OPINION READER’S FORUM
Founded in 1906
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2022
A4
OUR VIEW
Much thanks to forward thinkers
T
hroughout our little corner
of the world, there are peo-
ple and organizations acting
now to solve the problems of tomor-
row. These people deserve our grati-
tude, and we hope they continue their
work.
One instance of this is the Morrow
County School District Board, which
is putting a bond on an upcoming
ballot. If passed, the bond will pro-
vide the district with much-needed
funds.
This money will be useful in
bringing the schools up to date, for
sure, but this is not all. The district
plans to increase the number of class-
rooms at Morrow schools. With the
increased classrooms, the district’s
schools will be able to take on more
students. Perhaps this is not needed
immediately — the superintendent
said his schools are not yet overfl ow-
ing — but it is likely to be needed in
the future. Growth in the area sug-
gests the need for such preparation.
Also, we recognize the work of the
city of Hermiston as it relates to the
South Hermiston Industrial Park. In
placing infrastructure into the space,
which is just off of Highway 395, the
city of Hermiston is welcoming new
business. Companies can buy a piece
City of Hermiston/Contributed Photo, File
From left, Hermiston City Councilors Maria Duron and Roy Barron, Umatilla County
Commissioners Dan Dorran, John Shafer and George Murdock, Hermiston Mayor Dave
Drotzmann and Assistant City Manager Mark Morgan break ground on the South Hermiston
Industrial Park on July 7, 2021. The expansion now is complete with infrastructure ready for
businesses to move in.
of this land and quickly get moving
on things that will benefi t the com-
munity. New jobs will be created, and
taxes will be collected.
Certainly, SHIP will not fi ll up over-
night. There is a lot of space around the
present businesses in the industrial park,
and it will take time for that ground to
be fi lled. The city will need to attract
new businesses and convince them that
COMMENTARY
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
What’s the right amount of carbon dioxide?
S
chool teachers like to see their
students alert, attentive and
engaged, so when some of
the students start to get drowsy, the
teacher (hopefully) knows it’s not due
to a boring lesson or inadequate sleep,
but because the classroom air is stale
from all those students exhaling car-
bon dioxide with each respired breath.
At 1,000 molecules of carbon diox-
ide (CO2) per million molecules of air
(parts per million or ppm) some peo-
ple begin to feel drowsy, restless and
stifl ed.
Reactions diff er, but above 2,000
ppm people begin to experience head-
aches, poor concentration, loss of atten-
tion, increased heart rate, nausea or diz-
ziness, worsened asthma or allergy
symptoms. Opening a window and let-
ting in a breeze at the outdoor CO2 level
of about 412 ppm solves the stagnation
(alternatively, the school may need to
ventilate better).
In one Canadian study, 43% of the
classrooms had CO2 levels above 1,000
ppm. A Chinese classroom studied had
an average school day CO2 concen-
tration of 2,080 ppm with a noon peak
over 3,000 ppm. A Harvard study found
increasing indoor CO2 levels by 400
ppm would result in a decrease in cog-
nitive functioning by 21% and at 3,000
ppm students could experience up to an
80% decrease.
What a drag on students to struggle to
pay attention to teachers, concentrate on
tests or to be disciplined for wiggliness;
what a frustration for teachers; what a
waste of tax dollars. And adults have to
consider their home or offi ce conditions.
Above 5,000 ppm, toxicity or oxy-
gen deprivation could occur; 40,000
ppm is immediately harmful due to oxy-
gen deprivation. Trends project in 2100
the average global outdoor CO2 levels
would reach 800 ppm.
Before the Industrial Revolution
ELIZABETH
GRASER-
LINDSEY
started in the mid-1700s, global atmo-
spheric CO2 was about 280 ppm —
really fresh air.
Plants use CO2 as the raw material
for photosynthesis, and increased CO2
levels increase plant growth, leading
some indoor plant-growing facilities to
supplement CO2.
