Meanwhile, Salem's Chamber of the 1% Demands Hundreds of Millions to Make Things Worse

Climate Study and Information and Warming Business Impacts
http://read.feedly.com/html?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftheenergycollective.com%2Fgernotwagner%2F410171%2Frisky-business-stands-out-growing-sea-climate-reports&theme=white&size=medium

Global warming is hitting home

Next, Risky Business is important because it shows how climate change is hitting home. No real surprise there for anyone paying attention to globally rising temperatures, but the full report goes into much more granular details than most, focusing on impacts at county, state and regional levels. Risky Business employs the latest econometric techniques to come up with numbers that should surprise even the most hardened climate hawks and wake up those still untouched by reality. Crop yield losses, for example, could go as high as 50 to 70 percent (!) in some Midwestern and Southern states, absent agricultural adaptation. The report is also replete with references to heat strokes, sky-rocketing electricity demand for air conditioning, and major losses from damages to properties up and down our ever-receding coast lines. Not precisely uplifting material, yet this report does a better job than most in laying it all out.

Financial markets can teach us a climate lesson

Finally, and perhaps most significantly, Risky Business gets the framing exactly right: Climate change is replete with deep-seated risks and uncertainties. In spite of all that we know about the science, there's lots more that we don't. And none of that means that climate change isn't bad. As the report makes clear, what we don't know could potentially be much worse. Climate change, in the end, is all about risk management. Few are better equipped to face up to that reality than the trio spearheading the effort; Paulson, Bloomberg and Steyer have made their careers (and fortunes) in the financial sector. In fact, as United States Treasury secretary between 2006 and 2009, Paulson was perhaps closest of anyone to the latest, global example of what happens when risks get ignored. We cannot – must not – ignore risk when it comes to something as global as global warming. After all, for climate, much like for financial markets, it's not over 'til the fat tail zings.

Why Women Aren't People (But Corporations Are) [feedly]

Why Women Aren't People (But Corporations Are)
http://read.feedly.com/html?url=http%3A%2F%2Fjezebel.com%2Fwhy-women-arent-people-but-corporations-are-1598061808&theme=white&size=medium

Kathy Barber died last week / Reminder of her important writing

https://ohiostatepress.org/index.htm?books/book%20pages/barber%20right.htm

A Right to Representation

Proportional Election Systems for the Twenty-first Century

Kathleen L. Barber

The United States is one of very few democracies in the world to use winner-take-all elections to choose representatives for legislatures, city councils, and even most school boards. A typical American election occurs in a single-member district or ward, where the candidate with the most votes wins, whether chosen by a majority or, in a multicandidate race, by only a plurality of voters.

From this practice stems the endemic underrepresentation of minorities in our political life. Enforcement of the Voting Rights Act has led to increased minority electoral success, but the strategy most commonly used—creation of majority-minority districts—has come under attack in the Supreme Court.

Alternative voting methods—cumulative voting, limited voting, instant run-off, and several varieties of proportional representation—are gaining acceptance in the United States, but are not widely understood. In this book, an outgrowth of her earlier Proportional Representation and Electoral Reform in Ohio, Kathleen L. Barber explores their origins, explains their use and adaptability, and supplies empirical evidence of how they actually work in practice.

The increasing diversity of the American population in the twenty-first century makes the issue of representation a compelling one, as the nation seeks to integrate into its political life an ever-widening array of groups. Barber argues that the right to vote is the right to cast an effective vote, which in turn generates the right to representation.

Kathleen L. Barber is a retired professor of political science living in Cleveland, Ohio. She is the author of numerous articles and essays on government and politics.
 

Nov 2000  Political Science/Urban Studies  240 pp.  6 x 9	Shopping Cart Instructions
$24.95 paper 978-0-8142-5058-7	Add paperback to shopping cart
$60.95 cloth 978-0-8142-0854-0	Add cloth to shopping cart
Urban Life and Urban Landscape	Review/Change Shopping Cart & Check-out

Exactly right: Why put up a flag on the 4th

Subscribe | Donate

Don't let those who hate the government own the flag.

Tax Fairness Oregon Subscribe here.

Our only hope: Stopping the cancer of unending growth

http://prorevnews.blogspot.com/2014/06/why-economic-growth-is-human-shift-that.html

Why economic growth is a human shift that can't survive

Clive Thompson, Mother Jones, 2010 -  Peter Victor is an economist who has been asking a heretical question: Can the Earth support endless growth?

