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FEEDING CYNICISM Mayor Piercy's Sustainable Business Initiative (SBI) is a project, with great intentions, that is dangerously misleading. On Friday, Dec. 30, SBI Task Force Co-chair Rusty Rexius told the Eugene City Club that the local timber industry was already practicing sustainability. Perhaps he has not seen the massive clear-cuts visible from satellites, or is unaware that nearly every timber company in the region is spraying cancer-causing herbicides, even in the watershed that supplies Eugene's drinking water. At Mayor Piercy's State of the City address Jan. 5, she gave an award to the local Staples franchise, despite the fact that their use of recycled content paper is minimal. (They sold higher-content recycled paper and rechargeable batteries for flashlights a decade ago. Staples sells crap made in China, styrofoam cups and toxic cleaners — not sustainability.) Perhaps these pseudo-environmental efforts misunderstand what "sustainability" means. It does not mean nice rhetoric and smug self-congratulation. It does not mean merely being slightly more efficient in our consumption of non-renewable resources. Sustainability would require living without fossil fuels and other practices that degrade the biosphere's ability to sustain life. While it is important to recognize steps away from the brink, we must be honest about the vast gulf between our addiction to destructive behaviors and what sustainability would require to implement. Promoting vague ideals of "sustainability" without making serious changes to city policies, tax codes, building standards, land use patterns and other structural shifts is unlikely to accomplish much. "Sustainability" rhetoric that praises corporate greenwash and deforestation will merely create more cynicism. Mark Robinowitz, Eugene
COMEUPPANCE TIME Your "Happy Next Year" predictions (12/29) were right on target. As a resident of the Westmoreland student apartments, I especially enjoyed the comeuppance slated for UO President Frohnmayer. The Westmoreland Tenants Council, ASUO, SEIU, Student Senate, Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation, Association of Nontraditional Students, State Rep. Bob Ackerman, and many more will be working to prove you right, leading justice-minded Eugeneans in the fight to save Westmoreland. Robert Adams, Eugene
TRUE VIOLENCE There's been a lot of talk lately about "eco-terrorists" burning down buildings and committing other acts of property destruction. Arson and vandalism are definitely against the law, but isn't labeling these acts "terrorism" a bit like crying wolf? When I think of terrorism, I think of violence directed towards people, as I'm sure most Americans do following 9/11. The deliberate infliction of bodily harm or loss of life on an individual is indeed a grave threat to American citizens. These are the truly violent crimes that need to be dealt with swiftly and firmly. Several examples of such crimes occurred in the McKenzie Ranger District of your Willamette National Forest over the months of August, September and October of 2005. On FOUR separate occasions, bullets and arrows were fired at peaceful citizens (one arrow actually cutting someone's hand) protesting the logging of the Sten timber sale, a tract of mature forest in the McKenzie River watershed, the drinking water supply of Eugene. Despite first-hand reports by citizens, including the physical description of the attacker, his vehicle and license plate number, Forest Service law enforcement and the Lane County Sheriff have done little to nothing to investigate these crimes. Unless, of course, you count citing and detaining three activists, there to prevent or document further shootings. Four instances of attempted murder have occurred on your public lands directed at peaceful citizens outraged enough by the destruction of their remaining wild areas and drinking water supply to actually do something about it. And law enforcement is practically ignoring the attacks, thereby encouraging further violence. This sounds a lot more like "eco-terrorism" to me. Josh Schlossberg, Eugene
CLASHING IDEAS What if America's reaction to the World Trade towers tragedy had been asking, "What have we done to provoke that horrendous act? What did the perpetrators think about us that made them feel that violence was the way to get our attention, or punish us for what they saw as our misdeeds?" It is possible that our real enemies are the views they hold about us? Their idea that we are the "great Satan" and our belief that the terrorists are irrational extremists provokes each side to violence and killing. Our hostilities are not destroying or diminishing the real enemies that are the views we hold about each other. The escalated killing in Iraq is not bringing peace. Don't we need to meet and talk until we understand each other? Both sides need to see that our problems are caused by our ideas, and ignorance (in understanding) the other side is what leads us to violence. Without such meetings each side will continue to view the other as truculent belligerents who are impossible to deal with and must be killed. With talk, reasoning and bargaining we can reach agreements based on mutual understanding. Both sides want justice and peace. It is not who we are as nations or peoples that is the problem as much as the views and information we entertain. Killing each other does not destroy those ideas. Edgar Peara, Eugene