However, when CO2 levels are high:
• Plants can become less nutritious.
For example, increased CO2 levels can
increase plant growth and fi ber levels,
thereby lowering digestibility.
• A part of the plant that is not mar-
keted could be favored more (have more
yield increase) than the marketed part
(e.g. the seed, the leaf or the root).
• Less valuable plants in an ecosys-
tem can gain a competitive advantage
over preferred plants. Higher levels of
CO2 can increase the invasion of cheat-
grass along with other annual grasses
and juniper, which can reduce more
desired native species (overgrazing fur-
ther increases the competitive advantage
of weeds). Cheatgrass also can increase
fi re frequency and extent. Because cheat-
grass has a much shorter period of good
nutritional quality compared with native
perennial grasses, the quality of range-
lands may decrease with increases in
CO2 levels.
• Outbreaks of some insects and
infectious diseases may increase.
The earth’s atmosphere lets through
light and other forms of radiative energy
in diff erent amounts depending on wave-
length. The groups of wavelengths
where the atmospheric gases are trans-
parent (not absorbing or scattering radi-
Printed on
recycled
newsprint
VOLUME 115 • NUMBER 8
Andrew Cutler | Publisher • acutler@hermistonherald.com • 541-278-2673
Erick Peterson | Editor • epeterson@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4536
Angel Aguilar | Multi-Media consultant • aaguilar@hermiston herald.com 541-564-4531
Audra Workman | Offi ce Manager • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4538
Tammy Malgesini | Community Editor • community@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4532
To contact the Hermiston Herald for news,
advertising or subscription information:
• call 541-567-6457
• email info@hermistonherald.com
• stop by our offi ces at 333 E. Main St.
• visit us online at: hermistonherald.com
The Hermiston Herald (USPS 242220, ISSN
8750-4782) is published weekly at Hermiston
Herald, 333 E. Main St., Hermiston, OR 97838,
541-567-6457.
SHIP will be a good home for them.
The city, though, recognizes they
are running a marathon, not a sprint.
They will need to bring in busi-
nesses, one by one. Most of these
will be smaller businesses, accord-
ing to the assistant city manager for
Hermiston.
Through the slow growth of small
businesses, the city will avoid a par-
ticular problem that has arisen in its
history — that being, the develop-
ment of and dependence on a large
employer. When a big employer
leaves, as they are wont to do,
their absence can be devastating.
It is much better, then, to also have
smaller businesses.
When planning SHIP, people
thought of this, and we are glad they
did.
The previously mentioned actions
are just a couple of examples. There
are many people in our communi-
ties who are setting the groundwork
for our future. They are giving jobs,
schools, entertainment venues and
more to us, but also to children who
have yet to be born. So we thank
them for their vision and wish them
luck for their plans.
Periodical postage paid at Hermiston, OR.
Postmaster, send address changes to
Hermiston Herald, 333 E. Main St.,
Hermiston, OR 97838.
Member of EO Media Group Copyright ©2022
ation) are like an atmospheric window,
whereas the greenhouse gases, such as
water and CO2, absorb the energy pass-
ing through and reduce the transparency
of the atmosphere completely or par-
tially. The atmosphere lets visible sun-
light through but blocks or traps much of
the energy at other wavelengths we don’t
see (heat) that is emitted from the earth
back toward space, creating a greenhouse
eff ect and a warm earth.
Because CO2 obscures/reduces the
atmosphere’s transparency, as CO2
increases, heat builds up on earth. CO2
concentrations have increased enough to
heat the earth and make changes in the
earth’s weather systems; drought, heat
waves and reduced snowpack are some
of the outcomes that impact agriculture.
