Drunk on Ethanol

Image by Sam Beebe / Ecotrust via FlickrScientific American piece summarizing the awful truth: ethanol is an ineffective way to use land. Oregon is continuing to prop up this immoral, inefficient, counter-productive scheme, lavishing money on ethanol boondoggles in Eastern Oregon year after year. They're now pretending that they're going to turn the stands of cottonwood trees along I-84 into ethanol, but that will stop the instant the subsidies run out. Funny how folks like Congressman Walden in Oregon's 2d Congressional District hate taxes and pork, except for all the taxes wasted on pork in their district.

Related articles

• Biofuel demand in US driving higher food prices, says report (guardian.co.uk)
• Port of Morrow aims to recruit $100 million plant (oregonlive.com)
• Burning ethanol eats up energy (timesunion.com)
• Hooray! Congress Is Finally Scaling Back Ethanol Subsidies! Except for Not (reason.com)
• Right On! Senate Votes To Kill Ethanol Subsidies!!! (angrydd.wordpress.com)

WORD: A beacon of common sense from a LOVESalem foreign correspondent

Image via WikipediaOne of the legion of LOVESalem foreign correspondents corps sends this from the shores of Lake Michigan, with a message clear enough to be seen from sea to shining sea:

I have been following the childish behavior of the elected representatives in federal government for the past several weeks (months?). I am continually amazed at the partisanship displayed by allegedly mature adults who should have the welfare of THE ENTIRE COUNTRY uppermost in their minds.

I have to assume you were all raised in environments which stressed honesty, fairness, compassion and a concern for those among us who are less fortunate. You all know what the right thing to do regarding the current financial situation is. Why is it so hard to get to an equitable conclusion? To paraphrase General Schwarzkopf: everyone knows what is right, the hard part is doing what is right.

In our government, with its huge range of ideology, the goal should be consensus rather than partisanship and compromise. I believe there are some stumbling blocks in trying to reach this goal. First is thinking that consensus is a win-lose situation, rather than the win-win outcome it really is. Second, is that many of you (Congress) appear to say or do ANYTHING you think will assure your re-election. Third, and most important, in my view, is that a large number of members of the House and Senate have been stupid enough to sign tax, marriage, abortion and etc. pledges, proposed by a non-elected, outside party, who has no stake in the potential results of those pledges. It is VERY difficult to back away from the challenge of a pledge, which leaves no room for extenuating circumstances, and still save face.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the United States Congress, you are now up to your eyeballs in extenuating circumstances. It is time to pull up your big-boy, and big-girl, pants, put aside your plans for future employment, realize that YOU are "Washington," stop name calling and come to consensus. Who knows . . . maybe if you ALL opened your minds there might be a third solution out there that is better than the Republican or Democratic plans that have already been proposed. If you can't do this, I think there might be a third choice for representation in the foreseeable future.

Bob Eichelberger
Norton Shores, MI

Get going early tomorrow morning

Image by dbzer0 via FlickrAnother great free gardening class from Marion-Polk Food Share:

Garden Friends and Foes:
Managing Pests and Encouraging Beneficials in Your Garden

Saturday, August 13th, 10am – 12pm
Hammond Community Garden
4900 Bayne St. NE, Salem, OR
Located behind Hammond Elementary School
Drop in – No RSVP required.

About the event:
Many “critters” inhabit our gardens. Some are helpful to us and some just want to eat our plants. Come and learn about which is which, how to encourage the helpful visitors and how to manage the pests using environmentally friendly techniques.

About the host:
Gail Gredler teaches horticulture and pest management at Chemeketa Community College. She is also an avid home gardener, where she uses environmentally friendly techniques to keep pests from spoiling the harvest.
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Upcoming for September:

Season Extension with Cold Frames
With local winter gardening enthusiast and small business owner Michael Taylor

Seed Saving: Continuing an Ancient Tradition, Host TBD.

For more information contact Ian Dixon-McDonald, Community Gardens Program Director
(503) 581-3855 x329, imcdonald@marionpolkfoodshare.org

Worthwhile OSPIRG Effort

Image via WikipediaIt's bad enough that we so often fail to do what needs to be done. What's even worse is when we subsidize things that absolutely should NOT be done, such as the conversion of corn into a diluted, lower-energy form of motor fuel (ethanol), which robs the land of productivity and people of food, while helping prop up a high-input, destructive, highly-petrochemical-dependent and polluting form of industrial agribusiness. The capture of the US Department of Agriculture by Big Agribusiness is one of the travesties of our time, and we're all paying the price. OSPIRG has joined a good campaign to turn the "Farm Bill" back into a slightly less horrific thing, and it's worth your support.

Oregon is blessedly free of the worst of this, but there are definitely pressures to keep pushing small farms off the land and consolidate more and more. By helping make the Farm Bill into more of a "Food Bill," you are helping preserve our single most important asset, our fertile land and soil.