MEDICARE IN 2006 A better 2006 — I hope so! I'm looking forward to the growing support for a single-payer health care plan for all Oregonians. Hopefully we will have at least two candidates for governor pushing for an affordable plan that does away with the expensive and unnecessary middlemen. Now 600,000 citizens living in Oregon are without health insurance and the numbers are growing. There is an increasing awareness that the only affordable health care is an expansion of Medicare for everyone but with fairer reimbursement payments for patient care. Medicare administrative costs are 2 to 3 percent compared to insurance company administrative estimates of 25 to 50 percent of every medical dollar spent. This is a huge drain on everyone's pocket. I do hope Oregonians can become informed on health care funding and demand a change! Ruth Duemler , Eugene
REGRESSIVE LOGIC I was interested to read Joshua Welch's article (12/29) on morality and religion. If the person who designed every single thing in the universe writes a guide to living, then I'd say he knows more about living rightly, and that it may well be valid to live by that guide. He quotes a prominent atheist as saying that, "Our ethics must be firmly planted in the soil of scientific self-knowledge. They must be improvable and adaptable." But this defies logic. If ethics must be improved and adapted, what must they be improved and adapted from? Why, they have to be adapted and improved from a prior standard of ethics. And that standard was adapted and improved from a prior standard. If that were true, it would imply an infinite number of regressions into time or "improvements." There has to be a time before which there were no other improvements. Then he makes an appeal to common sense. Whose common sense, his or mine? Not everyone shares the same common sense. He says morality should be about things like compassion and ending suffering. But why? Why are they good? What's his standard of behavior? What if it's different than mine? Why are certain behaviors wrong and others right? When morality is based on what one wants to do, rather than on an absolute standard established by the one who knows all and has created all, that seems rather foolish at best. Kris Webb, Springfield
PORTERS LEGACY Charles Porter, who served two terms as Oregon's 4th District representative (1957-61), died recently at age 86. Far ahead of his time on every major issue of those days and beyond, he opposed U.S. funding of Latin American dictators, promoted diplomatic recognition of China, opposed the Vietnam War, proposed normalized relations with Cuba, opposed the fraudulent 2000 presidential election, etc. A fearless truth-teller, he threatened the most corrupt elements of the status quo and repeatedly upset politicians of both parties who get along by going along. Locally, Charlie was largely responsible for removing the Cross illegally placed atop Skinner Butte decades ago. A true Christian, he knew that the cross arrogantly constructed under cover of darkness on public property was profoundly unconstitutional, un-American, and un-Christian. The fact that Congress, with few exceptions, was crammed then as today with corporate toadies, warmongering chickenhawks, and pious hypocrites yet had not a place for Charlie's courage, wisdom, and insight speaks volumes about the intellectual timidity, the lack of vision, and the moral bankruptcy of our dysfunctional political system — sold as it is to, and controlled by the shrewdest, the vilest, and the highest bidders. I never encountered Charlie over the decades when he didn't come up with a humorous quip, a witty political insight, or a worthy cause that needed supporting. For me he was an inspirational role model, a true original, an authentic American hero. I honor him. I miss him. Oregon needs more Charlie Porters. Jerome Garger, Yachats
NEW YEAR TIDINGS As we begin a new year, many have renewed hopes for a peaceful world and prosperity. To our troops all over the world, defending freedom and fighting terrorism, I salute you and pray that your new year will be spent at home with your loved ones. To the Sunnis, Kurds and Shiites in Iraq I offer you my blessings for a new Iraq that serves the best interests of all Iraqis, regardless of their ethnicity, political slant or religious beliefs. The U.S. and Great Britain took down the dictatorship that oppressed a majority of Iraqis. It's up to those that have been elected to office to see to it that "revenge and retribution" will be best meted out in the courts and not by vigilante justice. To our elected officials in local and state governments and especially those that represent us in Washington, I wish you a year of awareness and honesty. The kind that will allow you to see that a knee-jerk reaction is what the terrorists use to "justify" their actions. To my fellow Oregonians, may the new year bring us all better health and economic stability. Change happens when we take action. We are adaptable people and can adapt to changes in the world economy by not allowing it to have such an impact on our local economy. My wish for American automakers is to see the handwriting on the wall and use that genius to get us out of the oil/gas dependency. To all a Happy New Year, filled with love and compassion. Fred Marsico, Corvallis
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