Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 2019)
4A • COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • FEBRUARY 20, 2019 The First Amendment O PINION Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridg- ing the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition their Government for a redress of greivences. Letters to the Editor Policy Th e Sentinel 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, grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guaranteed 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anonymous, libelous, argumentative, sarcastic or contain accusations that are unsourced or without documentation will not be published. Letters containing poetry or from outside Th e Sentinel readership area will only be published at the discretion of the editor. Political/Election Letters: Report card on planet’s environment? Not good (Editor’s Note: Viewpoint submissions on this and other topics are always welcome as part of our goal to encourage community discussion and exchange of perspectives.) T he World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report for 2019 indicates that most experts point to environmental problems as being the most serious threats to global stability — just as they found in the previ- ous two years. Th at report follows on one in October 2018 by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It said with “high confi dence” that at the current rate of greenhouse gas emissions, “global warming is likely to reach 1.5°C between 2030 and 2052 if it continues to increase at the current rate.” Avoiding the worst-case consequences would require measures that have “no documented historic precedent.” As Americans see the evidence of cli- mate-infl uenced destruction, they’re on edge: Seventy-two percent of those polled late last year considered climate change “important,” a 15-percentage point increase over 2015 — and the news is worse this time around. 2018 was the fourth-hottest year on record; 2015-2017 are the other three. Th e Arctic experienced its second-warmest year ever. Th e head of the World Meteorological Organization said: “Th e 20 warmest years on record have been in the past 22 years. Th e degree of warming during the past four years has been exceptional, both on land and in the ocean.” Rising sea levels, according to the IPCC, “will continue beyond 2100 even if glob- al warming is limited to 1.5°C in the 21st century (high confi dence). Marine ice sheet instability in Antarctica and/or irreversible loss of the Greenland ice sheet could result in multi-metre rise in sea level over hundreds to thousands of years.” Antarctica’s enormous ice reserves are melting six times faster now than they were between 1979 and 1989. Glacier melting in the Himalayas, on which South Asian agri- culture is heavily dependent, is proceeding at a very fast pace — so much so that by the end of this century, two-thirds of the glaciers may be gone at current climate change rates, and one-third under the most optimistic climate change scenarios. Ocean temperatures are the warmest on record, and the warming is occurring at a terrifying pace: 40 to 50 percent faster than the United Nations had previously estimated. Th at could spell trouble for marine ecosys- tems, phytoplankton in particular. Th ese Guest Viewpoint By Mel Gurtov Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Portland State University basic food organisms sustain the underwater food chain. If they die off or shift , as is al- ready detectable in changing ocean color, the impact on fi sheries will be catastrophic. Rising seas also threaten water supplies and U.S. military installations. And they can wipe countries off the map. Kiribati, the island group in the southwest Pacifi c, is a case in point. A nation disappearing due to climate change is something that’s never hap- pened before and, so far, is something people seem unable to imagine. Planet-wide environmental deterioration is happening faster — much faster — than scientists had anticipated. Th e kind of dete- rioration now taking place, involving oceans and glaciers in particular, tell us that life itself is already endangered in many parts of the globe. And some consequences of climate change, such as rising seas, are irreversible. In addition, resistance to scientifi c fi ndings and their implications for political, economic and social changes constitutes nothing short of criminal negligence — and people are more aware of and concerned about climate change than ever before. As challenging and pessimistic as the news is on the environment, remedies are available now to keep climate change at 1.5°C. In the U.S., the renowned environmentalist Bill McKibben suggests two priority steps: switching immediately away from fossil fuels and protecting cities and coastal areas from ocean inundation. Strict effi ciency standards for industry and autos, and a carbon tax — such as have been enacted in Europe — would signifi cantly reduce carbon emissions. Th en there’s the Green New Deal resolution introduced in the U.S. Congress by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey. Th e resolution, which begins by citing the IPCC report, calls for a “10-year national mobilization” to bring carbon emissions down to zero via a combination of renewable energy, infra- structure repairs and community-level projects. Th ese ideas would require a political mir- acle to achieve implementing legislation in the U.S. and cause parties to the Paris climate change accord to deepen their commitments. As the IPCC report makes clear, climate change mitigation involves across-the-board and multilevel changes, from sustained international cooperation, including funding the most aff ected developing countries, to addressing poverty and health care defi cits Political leaders, who always have excuses for ignoring problems that will outlive them, can