The INDEPENDENT, January 18, 2012
January is National Radon Action
Month – home test kits available
You can’t see it, smell it or
taste it, but radon could be in
your home at dangerous levels.
The Oregon Radon Program is
working with the United States
Environmental
Protection
Agency (EPA) in a nationwide
campaign to educate people
about the dangers of radon.
January is National Radon Ac-
tion Month.
“It’s estimated that radon
causes over 20,000 lung can-
cer deaths per year in the U.S.
The only way to know if your
home has high radon levels is
to test,” said Brett Sherry,
radon coordinator for Oregon
Health
Authority’s
Public
Health Division.
Radon is a naturally occur-
ring gas that comes up from
the ground. It can get drawn
into our homes, where it can
build up to unsafe levels.
Radon is the second leading
cause of lung cancer after
smoking, and the leading
cause of lung cancer among
non-smokers.
If you find that your home
has high radon levels, it can be
fixed. Qualified radon mitiga-
tion professionals can effec-
tively reduce radon levels in
homes.
In 2010, the Oregon Legisla-
ture passed new legislation on
radon. These laws created
building codes that address
radon in new residential struc-
tures and public buildings in
Baker, Clackamas, Hood River,
Multnomah, Polk, Washington
and Yamhill counties. The laws
also require radon information
to be made available to new
home buyers by the Oregon
Real Estate Agency.
Testing homes for radon is
simple and inexpensive. Radon
test kits can be purchased at
local hardware and home im-
provement stores or online.
Many test kits cost between
$10 and $25. The American
Lung Association in Oregon
(ALAO) offers test kits for $14,
which includes the cost of ship-
ping, handling and analysis.
You can find a link to ALAO on
the Oregon Public Health’s
radon website at www.health
oregon.org/radon.
For more information about
radon, radon testing and miti-
gation, radon-resistant new
construction, or to order a test
kit online please call the Ore-
gon Radon Program at 971-
673-0440 or visit Oregon Pub-
lic Health’s radon website at
www.healthoregon.org/radon
or EPA’s website at www.epa.
gov/radon/nram.
Power of the People
By W. Marc Farmer, General Manager,
West Oregon Electric Cooperative
Wholesale Power
Costs
There are many pieces
that make up the whole-
sale power costs we re-
ceive from Bonneville
Power
Administration
(BPA). I will address two of
them in this article, as I think it is important for
you to be informed about what you are being
asked to fund in your power rates.
Let’s take a look at the Cost of Energy Con-
servation Programs. Energy conservation pro-
gram costs are contributing to wholesale rate in-
creases. Why? Because the conservation pro-
gram rebates that are currently available
through the Bonneville Power Administration
(BPA) are funded from electrical rates that we
pay. This year alone, BPA will charge West Ore-
gon EC over $168,607 to fund the BPA conser-
vation rebate payments; regionally the amount
is over $110 million.
The U.S. government, including the BPA, rou-
tinely uses tax breaks and rebates as a means
to encourage certain desired activity. To pro-
mote energy conservation, the BPA has raised
the cost of its wholesale power sold to utilities
such as WOEC, to fund rebates for end use
electrical consumers who qualify for BPA con-
servation programs. Although well-intended,
BPA conservation programs often focus on larg-
er end users such as warehouses, processing
or larger commercial/industrial ventures. BPA
conservation rebate programs that offer mean-
ingful savings for the residential consumer are
not readily available. As such residential con-
sumers end up paying higher
rates to provide the rebates
Solve It volunteers sought for Earth Day
SOLVE is excited to an-
nounce that it is currently ac-
cepting applications from vol-
unteer leaders for project sup-
port on our annual Earth Day
event, SOLVE IT presented by
Portland General Electric.
SOLVE IT events will take
place across the state on Sat-
urday, April 21, from 9:00 a.m.
to 1:00 p.m.; teachers are en-
couraged to involve their stu-
dents in service-learning activi-
ties any time between April 14
and April 28. The deadline for
applications is Monday, Janu-
ary 31.
This is your opportunity to
become a SOLVE project
leader and to apply for assis-
tance for your local volunteer
project as part of Earth Day.
SOLVE provides free project
planning assistance and train-
ing, event flyers and pre-event
publicity, online volunteer reg-
istration, and cleanup project
supplies. SOLVE also has a
limited number of small grants
of up to $100 for reimburse-
ment of qualifying project ex-
penses.
SOLVE IT provides volun-
teer opportunities to take care
of our parks, waterways and
neighborhoods by picking up
trash, pulling invasive weeds,
planting trees and other water-
shed enhancement activities.
Last year, SOLVE IT projects
took place at over 200 sites
across Oregon and involved
7,500 volunteers of all ages.
“SOLVE IT offers a great op-
Page 13
portunity to make a positive im-
pact on the places we love,”
said Rachael Pecore, SOLVE
Program Coordinator.
Visit www.solv.orgto apply
online (SOLVE IT Application)
or call SOLVE for a hard copy
form at 503-844-9571 or 1-800-
333-SOLV (toll-free in Oregon).
SOLVE’s mission is to bring
Oregonians together to im-
prove the environment and
build a legacy of stewardship.
Did you notice the E? We are
unveiling a new logo that more
accurately reflects the work of
the organization – the active
participation of volunteers
choosing to SOLVE. We hope
you like the new look as much
as we do!
that are often enjoyed by only larger end use
consumers.
We hope effective conservation programs will
save energy, which in turn will extend the ability
of existing generation to meet growing electrical
demands and delay expenditures needed to
construct new generation. In theory, this will
save all of us money in the long term.
In the interim we will all be paying more for
electricity to secure the future benefits associat-
ed with conservation savings. Hopefully these
savings will delay the cost of building new gen-
eration while making the northwest more energy
efficient.
The other larger ticket item is the ongoing
costs of fish and wildlife funding. While we sup-
port the saving of our fish and wildlife, the costs
for these programs far exceed the science be-
hind them and are costing our members such
that one third of our members’ wholesale power
costs go to support just this program. That’s one
third of your power costs each month. I had a
member tell me that the only fish he cared about
was whether or not he could afford a can of tuna
to feed his family.
Some of the programs are worthwhile and ob-
taining some good results. Others are, simply
put, a complete waste of money. One, as an ex-
ample, was to spend over $4 million for BPA to
purchase wildlife areas near Eugene. I’m not
sure what that has to do with water from the Co-
lumbia River to produce power or the fish that
live in the river.
While we don’t have any influence as one
small Co-op, collectively our voices can. Our
Co-op and our members need to communicate
to BPA, our Federal and State Legislators that fi-
nancial wisdom and prudence need to be used
to make choices and decisions that affect all of
us and our ability to afford to keep our homes
warm and the lights on.