Traditionally, economists have argued that the answer is "yes." In the 1960s when Victor was earning his various degrees, a steady rise in gross domestic product (GDP)—the combined value of our paid work and the things we produce—was seen as crucial for raising living standards and keeping the masses out of poverty. We grow or we languish: This assumption has become so central to our economic identity that it underpins almost every financial move our leaders make. It is to economics what the Second Law of Thermodynamics is to physics.

But Victor—now a professor at York University in Toronto—felt something tugging him in the opposite direction. Ecologists were beginning to learn that Earth does have limits. Pump enough pollution into a lake and you can ruin it forever; chop down enough forest and it might never grow back. By the early '00s, the frailties of the planet were becoming even more evident—and unsettling—as greenhouse gases accumulated and chunks of Greenland's glaciers began breaking off into the sea. "We've had 125,000 generations of humans, but it's only been the last eight that have had growth," Victor told me. "So what's considered normal? I think we live in very abnormal times. And the signs are showing up everywhere that the burden we're placing on the natural environment can't be borne."

In essence, endless growth puts us on the horns of a seemingly intractable dilemma. Without it, we spiral into poverty. With it, we deplete the planet. Either way, we lose.

Unless, of course, there's a third way. Could we have a healthy economy that doesn't grow? Could we stave off ecological collapse by reining in the world economy? Could we do it without starving?

Victor wanted to find out. First, he created a computer model replicating the modern Canadian economy. Then he tweaked it so that crucial elements—including consumption, productivity, and population—gradually stopped growing after 2010. To stave off unemployment, he shortened the workweek to roughly four days, creating more jobs. He also set up higher taxes on the rich and more public services for the poor, and imposed a carbon tax to fill government coffers and discourage the use of fossil fuels. The upshot? It took a couple of decades, but unemployment eventually fell to 4 percent, most people's standards of living actually rose, and greenhouse gas emissions decreased to well below Kyoto levels. The economy reached a "steady state." And if the model is accurate, then something like it, say some ecologically minded economists, may be the only way for humanity to survive in the long term.

Victor's economic theory is radical, but he is not alone. Over the past few decades, a handful of scholars have been laying the intellectual groundwork for "no growth" economics, and several recent books have proposed design principles for a healthy, nongrowing global economy. Even some of the world's major governments, spooked by the twin specters of global warming and the recent financial crisis, have begun exploring this seemingly subversive idea: In 2008, French president Nicolas Sarkozy asked Nobel economics laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz to draft new ways to measure prosperity without relying on GDP as the main indicator. But what would a no-growth society look like? Would we like it? And could we build one?

Americans' median family incomes have increased about 85% since 1957. Our average assessment of our own happiness has decreased by 5%.. . . .

The idea is actually quite old. Even Adam Smith, the great-great-grandfather of capitalism, acknowledged that it might be possible for an economy to max out its natural resources and stop growing. In the 19th century, economist-philosopher John Stuart Mill argued that growth was necessary only up to the point where everyone enjoyed a reasonable standard of living. Beyond that, he said, you could achieve a "stationary state" that would move past the "trampling, crushing, elbowing, and treading on each other's heels" that he saw in unfettered capitalist growth. In 1930, John Maynard Keynes likewise predicted a period in the future—possibly as soon as his grandchildren's time—when the economy wouldn't need to grow further to meet our basic needs. Man's "economic problem" would be solved, and people would "prefer to devote our further energies to non-economic purposes." Things like art, child rearing, and leisure. . . 

Why didn't we think of that? Outstanding idea

http://www.autonews.com/article/20140630/OEM11/306309986/an-easy-solution-to-recall-compliance

How the Sugar Industry Gums Up Science

How the Sugar Industry Gums Up Science.  Miller-McCune Online

The mortal dangers of sugar are being covered up and tangled in misinformation by an industry that uses the same tactics adopted by tobacco companies and the climate change-denying fossil fuel interests.

Great follow up to this piece at Daily Kos (h/t to L.S. For the link):

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/06/29/1308954/-Sugar-slavery-and-subtlety#

Tax Fairness Oregon on Taxing Everyone to Support the 1%, Transportation Edition

Mostly we're examining the current round of ConnectOregon, a $42 million expenditure for multi-model transportation projects. Some of what we've found is great: a way to get bikers and pedestrians in Tualatin from one side of I-5 to the other without crossing seven lanes of on and off ramps, for example, is critically needed. But we've also found several projects that squander the public purse, including $7 million in giveaways to help move coal and oil through Oregon. Really? We're GIVING away tax money for this? You can bet we notified the environmental community and the press about this outrage!

