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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 12, 2017)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Thursday, October 12, 2017 Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN Publisher DANIEL WATTENBURGER Managing Editor TIM TRAINOR Opinion Page Editor MARISSA WILLIAMS Regional Advertising Director MARCY ROSENBERG Circulation Manager JANNA HEIMGARTNER Business Office Manager MIKE JENSEN Production Manager OUR VIEW A chance to learn after natural disasters In Puerto Rico and the U.S. of Hurricane Maria hammering Puerto Rico. Yet it happened. Virgin Islands, residents and Average people — including authorities had several days to our elected leaders — are bad at brace for a looming disaster in assessing risk and understanding the form of this year’s horrendous hurricanes. In hindsight, they didn’t probabilities. On top of that do enough. There are things we can weakness, there are inherent limits to how much to prepare for threats learn from their experiences. Thanks to modern atmospheric that are legitimate but which have science, the Caribbean islands, uncertain or distant timelines. We Texas and Florida all were warned all know we’re going to need to about giant storms while they retire someday, but how many were still far off in the Atlantic. make enough effort to save for that eventuality? In each case, the even easier hurricanes’ exact The mess in Puerto It’s to procrastinate tracks gradually Rico informs us that about disaster came into focus in forecasting models, even with the vast preparedness. The mess with the odds of harm spiking from in Puerto Rico assets of federal very little to very informs us that government, getting even with the vast likely. It was like watching from of federal help to where it’s assets a distance as a government, getting drunken driver needed can take help to where it’s needed can take swerved back and weeks after a forth across the weeks after a worst- highway before worst-case disaster. case disaster. It’s possible the Trump finally crashing into administration or a gas pump. territorial government could be Until advances in geology and doing better, but even the most our understanding of Earth’s plate competent agencies are going to tectonics initiated in the 1990s be hard pressed to deliver medical by professor Brian Atwater, our triage, potable water, rations coast was completely ignorant about subduction-zone earthquakes and fuel to remote areas where highways and bridges have been and tsunamis. It is as if we were destroyed. Caribbean villagers who not only In the calm before the storm, it’s didn’t know about the hurricane important to remember that money barreling toward us from just spent on science can save lives. over the horizon, but didn’t even suspect such disasters were capable The behavior of subduction zones still isn’t well understood. Perhaps of happening. Atwater and his research can provide reliable clues colleagues opened our eyes. about when the Cascadia zone is After 20 years of research, about to break loose. scientists believe that in the next Also highlighted is that even in 30 years, the Pacific Northwest the worst circumstances, individual has about a 10 percent chance of actions do make a difference. a magnitude 8 to 9 megathrust The enormity of threats can’t earthquake on the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Ten percent isn’t be allowed to paralyze us into inaction. It’s up to each of us to very frightening and 30 years is help our neighbors whenever need more than a third of an average American lifetime. Odds are pretty arises, and to take common sense precautions on our own behalf — good that we living here today everything from keeping bottled will be long gone before this epic water on hand to signing up for first cataclysm occurs. On the other aid and Community Emergency hand, when it was still forming in Response Team classes. the Atlantic, the odds were remote 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 Ratepayers shouldn’t foot bill for charging stations The Bend Bulletin, Oct. 11 E lectric cars may someday rule the road. It won’t happen if there aren’t enough places for them to plug in. But who should pay for the charging stations? Both Pacific Power and Portland General Electric have proposals before Oregon’s Public Utility Commission that would allow them to pass the cost of building about a half a dozen charging stations apiece to their ratepayers. They may only be pilot programs, but it’s the wrong model. It’s wrong for ratepayers to underwrite the expansion of the monopoly that electrical utilities already have to include charging stations. If the two investor-owned utilities want to plunge into the charging market, they should come up with the money themselves just like any other business. Electric cars are still a novelty on the road. Last year they were only about 1 percent of vehicles sold worldwide. But more electric cars are being built and bought. The price point for electric vehicles may decline even as engineers come up with ways to extend their range. The right model of charging stations may not be like the gas station. Even with fast chargers, it can take a half an hour to fully recharge a car battery. It makes more sense to have people recharge where they park — at home, where they do their shopping or where they work. There would still be a need for charging stations along highways for people making longer trips. Electric vehicles and charging stations are a fledgling industry. Oregon should be encouraging innovation, competition and customer choice. It doesn’t do that by giving utilities the ability to use their ratepayers to squeeze out the competition. How is another charging business supposed to compete with utilities being able to fund charging station construction by ratepayers? Some ratepayers might be happy to support electric vehicles. But it’s not fair to other ratepayers to compel them to pay to grow a utility’s monopoly. 