When Jack Hedin, a Minnesota farmer, rented a few acres of land from neighboring corn farms to grow watermelons, tomatoes and other vegetables for a local health food store, he learned first-hand how unhelpful farm subsidies can be.

Jack ended up paying $8,771 in fines for one growing season [1] because, as he learned, it’s illegal to use land marked for corn to grow anything that isn’t subsidized. Corn or soy — often the main ingredients in processed junk food? Good to go. Fresh fruit and vegetables? Not so fast.

At a time when nearly one in three kids in the United States is overweight or obese, we can't let our farm policies continue to underwrite cheap junk food.

Thanks to a historic opportunity, now's our chance to end these handouts. We're hoping to get another 40 supporters to give $40 to expand our campaign.

Can you chip in to help us demonstrate the public support it will take to deliver a win?

In anticipation of a larger Farm Bill next year, the House has introduced a bill that would reform the worst of these subsidies, cutting $28 billion over the next 10 years from the program that is responsible for making unhealthy processed food so cheap and ubiquitous. This bill is an important first step and an unprecedented opportunity.

The opportunity exists because the public is increasingly aware that agribusiness subsidies are misdirected.

Agribusinesses, to prevent farmers like Jack from competing, have carved out a convenient system for themselves. Of course, they are doing everything they can to keep these handouts.

Consider this:

• The richest 4% of agribusinesses — which includes giants Cargill and Monsanto — receive almost three-quarters of the subsidies.
• 87% Oregon farmers receive no subsidy payments at all. [2]
• In the last presidential election year alone, these big agribusinesses spent more than $200 million on lobbying and campaign contributions.
• Cargill, one such giant agribusiness, is receiving government assistance even though it’s is the largest privately owned corporation in America and recently reported quarterly profits of $1.49 billion.

I’m still confident that we can win, because when I talk to people about this campaign, they’re just outraged. We’ve talked to thousands of Oregonians who now know how the government is underwriting the childhood obesity epidemic — and many of them won’t stand for it either.

It will take that public outrage to push past the junk food lobby and convince Congress to act. That’s why we’re:

Organizing grassroots support to put pressure on our representatives;

Building a strong coalition of children’s advocacy, public health and taxpayer groups to join us; and

Publishing research and getting our message out in the media. And to do all that, we're hoping to get another 40 supporters to give $40 in next two weeks to expand our campaign. Can you help with a donation right now?

Thanks for all you do.

David Rosenfeld, OSPIRG Executive Director

[1]. New York Times, "My Forbidden Fruits (and Vegetables)".
[2]. Environmental Working Group Farm Subsidy Database.

Free Fall Seed-Starting Class from Marion-Polk Food Share

Image via Wikipedia

Summer Educational Series
Marion-Polk Food Share Community Gardens Program

Fall Seed Starting with Soil Blocks



Tuesday, August 9
4pm – 6pm
Oregon School for the Deaf Greenhouse
999 Locust St. NE
Salem, OR
Enter of Maple St. NE.
Drop in – No RSVP required.

Learn about the “soil block” method of seed starting (no plastic needed!) with local expert, educator and Marion-Polk Food Share volunteer Pete Nagy. Lend a hand and help start seeds for the Oregon School for the Deaf Urban Farm. All produce from the project is donated to Marion-Polk Food Share.

About the host:
Pete Nagy has been a dedicated community garden organizer for the past three years, working at the Oregon School for the Deaf Urban Farm, the Northgate Forgiveness and Peace Garden and many others. Pete pioneered the soil block seed starting method in Salem, and is a skilled speaker and teacher.

Upcoming for September:

Season Extension with Cold Frames
With local winter gardening enthusiast and small business owner Michael Taylor

Seed Saving: Continuing an Ancient Tradition. Host TBD.

For more information contact Ian Dixon-McDonald, Community Gardens Program Director
(503) 581-3855 x329, imcdonald@marionpolkfoodshare.org.

Low-cost community leadership training

Like the man said,

Heroes are not giant statues framed against a red sky.

They are people who say: This is my community, and it’s my responsibility to make it better. (Gov. Tom McCall)

Introduction to Community Leadership

Part I - August 15th,
Part II - August 16th, 4-7 pm (six hours total)

Where? Northgate Center, 2nd Floor, 3850 Portland Rd NE, Salem, OR 97301

Cost? $10 suggested minimum donation for the entire workshop (scholarships available). To register send email or call Maria at 503.363.1895

Introduction to Community Leadership will provide learners with a fundamental working knowledge of the varied aspects which go into crafting a successful community-led engagement campaign.

Community engagement campaigns are those which have a clear end in mind, whether that is something as local as new street lighting, or something more broad such as expanded health coverage for working families. This course prepares learners for advanced and hands-on learning in more specialized topics within Leadership Development and Community Organizing.