It is wise for people to protect their
home and habitat, for their own health
and well-being. A price on carbon com-
bined with cashback payments and bor-
der adjustment would encourage us to
use low CO2-emitting products and to
reduce harmful carbon dioxide emis-
sions. This approach is market-based and
leaves the decisions on what changes to
make to individuals. By the fee (assessed
at the wellhead, mine and border and
passed along) being 100% refunded as
a monthly, equal dividend to all Amer-
icans, it protects the poor and middle
classes (even gives them a boost), and it
does it without growing government.
Studies show rural Americans would
be aff ected similarly to other Americans.
The border adjustment protects Amer-
ican business from unfair competition
from countries that haven’t yet enacted a
carbon fee.
———
Elizabeth Graser-Lindsey is a volun-
teer with the Citizens’ Climate Lobby and
has a Ph.D. in bio-environmental engi-
neering (agricultural meteorology and
climatology). She and her husband own
and operate a small farm in Beavercreek.
CORRECTIONS
It is the policy of the Hermiston Herald to correct errors as soon as
they are discovered. Incorrect information will be corrected on Page
A2. Errors committed on the Opinion page will be corrected on that
page. Corrections also are noted in the online versions of our stories.
Please contact the editor at editor@hermistonherald.com or call
541-278-2673 with issues about this policy or to report errors.
SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Letters Policy: Letters to the Editor is a forum for the Hermiston
Herald readers to express themselves on local, state, national or
world issues. Brevity is good, but longer letters should be kept to
250 words. No personal attacks; challenge the opinion, not the
person. The Hermiston Herald reserves the right to edit letters for
River Act a step in right direction
Like many of our Northeastern Oregon friends
and neighbors, we support the River Democracy
Act proposed by Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and
Jeff Merkley.
Meaningful action addressing life-threaten-
ing climate change is overdue. Our waterways
pay a heavy price for our drive to squeeze every
last penny from natural resources. Centuries of
destructive practices have damaged every ecosys-
tem on earth and threaten planetary life itself.
Our full-speed-ahead enterprise destroys plant
and animal species at mass extinction rates, can-
celing them from our intricate web of life. In
light of climate change and biodiversity collapse,
destructive “business as usual” practices are worse
than senseless. We know better. Passing the River
Democracy Act is a modest, yet important, step
towards protecting and restoring our natural world.
The River Democracy Act does not “lock up”
our public lands. They remain as accessible as
ever. Wild and Scenic designation allows resto-
ration of these waterways and protects them from
future degradation. Wyden and his staff have care-
fully listened to stakeholders and specifically
addressed their concerns in the bill.
Maps abound: A statewide map depicting all of
the proposed stream reaches is found at tinyurl.
com/rdamap. The River Democracy Act itself
forms an atlas, its stream names and geographic
details easily found on any map or GPS device.
Acquiring ourselves a detailed map of Killamacue
Creek, we find its reach length is indeed 4 miles,
contrary to a public official’s complaint it was but
2 miles.
We need long-range thinking to protect the
natural systems on which all life depends. Two
years ago local citizens, businesses and organi-
zations answered the call for nominations, did
their homework and made their recommendations,
since reduced to protecting just 4% of Oregon’s
waterways. The River Democracy Act represents
local knowledge and expertise in managing local
resources for a sustainable future.
Thank you, senator. Now is the time to pass the
bill. Our kids, grandkids and future generations
will thank you, too.
Mike Higgins
Mike Beaty
Halfway
length and for content. Letters must be original and signed by the
writer or writers. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Writers
should include a telephone number so they can be reached for
questions. Only the letter writer’s name and city of residence will be
published.
OBITUARY POLICY
The Hermiston Herald publishes paid obituaries; death notices
and information about services are published at no charge.
Obituaries can include small photos and, for veterans, a fl ag
symbol at no charge. Obituaries and notices may be submitted
online at hermistonherald.com/obituaryform, by email to obits@
hermistonherald.com, placed via the funeral home or in person
at the Hermiston Herald or East Oregonian offi ces. For more
information, call 541-966-0818 or 800-522-0255, x221.