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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 20, 2015)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Wednesday, May 20, 2015 Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN Publisher JENNINE PERKINSON Advertising Director DANIEL WATTENBURGER Managing Editor TIM TRAINOR Opinion Page Editor OUR VIEW With no facts, can’t support trade deal The American people have been be on the same side of, and Elizabeth kept in the dark about the Trans Warren and Rush Limbaugh would 3DFL¿F3DUWQHUVKLSRU733DQGWKDW be united in opposition? is by design. President Obama’s line in support The text of the proposed of the trade pact is a simple one agreement is hidden away under and a good one: that we’d rather lock and key. And while government make the rules than have to follow RI¿FLDOVDQGDGYLVRUVKDYHUHDGLW China’s. This deal includes 12 they are not allowed to talk publicly 3DFL¿F5LPFRXQWULHVLQFOXGLQJ DERXWVSHFL¿FVRIWKHGHDO Canada and Mexico, with China That’s the way trade deals always being glaringly left out. work, but it does It’s hard to forget make public debate the many brutal The political impossible. And effects NAFTA had LWUHTXLUHVWKH lines drawn here on the American ignorant public to though include President worker, DWOHDVWEH¿UPLQ Obama is begging the knowledge that the public to debate Obama and robust debate has this trade deal on its John Boehner own merits and not gone on behind closed doors, and be judged by past united in that parties with sins. To do so, we support, differing views have must have reason hashed out all sides to believe this deal Elizabeth of the deal. is different, though But from the nothing concrete Warren and scant information that it is. Rush Limbaugh says Knowing we know about the what proposed trade pact, we know, it’s united in that remains another impossible to be opposition. unknown. Many of against the TPP. But the authors — and it’s impossible to be now proponents for it, too. — are heavy on the corporate For this shady trade deal to side of the ledger. Environmental, have public support, the American labor, small business and human government would need a long track development voices did not have record of doing what is in the best as big a hand in the crafting, and interest of its constituents. Judging GXHWRWKHOHJDOUHTXLUHPHQWVRIQRW by the brutal approval ratings of GLYXOJLQJVSHFL¿FVRIWKHGHDOKDYH Congress and the president, we don’t been unable to properly list their think many people believe that. objections. We think they’re right: This deal The political lines drawn here reeks of catering to the big-money are interesting. President Obama is interests that have bought the right pushing hard for the ability to put to access the inner-workings of our the trade pact into law. He is joined government. The average American by Oregon Democratic Senator Ron citizen doesn’t have that access, Wyden and many Congressional not to mention how far the average 5HSXEOLFDQV2QWKHÀLSVLGHRI Malaysian worker or Peruvian forest the debate, liberal Democrats are is from the avenues of power. opposed to the plan, including Free trade makes sense. In a Oregon’s other Democratic senator perfect world, it would be the fair Jeff Merkley. But also opposed are SOD\LQJ¿HOGIRUDOOHFRQRPLF your traditional isolationists and activity. But this is no perfect world. protectionists and those who are And knowing that, we have a hard against government at every turn. time entrusting people to create a Who would imagine an issue that the deal we cannot discuss until it’s too president and John Boehner would late. Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board of Publisher Kathryn Brown, Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, and Opinion Page Editor Tim Trainor. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian. OTHER VIEWS Speed limit should rise on rural Oregon highways The (Bend) Bulletin Oregon lawmakers are considering a measure, House Bill 3402, which would raise speed limits on Interstate 84 east of The Dalles and several other highways east of the Cascades. It should be approved. The new limit would be 70 miles per hour for most vehicles on Interstate 84 and on U.S. Highway 95 from the Idaho border to the Nevada border. In this area, U.S. Highway 97 from its junction with U.S. 197 in Wasco County to Klamath Falls and U.S. 20 from Bend to Ontario would see speed limits raised to 65 miles per hour for most drivers. Speed limits also would increase to 65 mph on highways from La Pine to southern Lake County, from Burns Junction in southern Malheur County northwest to Burns, from John Day to Burns and Riley to the California