point to other issues that require their immediate attention. Even the most liberal among them hesitate to embrace the up-front fi nancial costs and social challenges of a serious climate change agenda, though they know full well that the benefi ts of a green economy — in energy and waste savings and public health, for instance — will outweigh the costs. If political leaders won’t act, and in some cases won’t even acknowledge the problem, it is hard to imagine that all the wonderful grassroots environmental and energy ini- tiatives underway around the world will be enough to save us and future generations. LETTERS Send letters to: nhickson@cgsentinel.com or cmay@cgsentinel.com HOW TO CONTACT YOUR REPS Oregon state representatives Oregon federal representatives • Sen. Floyd Prozanski District 4 State Senator PO Box 11511 Eugene, Ore. 97440 Phone: 541-342-2447 Email : sen.fl oydprozanski@ state.or.us • Rep. Cedric Hayden Republican District 7 State Representative 900 Court St. NE Salem, Ore. 97301 Phone: 503-986-1407 Website: www.leg.state.or. us/hayden Email: rep.cedrichayden@ state.or.us • Rep. Peter DeFazio (House of Representatives) 405 East 8th Ave. #2030 Eugene, Ore. 97401 Email: defazio.house.gov/ contact/email-peter Phone: 541-465-6732 • Sen. Ron Wyden 405 East 8th Ave., Suite 2020 Eugene, Ore. 97401 Email: wyden.senate.gov Phone: (541) 431-0229 • Sen. Jeff Merkley Email: merkley.senate.gov Phone: 541-465-6750 C ottage G rove S entinel (541) 942-3325 Administration Jenna Bartlett, Group Publisher Gary Manly, General Manager ..................................................... Ext. 1207 gmanly@cgsentinel.com Allison Miller, Multi-Media Sales Consultants .......................... Ext. 1213 amiller@cgsentinel.com Gerald Santana, Multi-Media Sales Consultants ....................... Ext. 1216 gsantana@cgsentinel.com Gina Nauman, Inside Multi-Media Sales Consultants .............. Ext. 1203 gnauman@cgsentinel.com Lane County continues to get it wrong Th ere is a perception that a judges’ ruling is self-validating and beyond re- proach. Judges are people who come to the bench with their own biases and are oft en subject to manipulations by sil- ver-tongued corporate-backed attorneys. Th at’s why two judges won’t always agree and could render opposing deci- sions. As it is said in life and with judges, “it’s the luck of the draw.” And the people of Lane County are ex- periencing really bad luck in Judge Chan- ti’s decision (2-11-2019) to deny ballot access to the Right of Local Community Self-government Charter Amendment (RLCSG), which legally authorizes citi- zens to write and pass laws. Oh, you thought that the initiative sys- tem already did that? Not in Lane County. Lincoln County’s aerial spray ban in- cluded a RLCSG provision and sailed onto the ballot, begging the question, “What’s going on in Lane?” Lane courts continue to get it wrong and are complicit in denying the rights of 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 campaigns 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) explain the reasons to support candidates based on personal experience and perspective rather than partisanship 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 newspaper, at the sole discretion of the publisher, general manager and editor, reserves the right to reject any letter that doesn’t follow the above criteria. Editorial Ned Hickson, Managing Editor...............................................541-902-3520 nhickson@cgsentinel.com Damien Sherwood, Staff Reporter. .............................................. Ext. 1212 dsherwood@cgsentinel.com Zach Silva, Sports Editor ............................................................... Ext. 1204 zsilva@cgsentinel.com Customer Service Meg Fringer, Offi ce Manager, Legals, Classifi eds ....................... Ext. 1200 mfringer@cgsentinel.com Production Ron Annis, Production Supervisor ............................................... Ext.1215 graphics@cgsentinel.com (USP 133880) Subscription Mail Rates in Lane and Portions of Douglas Counties: 10 Weeks .........................................................................................$11 One year ..........................................................................................$41 e-Edition year .................................................................................$35 the people to our own initiative system. Th ese administrative reviews are about procedure, but have been used as an ex- cuse to deny the substance of the law. Lane courts are blocking an amend- ment that’s about our right to be deci- sionmakers in “the democratic process.” Obstacles to the citizen’s initiative pro- cess have been steadily gaining traction ever since it became clear that the citizens intended to use the system to insert our- selves into the decisionmaking process. People must continue to fi ght for jus- tice to get this measure on the ballot. —Michelle Holman Deadwood Rates in all other areas of United States: 10 weeks, $15; 1 year, $53; e-Edition $35. In foreign countries, postage extra. No subscription for less than 10 weeks. Subscription rates are subject to change upon 30 days’ notice. All subscritptions must be paid prior to beginning the subscription and are non-refundable. Periodicals postage paid at Cottage Grove, Oregon. Postmaster: Send address changes to P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424. Local Mail Service: If you don’t receive your Cottage Grove Sentinel on the Wednesday of publication, please let us know. Call 942-3325 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Advertising Ownership: All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by the Cottage Grove Sentinel become the property of the Cottage Grove Sentinel and may not be reproduced for any other use without explicit written prior approval. Copyright Notice: Entire contents ©2017 Cottage Grove Sentinel