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. Comment online at www.eastoregonian.com OTHER VIEWS From Russia with poison here is an abiding dream in the was dismissive and I regret it.” tech world that when all the One reason Facebook was slow planet’s people and data are to respond is that its business model connected it will be a better place. was to absorb all of the readers of That may prove true. But getting the mainstream media newspapers there is turning into a nightmare — a and magazines and to absorb all world where billions of people are their advertisers — but as few of connected but without sufficient legal their editors as possible. An editor structures, security protections or Thomas is a human being you have to pay to moral muscles among companies and Friedman bring editorial judgment to content users to handle all these connections on your website, to make sure Comment without abuse. things are accurate and to correct Lately, it feels as if we’re all them if they’re not. Social networks connected but no one’s in charge. preferred to use algorithms instead, but these Equifax, the credit reporting bureau, are easily gamed. became brilliant at vacuuming up all ——— your personal credit data — without your America’s democracy is built on two permission — and selling it to companies principles: truth and trust. We trust that that wanted to lend you money. But it our elections are fair and that enables our was so lax in securing that data that it peaceful rotations of power. And we trust failed to install simple software security that the news we get from our mainstream fixes, leaving a hole for outlets is true and that it is hackers to get the Social if it is not. And These companies corrected Security numbers and we expect our president other personal information make billions selling to defend both. But today of some 146 million many people are getting our data, but they’re news from platforms that Americans, or nearly half the country. easily polluted by ambivalent about are But don’t worry, Russian or other hackers Equifax ousted its CEO, fake news. And our taking responsibility with Richard Smith, with “a president is a liar who payday worth as much to hold Russia to “for the uses, and refuses as $90 million — or account for anything. It’s a roughly 63 cents for every terrible combination. abuses, of their customer whose data was We can’t fix Trump right platforms.” potentially exposed in its now. But have Equifax and recent security breach,” these big social networks Fortune reported. That will teach him! become so much part of the wiring of our Smith and his board should be in jail. lives — and the effects of their failures I’m with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who told so consequential — that they should be CNBC, “So long as there is no personal regulated in new ways? I don’t know, but I responsibility when these big companies know it’s time for this discussion. It’s already breach consumers’ trust, let their data get started. stolen, cheat their consumers ... then nothing These companies make billions selling is going to change.” our data, but they’re ambivalent about Facebook, Google and Twitter are taking responsibility “for the uses, and different animals in my mind. Twitter has abuses, of their platforms,” argued Harvard enabled more people than ever to participate political philosopher Michael Sandel. “They in the global conversation; Facebook has can’t have it both ways. If they claim they enabled more people than ever to connect are neutral pipes and wires, like the phone and build communities; Google has enabled company or the electric company, they should everyone to find things like never before. be regulated as public utilities. But if, on the Those are all good things. But the three other hand, they want to claim the freedoms companies are also businesses, and the last associated with news media, they can’t deny election suggests they’ve all connected more responsibility for promulgating fake news.” people than they can manage and they’ve In the early 20th century, Sandel added, been naive about how many bad guys were “the rise of monopolies and concentrated abusing their platforms. economic power brought forth an era of As Mark Warner, the top Democrat on progressive reform that regulated railroads, the Senate Intelligence Committee, put it to banks and utilities in the public interest. me, “Up to now these companies have not Today, we need a similar spirit of reform. taken the threat that Russia and other foreign These platforms are so dominant that, like agents pose to our system seriously enough electric wires or telephone lines, we can or invested enough or to really reveal scarcely avoid using them. But when they what happened in 2016 — or what is still allow our personal data — or elections — to happening now.” be hacked, there’s not much we can do about In November last year, Facebook CEO it.” Mark Zuckerberg dismissed as “a pretty “A century ago, we found ways to rein in crazy idea” evidence that people were the unaccountable power associated with the using Facebook to generate fake news Industrial Revolution,” Sandel concluded. to tip the U.S. election. Last week, after “Today, we need to figure out how to rein in disclosing hundreds of Russia-linked the unaccountable power associated with the accounts — where fictional people posing as digital revolution.” U.S. activists spread inflammatory messages ■ about immigration and guns and trashed Thomas L. Friedman became the New Hillary Clinton and boosted Donald Trump York Times’ foreign affairs columnist in 1995 — Zuckerberg admitted, “Calling that crazy and has been awarded three Pulitzer prizes. T YOUR VIEWS Political manipulation swings both ways Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, was the deadline for referring legislative action to the ballot. Our democratic overlords in Salem have again done their best to corrupt and defeat our referendum/petition system. It appears the tax or assessment on health care will qualify while the gun confiscation law will not. Our overlords use various tactics. On the health care referral the title was drafted by a democratic committee that called the tax an assessment. That language is being challenged as supporters want rightly to call the tax a tax. Assessment sounds more benign to voters. On the gun confiscation law Governor Kate Brown delayed signing the bill into law, which reduced by 30 days the time allowed to collect signatures. It may have not qualified anyway but Brown should have signed the bill and let our system work. No matter which way you swing this manipulation should give you pause. My democratic friends are outraged at the manipulation at the federal level because it doesn’t fit their political view. I am outraged at all political corruption and manipulation of the voters’ right to decide. Bruce Staley Pendleton County commissioners paid better than governors Umatilla County commissioners announced that two are running for re- election. George Murdock said his focus remains on the county’s financial management and stability. He is the commissioner responsible for the county budget and said he works closely with the chief financial officer and department heads to keep the county on a financially “prudent” path. Umatilla County pays each of its three county commissioners more than Colorado pays its governor. Umatilla County commissioners’ salaries are $90,853 while Colorado’s governor brings in $90,000. Not to mention Maine’s governor only makes $70,000. Sally Sundin Walla Walla
