4A |
WEDNESDAY EDITION
| JULY 24, 2019
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
NED HICKSON , EDITOR
| 541-902-3520 | NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Opinion
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Letters to the Editor policy
LETTERS
I’m greedy, selfish...
and I support public art
I realize that the title seems oxy-
moronic, but hear me out…
Why do so many cities have pub-
lic art? Because it draws tourists and
new residents. If this didn’t work,
the practice would have been aban-
doned long ago. Public art has many
centuries of success all over the
world. This success is quite evident,
even if our mayor just doesn’t “buy
it.”
We already attract a lot of tour-
ists, thanks to this wonderful slice
of heaven that is our home. But ask
any retailer in Old Town, and I wa-
ger that nary a one will say that they
have too many customers in Flor-
ence.
This is where my self-professed
selfishness comes in. I’m in my re-
tirement years, probably similar to
many of those reading here. As I
age, I will depend more and more
on assistance from others: doctors,
nurses and hospital staff; restaurant
owners, chefs and service staff; gro-
cers and the many specialists and
personnel; in-home care; carpen-
ters; electricians; plumbers...
The list goes on and on.
(My apologies if I didn’t list your
profession. You also matter.)
Where will these valuable work-
ers come from? It certainly helps to
provide a dynamic and encouraging
public environment.
Honestly, it does not even mat-
ter if I like the art. What matters to
the inner greedy, selfish me is that it
attracts and retains the people who
will be able to assist me in my de-
clining years.
Personally, I’m a little hot and cold
about the products resulting from
our local Public Art Committee.
The murals are turning out amaz-
ing; great addition for our town. The
hand-painted seals are many bits of
wonderful whimsey; another plus.
The metal statue in front of the Se-
nior Center... kinda “meh” on that
one.
I only have one suggestion mov-
ing forward: The PAC should part-
ner with employers in Florence to
discuss the tastes and commonali-
ties of the artist candidates they are
trying to hire.
Public art is a great way to assist
in getting and keeping the folks we
all need.
Support our PAC.
—Rob Welles
Florence
It’s OK to disagree,
but not to attack
I was reading the Siuslaw News
article “Florence City Council Still
Preoccupied With Public Art,” (July
20) about the recent City Council
Meeting on July 15.
It sounds like some members of
the Florence City Council, includ-
ing Mayor Henry, are being bullied
by people who do not like the mural
that PUD agreed to have put on its
property, and do not understand the
concept of public art as a marketing
tool.
Be that as it may, it should not
be okay to attack our leaders, (or
anyone for that matter), publicly or
otherwise, because we disagree with
them.
Vote them out next time if it’s the
town’s will, but let’s help them get on
with their jobs for now by checking
our own behavior.
If people are coming into Ms. Lu-
cio’s place of business and griping
about council business — be it the
mural or any other matter — she
might want to consider redirecting
their remarks to the public com-
ment time at the next City Council
meeting.
A statement such as, “I appreciate
your concerns but please respect the
fact that I am at work now and it’s
not appropriate for me to discuss
city business here,” seems fitting in
such a situation.
This “City in Motion” has a wheel
stuck in the rut over that mural. Let’s
hope that this is the biggest problem
we ever have to deal with — and let’s
get back to other matters requiring
attention.
—Ivy Medow
Florence
Mural says we are
vibrant, diverse
I am a fan of our new mural.
It is all the things I hope our town
can be: Bright, colorful, welcoming,
innovative.
For me, the mural says we are not
just a sleepy old coastal town; we are
a vibrant, growing community that
celebrates diversity — not only in
our residents but also in our expres-
sions of art.
I appreciate the effort of all those
involved in public art and hope the
swirling controversies will not rob
you of your passion for this project.
—Jane Conkling
Florence
We are the architects of our own demise
In response to Michael Allen’s let-
ter (“Resolution To Address Climate
Change,” July 20), the Paris Accords
have between 0 and 8% probability
of making a 0.1°C reduction in the
global temperature at a cost of tril-
lions. The ROI is zero. The U.S. has
reduced its “carbon footprint” per-
centage more than any other signa-
tory.
Wind energy installations in Eu-
rope have stalled due to the permit-
ting process and bureaucratic imped-
iments, validating Ronald Reagan’s
maxim: “If it moves, tax it. If it keeps
moving, regulate it. And if it stops
moving, subsidize it.”
A recent study shows that North-
ern Hemisphere wind velocity has
been decreasing for the past 40 years,
down more than 30 percent in some
areas. The researchers speculate it
is a combination of rising tempera-
tures and ever-increasing urban heat
islands disrupting natural flow. An-
other study shows that down-wind
farms suffer a reduction in output,
requiring ever more land to maintain
output. Offshore wind offers some
promise, at least until neglect and a
100- or 1,000-year storm wipes them
out.
The earth has been warmer in the
past with less CO2 than today; the
earth has been cooler in the past with
more CO2 than today.
CO2 was largely ignored based on
mathematical work done at Harvard
and the British Meteorological Of-
fice in the 1950s said that CO2 has
very little greenhouse effect as it is
swamped by water vapor.
Guest Viewpoint
By Ian Eales
Florence
Not until the Thatcher govern-
ment began pushing nuclear energy
to break the coal miner unions in the
1980s was CO2 mentioned as a prob-
lem.
Recent decades uncovered artifacts
buried under several feet of snow and
ice: Norwegian longboats, Ötzi the
Ice Man, Greenland ruins. Either the
earth was warmer then and subse-
quently cooled, covering the artifacts
— or builders were extremely enter-
prising, digging down to bury them.
“Yo, Sven, ve’ll have der last laff ven
dem crazy Greens find dis in one tou-
sand yars...”
An event similar to the 1257 Lom-
bock Island volcano, the proximate
cause of Viking Greenland abandon-
ment, would drop global tempera-
tures significantly. A more severe
event such as the Yellowstone caldera
would cause more severe cooling.
If we are not to suffer the same
starvation and global calamity, we
will need massive amounts of energy
to heat our cooled home. Solar and
wind power output will be drastically
reduced. If we have abandoned fossil
fuel generation, we are signing our
death warrant.
Urban Greens agitate for massive
regulation while their very behavior
contributes massively to increased
energy consumption: Alexa, mobile
phones, computers, etc.
Data centers require an ever-in-
creasing share of global energy to
store selfies, tweets and texts. We are
the architects of our own demise.
(Editor’s Note: NASA has gath-
ered in chronological sequence the
most important events in the history
of climate change science. This list
of milestones includes major influ-
ences external to the science itself.
The timeline goes back to 1800 list-
ing Co2 levels, temperatures, etc. It is
available online at www.history.aip.
org/climate/timeline.htm.)
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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
@oregonlegislature.gov
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