border, IURP%XUQVWR)UHQFKJOHQDQG¿QDOO\ from John Day east to Vale. The Oregon Department of Transportation does not support the bill, in part, it says, because it will make highways more dangerous. That may be true, but only if one assumes most motorists are obeying the current 55 mph speed limit. We suspect they’re not. Personal experience leads us to believe that while most motorists in eastern Oregon try to keep their speed comfortably under 70, few actually spend much time at the designated 55 mph. But there’s more to ODOT’s complaint than just safety. In written testimony submitted to the House Committee on Transportation and Economic Development, ODOT RI¿FLDOVQRWHGWKDWWKH\KDYHVWDWXWRU\ power to raise speed limits, had looked at the idea and decided not to. Nothing in the intervening 11 years has changed RI¿FLDOV¶PLQGV Again, however, there’s the reality of what is happening today. If most motorists are driving at 65, raising the speed limit and enforcing the higher limit would not make highways more dangerous in the future. That makes more sense than continuing to allow thousands of Oregonians to become lawbreakers every time they get behind the wheel of the family car. ODOT noted they have power to raise speed limits, but looked at the idea had decided not to. LETTERS POLICY The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns about individual services and products or letters that infringe on the rights of private citizens. Submitted letters must be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime phone number. The phone number will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. Send letters to Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com. OTHER VIEWS Chemo for the planet W hat’s the best way to reduce idea of geoengineering. They even the chances of climate change object to research into the subject, wreaking havoc on Earth? viewing the desire to manipulate The most obvious answer — one nature as immoral. Ben Schreiber of we’ve known for years now — is to Friends of the Earth, an advocacy reduce the amount of carbon dioxide group, recently described discussions we’re pumping into the atmosphere. about geoengineering as a “dangerous This can be done, for instance, by distraction.” putting a price on carbon and thus “Geoengineering presumes that we Joe create powerful market incentives can apply a dramatic technological Nocera for industries to lower their carbon ¿[WRFOLPDWHGLVUXSWLRQ´KHVDLG Comment footprint. Or by moving to renewable “instead of facing the reality that we energy sources. Or by changing need to drastically reduce our carbon people’s behavior so that our collective actions emissions.” radically reduce the amount of fossil fuel the Schreiber was reacting to two reports by world needs to power itself. a National Academy of Sciences panel that Despite this knowledge, however, few came out just a week before “Climate Shock.” policies have been put in place to spur any The reports concluded that, while “climate of that. In the United States, the effective intervention is no substitute for reductions in price of carbon, as Gernot carbon dioxide emissions,” Wagner and Martin the politics around carbon Weitzman point out in reduction have been so their new book, “Climate fractious that the day Shock,” is “about zero” could well come when (aside from California). geoengineering was needed Fossil fuels remain the as part of a “portfolio” world’s default energy of responses to global source, and — despite the warming. It urged further impressive growth of global study for both methods, and, solar capacity over the past in particular, called for the decade — that’s likely to establishment of a research be the case for decades to program to examine the come. A carbon tax on the possible risks of solar worst emitters has gotten radiation management. nowhere. Wagner and Weitzman do not deny the So maybe we need to start thinking about SRWHQWLDOULVNVLQGHHGWKH\ZULWHTXLWH coming at the climate-change problem from cautiously about geoengineering. Wagner told a different direction. Instead of hoping that me that it should be thought of as a last resort humans will start reducing their carbon use, — something the world could turn to if it had maybe it’s time to at least consider using to. He described it as a kind of “chemotherapy technology to keep climate change at bay. for the planet” — something you hope you The deliberate use of technology to don’t have to use, but you are ready to use manipulate the environment — usually in LIWKHQHHGDULVHV$QGWKDWUHTXLUHVGRLQJ WKHFRQWH[WRI¿JKWLQJFOLPDWHFKDQJH²LV research now to prepare for the future. called geoengineering. One method is David