ConnectOregon is designed to accomplish important things; we have no doubt about that. But it's supposed to be a loan and grant program, yet there are never any loans. Instead, the program passes out gifts averaging $1.5 million to private businesses, ports, airports, rails and cities, even when loans would be more appropriate. The program certainly "reduces business costs," as David's analysis of the White's Hauling application shows. But, when did "reducing business costs" become a key goal of state government?

Building common-use infrastructure is clearly something government does best. But shouldn't users of that infrastructure pay most of the bill? Road users do [not actually true! but a widely held myth] why not port, train or airport users?

The airport applications are the most outrageous. Most ask to use state taxpayer dollars to match federal taxpayer dollars, with zero from the airport users, who are mostly private businesses and individuals who own planes.

Obviously, money spent on ConnectOregon is money not available for drug treatment, 2nd grade classrooms, state troopers, or tuition grants. Thirty seven projects are up for approval, with a public hearing in Salem on July 17th. We need to be ready to testify.

We're looking for help reading and analyzing these grant applications. 

To join in this vital work, contact TFO via http://www.taxfairnessoregon.org

It's not vaccines, it's Industrial Agribusiness: Pesticides and Autism

http://www.psmag.com/navigation/nature-and-technology/pesticides-autism-84216/

VITAL: Dazed and Confused | Sightline Daily

http://daily.sightline.org/2014/06/24/dazed-and-confused/

Dazed and Confused

The case for comprehensive sex ed for children and teens.

Can a girl get pregnant if she has sex standing up?
Will my boyfriend be able to feel my IUD?
What are dental dams, and why do people use them for sex?
Does everybody shave or trim down there?
If a guy pays for dinner, what does a girl owe him?

If the goal of school is to help kids become healthy, prosperous adults who contribute to thriving communities, then one of the most leveraged classes they can take is sex ed.

Teen pregnancy is both an effect and a cause of poverty. It can erect insurmountable obstacles for a young woman who may dream of a better life. Of girls who give birth while in high school, fewer than half graduate, and only 2 percent complete a college degree by age 30. Two-thirds receive public assistance in the first year after giving birth—and half are living in poverty three years later. The girls hit the hardest are often those already fighting an uphill battle: black and Latina girls born into impoverished families and hardscrabble communities.

Percentage of Teen Mothers Living in Poverty, by Race, Ethnicity. by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy (Used with permission.)

Negative impacts of teenage childbearing persist even after accounting for the fact that many teen moms faced challenges before they got pregnant. New media love to tell stories about the exceptions to the rule, the determined young women who fight their way through the obstacles and end up flourishing. Such women provide crucial inspiration for girls who have given birth and need both hope and role models for how to forge ahead.

But the fact is that when girls get pregnant before they're ready, the odds are stacked against them.

Comprehensive Sex Education

Here's another fact: Comprehensive sex education that discusses the range of prevention options is one of the most effective tools we have for reducing unwanted teen pregnancy.

In 2008, researchers at the University of Washington compared teens who had received comprehensive sex ed with those who received abstinence-only education or none at all prior to their first sexual intercourse. They found that the kids who received comprehensive sex ed were 50 percent less likely to report a teen pregnancy than those who received abstinence-only education and 60 percent less likely than those who got no sex ed at all. Some parents fear that teaching young people how to prevent pregnancy will make them promiscuous, but data trend in the opposite direction: kids who are taught about pregnancy prevention tend toward later sexual initiation and fewer partners. Sex ed works.

Even so, across the United States, policies and practices are wildly inconsistent, shaped as much by culture and religion as by research. Only 22 states require any form of sexual health education, and only 18 say that such education, if provided, must include information about contraception. As an accommodation to conservative religious sensibilities, 37 states allow parents to excuse their children from any class that addresses sexual health. Worse, in a recent survey by the CDC, 83 percent of girls aged 15–17 said their first formal reproductive health class came after their first sexual contact.

How Cascadia Compares

Big Little Brother Brock by Bekah used under CC BY-NC 2.0

The Cascadia region does better than the American South and Southwest when it comes to teen pregnancy and sexual health education, but even here, standards vary widely.

• Washington does not require sex ed but does insist that when provided, it must be medically accurate. Parents must be notified and given a chance to opt out.
• Oregon does require sex ed, which must be medically accurate. Parents must be notified and given a chance to opt out.
• Idaho has no legal requirements other than the right of parents to opt out of any offerings.
• British Columbia offers comprehensive sexual health education in keeping with national standards. Parents have the right to opt out.

