A contender for "Worst Op-Ed Ever Committed"

How's the view, Michael Lynch? Image by Spartacus007 via Flickr

Thank God that online newspapers are interactive -- the scores of comments to this execrable POS are far more well-informed and insightful than the subject op-ed.

The funny thing is, it's hard to know how to improve Lynch's piece. Trying to argue that oil is in practical terms infinite is so unhinged from reality that ad hominem attacks and misdirection ploys are just about all he's got. He reminds me of the guy with the pistol in the Russian Roulette game after five other players: "Well, there's been no explosion for those guys, so I'm going to be fine."

Nice open-source rebuttal being built here.

UPDATE: hysterically funny and on-target dismemberment of Lynch's "work" here.

Desperately Seeking Gleaners for Marion-Polk Food Share

Image by Steve Rhode via Flickr

Janet at MPFS writes:

Please forward this to anyone who might be interested in helping us. I am getting calls for help daily!

Urban fruit trees are starting to drop their fruit. Homeowners who can’t use the fruit are calling Marion Polk Food Share to donate this fresh produce to the food banks serving the hungry. Please help us get this harvest to them. We need small teams of people willing to pick fruit and get it to us. Harvesters are welcome to keep some for their own personal use too.

We have 8 locations with immediate need and more coming in every week. Please contact Janet to get the addresses. Thanks in advance for volunteering your time!

Janet Spingath
Community Partnerships

2009 Chefs' Nite Out tickets on sale!

Phone: 503.581.3855 Extension 311

Marion-Polk Food Share: Leading the fight to END hunger in Marion and Polk counties ...because no one should be hungry. Help END hunger. Donate now!

Blueberry Picking for Marion Polk Food Share

Pound for pound, one of the best foods in the world, and we live where they grow best. Image via Wikipedia

Bringing in the blueberries

WHEN: First thing in the morning (after 8 a.m. please), till dark, Wed Aug 26. Come when you can, pick what you can, and help get the harvest to the hungry.

WHERE: The homeowner has generously donated the produce from 1100 blueberry bushes. The bushes are located at 8098 Pudding Creek Dr. SE, Salem. To get there from Salem, head east on McClay Road until you get near McClay. Before the McClay Inn and before the railroad tracks, turn right on 82^nd St. Go ¾ of a mile and turn right on Pudding Creek Dr. SE. The berries are next to a U-Pick farm. On the other side of the berries is a manufactured home. There will be a Marion Polk Food Share sign on the road.

WHAT: You will see cardboard boxes to assemble and pick into, for the Food Share. In the box marked "VOLUNTEERS," you will find tape to make the boxes (flats), and waivers of liability. Please sign in, leave the paperwork in the box, and start picking. Be sure to put tape over the holes in the boxes so berries won't fall out.

THEN WHAT: Pick into the boxes. You may keep a reasonable amount for your own home use. When a box is full, stack it with other boxes by the maple tree on the east side of the field. This tree is by the arborvitae hedge and is marked with something shiny. By stacking the boxes under the tree, where they can get air circulation out of the sun, they will remain relatively fresh till they can be picked up by Marion Polk Food Share the following morning. Thank you for your willingness to help!

"Let Them Eat Natural Restoration Areas"

Five members of the Salem City Council tonight sold us out for cash money tonight, approving a move by the feds to put natural restoration "emergency flood control" easements on 200 acres of unique farmland within the Salem city limits, land that has been cropped for more than a century and that has never cost the federal government a single dollar in flood damage claims.

UPDATE: A reader asks a good question, now that self-styled environmentalists have blessed ignoring master plans and blowing off public involvement when it suits them: "Wonder how knee-jerk supporters of this easement would have felt about the need for public involvement and planning if the proposal had been for $800K in exchange for two separate motocross playgrounds in the middle of the park?" Of course they'll respond, "That's different," but actually the only difference is that one proposal they like and one would horrify them.

IRONY UPDATE: Here's text of a proclamation issued the same night the council voted to forever bar community gardens and all other forms of agriculture from 200 acres of prime land in Minto-Brown Park:

National Community Gardening Week 2009 Proclamation

WHEREAS, one of the most frequent and best-supported recommendations by health experts is that Americans need to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables; and

WHEREAS, Salem is located in the very heart of one of the most fertile and productive river valleys anywhere on earth, and our soils and growing climate are among the most favorable in the world; and

WHEREAS, fruits and vegetables grown in the soils and climate of Salem provide unmatched flavor and superior nutrition; and

WHEREAS, community gardens help community members help themselves by providing both a fulfilling, enjoyable avocation and an affordable source of superior nutrition without the need for fossil fuels in transport; and

WHEREAS, gardening together in community helps foster stronger ties between diverse community groups, promotes healthy eating habits for a lifetime, and helps support efforts to eradicate hunger in Oregon; and

WHEREAS, the United States Secretary of Agriculture has recognized and encouraged all Americans to celebrate this week as National Community Gardening Week;

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Janet Taylor, Mayor of the City of Salem, proclaim National Community Gardening Week, August 23-29, 2009.

I encourage all residents to take advantage of Salem's community gardens and gardening resources and thank the many Master Gardener volunteers, neighborhood community garden coordinators, and the Marion Polk Food Share Community Gardening program making our community healthier, happier, and more beautiful.

“National Community Gardening Week”
DATED this 24th day of August, 2009