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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 15, 2018)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | AUGUST 15, 2018 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 NED HICKSON , EDITOR Opinion | 541-902-3520 | NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM C The First Amendment ongress shall make no law respecting an es- tablishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. “I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” —Thomas Jefferson (1800) Lessons learned from the Dutch fl ood wall (Editor’s Note: Viewpoint submis- sions on this and other topics are always welcome as part of our goal to encourage community discussion and exchange of perspectives.) O n Jan. 31, 1953, severe winds over the North Sea sent a storm surge flooding the Dutch province of Zeeland. 1,836 people died, 30,000 farm animals drowned and property damage was wide spread. While unusual in 1953, today unprec- edented events of low-lying lands flood- ing is a near certainty. Computer models show the inexorable melting of Artic sea ice and Greenland and Antartic ice sheets and expansion of water as it warms, rais- ing the oceans to inundating levels that today are threatening Pacific atolls such as the Marshall Islands and Indian Ocean islands such as the Maldives (www.cli- mate.nasa.gov/evidence). Scientists have correlated the rising oceans with the increase of carbon di- oxide in the atmosphere. Their studies of this historical correlation have estab- lished the inescapable fact — fact, not the- ory — of a direct cause and effect and its inter-connectedness with human activity. (See: Decoding the Weather Machine Guest Viewpoint By Arnold Buchman Florence and Scottsdale, Ariz. www.pbs.org/video/decoding-the-weath- er-machine-vgqhot) Rising sea levels are only the most omi- nous threat to the ecolgical system. Hope of mitigting these threats lies in reducing the continuing introduction of carbon di- oxide into the atmosphere. But, instead of leading this effort, our government has moved backwards, en- couraging the production of fossil fuels and, significantly, being the only nation to not sign the Paris Accords. In response to the 1953 Zeeland flood- ing, the Dutch built an engineering mar- vel; an 18.5 mile wall of dikes, sliding gates and pontoons whose arms can be filled with water to make them sink and form a solid barrier to protect the densely populated area behind it from the sea. It took 50 years to complete at a cost of $7 billion. We have neither the time nor money to protect our 95,471 miles of shoreline or the 125 million people liv- ing in coastal cities and areas. But, rath- er than ignore the virtual imminence of this flooding threat in the hope that an engineering marvel or scientific mircle will save us, our government can work to reduce carbon dioxide emissions instead of talking nonsensically about building a $10 billion, 1,000-mile wall to keep illegal immigrants from flooding America. We know the villian is carbon dioxide. We know the threat is climate change. Hope for a happy ending to the tale rests with leadership that will make the hard, political decisions necessary. So far, it has not come forward. Kudos to the incredible seniors and caring staff of Spruce Point on their first Art of Our Lives event, a won- derful display of artwork done by the multi-talented folks of Assisted Living and Memory Care. A special thanks to Heidi Turn- er and Annette Poston who (along with so many great and helpful staff) started with a good idea and put in an amazing amount of time and effort to host this delightful community event. —Anne Hasley Florence Stop dangerous Jordan Cove Project R ight now, we in Florence are about to sit in on a Disaster Preparedness Expo to help us get ready for an immi- nent earthquake and tsunami. Because of the Cascadia subduction fault, our coastal communities are at a greater risk of destruction and extend- ed cut off of services. Meanwhile our neighbor Coos Bay is preparing for construction of the Jordan Cove LNG (liquefied natural gas) export terminal. Canadian owned, it is bringing vol- atile fracked gas from outside Oregon, disturbing more than 400 Oregon waterways, including the Klamath, Rogue, Umpqua and Coquille rivers, only to be shipped to Asia. The LNG tanker terminal will sit in the middle of a bay that provides important jobs for numerous local fishermen and shell fish producers. To put a highly explosive fracked gas pipeline and export terminal in our coastal tsunami zone, where a magni- tude 9 earthquake is hundreds of years overdue is, in my opinion, beyond reckless. It has been rejected by both Califor- nia and Washington state. This specif- ic project, in Oregon, has been reject- ed twice, largely due to rural resistance from landowners along the pipeline route refusing to sell their land. It was revived with a third applica- tion after the Trump administration suggested they’d make sure it goes through. Our local and state leaders should be using their authority to shut down this project rather than actively promoting it. Oregon coastal communities can in- vest instead in job producing non-pol- luting sustainable green industries like expanding our recreational and tour- ism industries. Those sustainable jobs actually provide 17 times as many jobs per dollar of investment than oil proj- ects like the LNG pipeline. Please help stop this dangerous Jor- dan Cove project in its tracks. —Judy Kinsman Florence Copyright 2018 © Siuslaw News Published every Wednesday and Saturday at 148 Maple St. in Florence, Lane County, Oregon. A member of the National Newspaper Association and Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. Periodicals postage paid at Florence, Ore. Postmaster, send address changes to: Siuslaw News, P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR 97439; phone 541-997-3441; fax 541-997-7979. All press releases may be sent to PressReleases@TheSiuslawNews.com. Jenna Bar tlett Ned H ickson Erik Chalhoub Publisher, ex t. 318 Editor, ex t. 313 Co n s u l t i n g E d i to r 8 3 1 -7 6 1 -7 3 5 3 echalhoub@register-pajaronian.com M ar k e t i n g Di re c to r, e x t . 