Keith, a scientist who is perhaps carbon capture, traditionally conceived as the foremost proponent of geoengineering, a process that sucks up carbon from the air told me that he believes that solar radiation and buries it in the ground. A second is called management should be used even if decent solar radiation management, which uses carbon policies became law. WHFKQLTXHVOLNHVKRRWLQJVXOIDWHSDUWLFOHV ³,WKDVVXEVWDQWLDOEHQH¿WV´KHVDLG LQWRWKHVWUDWRVSKHUHWRUHÀHFWRUGLYHUWVRODU “That would be true whether we were cutting radiation back into space. This very effect was emissions or not.” illustrated after the volcanic eruption of Mount But he also acknowledged that more Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991. Spewing research is needed. 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide in the air, the “If you put sulfur into the atmosphere, will volcano caused global temperatures to fall, there be a risk of ozone loss?” he said, as an temporarily, by about 0.5 of a degree Celsius, example of the kind of risk that needed to be according to Wagner and Weitzman. studied. Somewhat to my surprise, a good portion There is another kind of risk, of course: of Wagner’s and Weitzman’s book is devoted the risk that if people thought a technological to the subject of geoengineering, especially solution were available to “solve” climate solar radiation management, which they change, it would make it even less likely describe as relatively inexpensive and that they would collectively agree to do technologically feasible, with a serious bang what is needed to be done to reduce carbon for the buck. emissions. It is yet another reason that many The reason I was surprised is that the environmentalists object to geoengineering. authors have solid environmental credentials Still, if disaster is truly approaching, — Weitzman is an environmental economist wouldn’t you rather be safe than sorry? at Harvard, and Wagner is a senior economist Ŷ at the Environmental Defense Fund — and Joe Nocera is an Op-Ed columnist for The many environmental groups object to the very New York Times. Geoengineering should be thought of as a last resort — something the world could turn to if it had to. Medical marijuana has helped American heroes YOUR VIEWS “American Sniper” was ranked the No. 1 movie in United States for the week of Dec. 17 through Dec. 23, 2014, when competition for this top listing is intense. This is an excerpt from the magazine, Salon: “In his best-selling memoir, ‘American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History,’ Navy SEAL Chris Kyle writes that he was only two weeks LQWRKLV¿UVWRIIRXUWRXUVRIGXW\LQ,UDTZKHQ KHZDVFRQIURQWHGZLWKDGLI¿FXOWFKRLFH Through the scope of his .300 Winchester 0DJQXPULÀHKHVDZDZRPDQZLWKDFKLOG pull a grenade from under her clothes as several Marines approached. Kyle’s job was to provide ‘overwatch,’ meaning that he was perched in or on top of bombed-out apartment buildings and was responsible for preventing HQHP\¿JKWHUVIURPDPEXVKLQJ86WURRSV´ When Kyle returned home, he suffered from PTSD and that led to sleepless nights and emotional distress that he tried to block out with alcohol. Let’s switch to a story about a local resident who was a sniper in Afghanistan. He left his high school sweetheart to serve in the Marines. He was trained in the same manner as Chris Kyle and his job was to also provide “overwatch” to prevent the enemy from ambushing U.S. troops. He witnessed his friends blown up by IEDs and others violently killed standing QH[WWRKLP+HZDVH[SRVHGWRRQHKRUUL¿F scene after another during his deployment in Afghanistan. When he returned to North Carolina, he discovered that he was always in physical pain, had insomnia, and nightmares woke him up each night. The only bright spot in his life was when he reunited with his high school sweetheart, who had left their home town and VHWWOHGLQ3HQGOHWRQ¿QGLQJDMREDVDQ(QJOLVK teacher at BMCC. The painkillers prescribed by the VA started to cause debilitating side effects. He discov- ered that only medical marijuana provided him with relief from PTSD. Unfortunately, his VA doctor wouldn’t prescribe medical marijuana. The Marine doesn’t want to break the law but he’s faced with the responsibility of raising a young boy. After serving his country for nine years, he UHOLHVRQWKHPHGLFLQDOTXDOLWLHVRIPDULMXDQD to work, support his family, and cope with the physical and mental ailments caused by his military duty. The time to make a decision about medical marijuana dispensaries cannot be delayed any longer. Local musician Jared Pennington is just one of hundreds of people in the community who relies on medical marijuana to survive. Jerry Cronin Pendleton