This course is especially effective for those new to community organizing, or those looking to sharpen their skills. It is not required to come with an issue already in mind! This workshop will teach you how to choose an issue that makes sense for your community. By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• Understand the basic components of community engagement/organizing campaigns.
  
  
• Understand and articulate the difference between an Issue and a Problem
  
  
• Describe the basic steps required to develop a community engagement/organizing campaign.
  
  
• Understand the concept of the Social Determinants of Health.

WORD: Growth is over

WORD: Dahlia Lithwick on Church & State

Image via WikipediaAnother awesome Dahlia.

Meanwhile, as the world burns . . .

Image via Wikipedia(Tip of the hat to Sam Smith for this.)

Climate change update

Dahr Jamail, Aljazeera - The rate of ice loss in two of Greenland's largest glaciers has increased so much in the last 10 years that the amount of melted water would be enough to completely fill Lake Erie, one of the five Great Lakes in North America.

West Texas is currently undergoing its worst drought since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, leaving wheat and cotton crops in the state in an extremely dire situation due to lack of soil moisture, as wildfires continue to burn.

Central China recently experienced its worst drought in more than 50 years. Regional authorities have declared more than 1,300 lakes "dead", meaning they are out of use for both irrigation and drinking water supply.

Floods have struck Eastern and Southern China, killing at least 52 and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of thousands, followed by severe flooding that again hit Eastern China, displacing or otherwise affecting five million people.

Meanwhile in Europe, crops in the northwest are suffering the driest weather in decades….

Professor Cindy Parker co-directs the Programme on Global Environmental Sustainability and Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health . . .

"Everything that affects our environment affects our health," Parker said, "As fancy as our technology is, we still cannot live without clean water, air, and food, and we rely on our environment for these.". . .

"People think technology is going to save us from climate change, but there is no technology on the horizon that will allow us to adapt ourselves out of this mess," Parker said, "We can physiologically adapt to higher temperatures, but all that adaptation is not going to save us unless we also get the climate stabilized."

"If this continues unabated this planet will not be habitable by the species that are on it, including humans," she concluded, "It will be a very different planet. One that is not very conducive to human life."

The world's population is growing by roughly 80 million people per year, and at the current rates of birth and death, the world's population is on a trajectory to double in 49 years.

William Ryerson is the president of the Population Institute, a non-profit organisation that works to educate policymakers and the public about population, and the need to achieve a world population that is in balance with a healthy global environment and resource base. . .

"We have 225,000 people at the dinner table tonight who weren't there last night, so to maintain our current population we're already over-pumping underground aquifers," [said]Ryerson, "India is over-pumping, and we have over 100 million people in India dependent on over-pumping, so this can't be sustained. “

Unpublished estimates from the International Energy Agency recently revealed that greenhouse gas emissions increased by a record amount last year to the highest carbon output in history, despite the most serious economic recession in 80 years.

This means that the aim of holding global temperatures to safe levels are now all but out of reach. The goal of preventing a temperature rise of more than two degrees Celsius, which scientists say is the threshold for potentially "dangerous climate change" is now most likely just "a nice Utopia", according to Fatih Birol, a chief economist of the IEA.

"Population is the multiplier of everything else," explained Ryerson, who believes climate change cannot adequately be addressed until the overpopulation problem is solved.

Let's use our heads for a change

Image via WikipediaThe endless wars we are waging against EastAsia and EurAsia, with their long-forgotten rationales, are at least having their one usual benefit: we're learning lots about the way the human body works, as we pile up casualties.

One area that our concussive wars are educating us about is head injuries and traumatic brain injuries (TBI). And one thing we're learning as a result is that high-school sports head injuries are much more serious than we thought. Anyone who has seen Ali or other "punch drunk" boxers staggering around has seen the evidence of what shocks to the head do.

“Two studies, one of veterans and the other of former professional football players, provide new evidence that head injuries such as concussions are linked to dementia later in life and may make the brain more vulnerable to the development of symptoms characteristic of Alzheimer's disease.”

We need to start applying this knowledge here, in Salem, right now. Every single sport, starting with football and soccer, needs to be examined for its concussion rates, and those sports with above-average concussion rates need to be critically assessed with an eye to answering this one question:

Can the concussions in this sport be eliminated entirely or drastically reduced, or shall the sport be dropped?

There is no middle ground. With the mounting evidence all pointing the same way (that concussions are far more serious than we used to think), we are now on notice that we are causing kids ages 13-18, kids who cannot give informed consent, lifelong injuries, all in the name of entertainment. We have a duty to respond to these studies and to act to limit concussions to the maximum extent that is reasonably possible. Given that there are plenty of team and individual sports that teach all the same life lessons, there is no excuse for allowing kids to be exposed to high risks of suffering lifelong injuries as part of their education.

If you pay taxes here, you need to tell the S-K School Board that you want to know what they are doing to prevent concussions right now, and how they are going to avoid the huge legal bills down the road, the kinds of bills that accrue whenever institutions try to ignore evidence that what they are doing harms kids.