3 2 6 O ffice Super visor, ex t. 312 Pro d u c t i o n Su p e r v i s o r Pre s s M a n a ge r Su s a n G u t i e r re z Cathy Dietz Ron Annis Je re my G e n t r y DEADLINES: Wednesday Issue—General news, Monday noon; Budgets, four days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Monday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Monday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Friday 5 p.m. Saturday Issue—General news, Thursday noon; Budgets, two days prior to publication; Regular classifiedad,sThursday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Thursday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Wednes- day 5 p.m. Soundings, Tuesday 5 p.m. NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In Lane County — 1-year subscription, $76; 6-month in-county, $52; 10-weeks subscription, $23; Out of Lane County — 1-year subscription,$99; 6-month out-of-county, $65; 10-weeks subscrip- tion, $29; Out of State — 1-year subscription, $125; E-Edition Online Only (Anywhere) — 1-year subscription, $71. Mail subscription includes E-Edition. Website and E-Edition: TheSiuslawNews.com Letters to the Editor policy LETTERS Amazing show of senior artwork USPS# 497-660 A quick civics lesson Recently a letter writer to the Siu- slaw News desired to “make this coun- try a democracy again.” America has never been a democra- cy. In 1787, Dr. Franklin is purported to have stated when queried whether we had a republic or a monarchy, “A republic, if you can keep it.” In a republic, a charter of rights pro- tects rights that cannot be taken away by the government, even if it has been elected by a majority of voters. In a “pure democracy,” the majority is not restrained in this way and can impose its will on the minority. Sadly, that republic has degenerated into an oligarchy of elected officials who no longer represent the citizenry, instead spending half their time not on our business but on filling their re- spective party’s coffers. Thomas Jefferson stated in 1781, “It is the manners and spirit of a people which preserve a republic in vigor. A degeneracy in these is a canker which soon eats to the heart of its laws and constitution.” Those who clamor for a democracy may soon rue their desire when the political winds shift and are left hold- ing the short end of the stick. From ancient Greece onwards, the dustbin of history is filled with failed states where a rule of law was sup- planted by that of the mob. —Ian Eales Florence The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the editor as part of a community discussion of issues on the local, state and national level. Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or typed letters must be signed. All letters need to include full name, address and phone number; only name and city will be printed. Letters should be limited to about 300 words. Letters are subject to editing for length, gram- mar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guaran- teed and depends on space available and the volume of letters received. Letters that are anonymous, libelous, argumentative, sarcastic or contain accusations that are unsourced or documented will not be published. Letters containing poetry or from outside the Siuslaw News readership area will only be published at the dis- cretion of the editor. Political/Election Letters: Election-related letters must address pertinent or timely issues of interest to our readers at-large. Letters must 1) Not be a part of letter-writing cam- paigns on behalf of (or by) candidates; 2) Ensure any information about a candidate is accurate, fair and not from second-hand knowledge or hearsay; and 3) ex- plain the reasons to support candidates based on per- sonal experience and perspective rather than partisan- ship and campaign-style rhetoric. Candidates themselves may not use the letters to the editor column to outline their views and platforms or to ask for votes; this constitutes paid political advertising. As with all letters and advertising content, the news- paper, at the sole discretion of the publisher, general manager and editor, reserves the right to reject any let- ter that doesn’t follow the above criteria. Emal letters to: nhickson@thesiuslawnews.com WHERE TO WRITE Pres. Donald Trump The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 FAX: 202-456-2461 TTY/TDD Comments: 202-456-6213 www.whitehouse.gov Oregon Gov. Kate Brown 160 State Capitol 900 Court St. Salem, Ore. 97301-4047 Governor’s Citizens’ Rep. Message Line: 503-378-4582 www.oregon.gov/gov U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden 221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-5244 541-431-0229 www.wyden.senate.gov U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley 313 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753 FAX: 202-228-3997 541-465-6750 www.merkley.senate.gov U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.) 2134 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6416 541-269-2609 541-465-6732 www.defazio.house.gov State Sen. Arnie Roblan (Dist. 5) 900 Court St. NE - S-417 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1705 FAX: 503-986-1080 Email: Sen.ArnieRoblan@ oregonlegislature.gov State Rep. Caddy McKeown (Dist. 9) 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1409 Email: rep.caddymckeown @state.or.us West Lane County Commissioner Jay Bozievich 125 E. Eighth St. Eugene, OR 97401 541-682-4203 FAX: 541-682-4616 Email: Jay.Bozievich@ co.lane.or.us
