurant w here I bussed tables has been destroyed, and neighbors' houses have been spotted floating in the bay. I've seen photos online that show the hom es ju st a few blocks from ours com pletely inun- THE LAW OFFICES OF Patrick John Sweeney, P.C. Patrick John Sweeney Attorney at Law 1549 SE Ladd Portland, Oregon Portland: Hillsoboro: Facsimile: Email: (503) 244-2080 (503) 244-2081 (503) 244-2084 Sweeney@PDXLawyer.com dated, and the dam age reports from friends are num bing. N o one has seen anything like it before. I w ish I could say w e'll n ev er see anything like it again in o u r life tim es, but that's not how the w ind is blow ing. The frightening co n se quences o f clim ate disruption that scientists have w arned us about for d ecad es are already here. Sandy is only the latest and m ost d ev astat ing incident in a pattern o f extrem e w eather that's becom e im possible to ignore. O u r nation suffered through a record-high 14 w eather events last year that caused at least $1 billion each in dam ages. So far in 2012, w e've seen a drought that d ev as tated M idw estern farm ers, historic w ildfires that laid w aste to hom es in C olorado, T exas, W yom ing, M on tana, and beyond, and thousands o f heat records broken across the nation. "In ju s t 14 m onths, tw o hurri canes have forced us to evacuate neighborhoods — som ething our city governm ent had never done before," w rote N ew Y ork M ayor M ichael B loom berg. "If this is a trend, it is sim ply not sustainable." H e's right. T he connection betw een clim ate ch an g e and catastro p h es is now painfully obvious to scientists and insurance com panies alike. It's get ting clearer to the A m erican people, especially my friends and fam ily on the Jersey Shore. A nd clim ate change is about more than ju st tem perature. It's about dis rupting the basic w eather patterns that affect alm ost everything in our lives — from o ur w ater supplies, to how we grow o ur food, the kinds o f d is e a s e s a n d in s e c ts p re v a le n t w here w e live, and o ur ability to keep our fam ilies and hom es safe. O ur addiction to coal and oil threatens the future o f our planet, hurting fam ilies now and putting o ur children and grandchildren at risk. W e d eserve strong action from our leaders — not only to help the com m unities hit by disasters recover but also to reduce the likelihood and severity o f future disasters. M aking changes that w ill reduce clim ate disruption now is less ex pensive than ju s t staying the course and dealing w ith m ounting clim ate- related chaos later. By reducing our use o f dirty fossil fuels and invest ing in clean energy and energy effi ciency, w e can cut p o w er and fuel costs, create m illions o f jo b s, clean up our air and w ater, and com bat clim ate disruption at the sam e time. It's tim e to end our dependence on fossil fuels and invest in clean energy. W e m ust dem and that our leaders accelerate o ur transition to clean energy and adopt aggressive efficiency m easures to reduce our energy use. Michael Brune is the executive director o f the Sierra Club.