National Research-Based Standards

North of the border, the Canadian government publishes a manual called "Canadian Guidelines for Sexual Health Education." These guidelines reference international human rights standards, which include the right to sexuality education, and they inform education policy across the country. A set of questions and answers for parents calls abstinence-only education "inappropriate and ineffective." The Canadian guidelines comprise a "living document," meaning that they are updated and revised as new research becomes available.

In 2011, a collaborative project called the Future of Sexual Education produced a similar document, a set of National Sexual Health Education Standards for the United States. The project brought together national experts, led by Advocates for Youth, the Answer Program at Rutgers University, and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. Their goals (condensed and paraphrased here) were ambitious:

• Outline essential knowledge and skills
• Assist in designing curricula that are evidence-informed, age-appropriate, and theory driven
• Focus on content that is teen relevant and affects high school graduation rates
• Present sexual development as a normal, healthy part of human development
• Translate the emerging research into practice in the classroom

The resulting document has not been endorsed or adopted yet by the federal government. Even so, the ripple effects have been exciting. Last year, following the National Sexual Health Education Standards, the Chicago school system—the third largest in the country—approved a new policy that sex ed should be offered in kindergarten through 12th grade. The curriculum will focus on anatomy and personal safety starting in kindergarten, and sexual health topics from fifth grade on. In May, the sixth-largest district, Broward County, Florida (which also has the country's highest AIDS rate), used the standards to inform a transition from abstinence only to comprehensive sex ed. Student advocates armed with data and expert opinion led the way.

Expert Educators

Teacher at chalkboard by Cybrarian used under CC BY-NC 2.0

Even with a solid curriculum in place, some teachers are reluctant participants in sex ed, and their students get shortchanged. A Seattle project aims to correct that.

Neighborcare Health is the largest provider of primary care for low-income people in King County, so their staff witness firsthand the challenges faced by young parents. In addition, they manage clinics in three of Seattle's high schools. Last year Neighborcare hired a full-time reproductive health educator whose job includes fostering conversation in health and science classes, responding to parent inquiries, and providing information to high school students about all aspects of sexual development and health, including new long-acting reversible contraceptives that are now considered top tier for teens.

Janet Cady, medical director of Neighborcare's school-based clinics, says that young people who talk with the educator then spread what they learn: "Male and female students have engaged with the health educator individually and in group settings. In turn, these youth have expanded accurate health information among their peers and, in many cases, within their families."

Youth-Friendly Media

Some health advocates are taking youth-friendly messages about sex and pregnancy prevention to the web or the airwaves. Others are working to bring web content and media into the classroom. MTV's series 16 and Pregnant is back by popular demand, along with downloadable discussion guides from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Bedsider.org, a funny, smart, award-winning contraception go-to website for youth, gets rave reviews from college and high school students.

StayTeen offers age-appropriate information for middle-schoolers, while Hooking Up and Staying Hooked provides candid, playful advice for boys within a framework of mutual respect and safety. SexEtc. has content by teens for teens and features what the site's editors think are the best sex ed videos on the web.

Peer-to-Peer Education

Savvy educators realize that one of the best ways to reach teens is via other empowered, knowledgeable teens. "I took five different friends to get Mirenas [a type of IUD] at Planned Parenthood in my senior year," says Jenna, age 19. Jenna had learned about the contraceptive on her own, from a friend. But programs like Planned Parenthood's Teen Council provide interested girls with training and support so that peers can turn to them as trusted information sources. Teen Council is selective, and girls who get accepted receive 50 or more hours of training about sexual health in the company of—you got it—like-minded peers. They make presentations in their schools and community settings, opening the door for less formal conversations with schoolmates and friends. The program started in King County, Washington, and has spread to eight states.

Shaping the Future

With abstinence-only education thoroughly discredited, evidence-based curricula, candid teen-friendly media, empowered peer counselors, and clinic-school partnerships may be the shape of things to come. Since 1995, May has been designated as National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month. This May, youth advocates launched a campaign to pass legislation called the Real Education for Healthy Youth Act. Their tools include Washington, D.C., savvy and grassroots organizing (you can sign a petition here), and their goal is to get the National Sexual Health Education Standards turned into law. And funded.

In the meantime, those local, district-level upgrades are touching lives. The Chicago and Broward County school systems together will provide real sexual health information to over 650,000 young people each year. One student in Broward County, Keyanna Suarez, crowed about the change in her district: "There's not gonna be a taboo about anything. Everyone's gonna be able to open up, ask questions, and get the info they need to make these decisions because some parents aren't giving them education at home."

Next up on the request list from students: honest conversations about sexual pleasure.