LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.Byline: The Register-Guard Nuclear power isn't the answer The nuclear industry puff piece by John Ritch, "Another look at nuclear energy" (Commentary, May 1), stated "(environmentalists) worry ... (nuclear energy) is not growing rapidly enough to produce the clean-energy revolution the world urgently needs." Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology, at Cambridge; coeducational; chartered 1861, opened 1865 in Boston, moved 1916. It has long been recognized as an outstanding technological institute and its Sloan School of Management has notable programs in business, projects 300 new reactors in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. are needed by 2050 to even make a dent in global warming global warming, the gradual increase of the temperature of the earth's lower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution. , with 1,500 required worldwide. This nuclear waste generation would equal a federal Yucca Mountain Yucca Mountain, mountain in the SW Nevada desert about 100 mi (161 km) northwest of Las Vegas. It is the proposed site of a Dept. of Energy (DOE) repository for up to 77,000 metric tons of nuclear waste (including commercial and defense spent fuel and high-level Nuclear Waste Repository (capped at 63,000 metric tons of commercial high-level radioactive waste Noun 1. high-level radioactive waste - radioactive waste that left in a nuclear reactor after the nuclear fuel has been consumed radioactive waste - useless radioactive materials that are left after some laboratory or commercial process is completed ) being opened somewhere in the world every three to four years. That would create 20,000 metric tons of plutonium 239 by 2050 - high-level nuclear waste shipped by railroad through downtown Eugene! No nation has yet solved the problem of storing waste material, which must be shielded from the environment for millennia. As the U.S. economy teeters on the brink of world oil peak supply, the smartest move it can make now is to build further incentives for energy efficiency, NEGawatts. Past private sector investments and government policies helped grow our economy 19 percent from 1996-2000, versus just a 5 percent greenhouse gas greenhouse gas n. Any of the atmospheric gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect. greenhouse gas growth. Americans saved $260 billion with lower energy bills and lower pollution levels. Without the energy efficiency of higher-mileage cars, energy-saving appliances plus industry energy savings, 2000 U.S. energy use would have been 40 percent higher. DOUG BLACK Eugene Take advantage of riverfront Edward Russo's front page article "Mixing uses is a hard sell" (Register-Guard, May 9) was well done, timely, informative and instructive. I have visited the Orenco Station Orenco Station is a neighborhood of the city of Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. The planned urban town center was designed as a pedestrian friendly, high density community built in conjunction with TriMet’s Westside light rail. development and noticed one glaring omission: no waterfront! Eugene has the waterfront and no development. How can this be? Russo's presentation included details about the past failure of such developments in Eugene-Springfield. Recent dynamics may have rendered moot the previous paradigms. Enter the Eugene Water & Electric Board waterfront property with its huge potential as a moneymaker for developers and gem quality asset for Eugene-Springfield urban growth. The waterfront property was omitted from the discussion. Why? The local media have gone silent on this issue since the well-publicized flap between Arlie & Company and the Eugene City Council. Following that, Mayor Kitty Piercy "Kitty" Piercy is the current mayor of Eugene, Oregon, sworn in January of 2005. The press dubbed Piercy's election part of a "shift to the left" for the Eugene City Council. , on two successive weekly radio shows, dismissed questions about the site with implied "it's a done deal" answers. The third weekly show produced no questions on the subject. Are we to assume that it is done and the wheels are frantically turning in secret to complete the hospital development before further public comment? Hopefully, Russo's article will arouse new spirit and interest to this very important development decision. Eugene decision-makers would do well to follow Springfield Mayor Sid Lieken's lead and form private partnerships to arrive at the best decision. This is a once-in-a-lifetime development opportunity! HENRY E. MASTERSON Eugene 'B.C.' is Christianity at its best Scott Bellows' May 11 letter made me cringe. He slammed cartoonist Johnny Hart
As a regular reader of "B.C.," I have never read Hart proclaiming to be a Christian, yet his comic strip has confirmed his faith in Jesus Christ Jesus Christ: see Jesus. Jesus Christ 40 days after Resurrection, ascended into heaven. [N.T.: Acts 1:1–11] See : Ascension Jesus Christ kind to the poor, forgiving to the sinful. [N.T. over and over. This is Christianity at its best, walking the walk, talking the talk. In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , being obedient to scripture. Bellows, on the other hand, informs us that he is a Christian and an elder in his church, but who would know it when he ridicules truth as Christians believe it? It's people like Bellows who almost make the case for evolution. BETTY BARTON Eugene Tuition subsidy too expensive Politicians are presumably pre·sum·a·ble adj. That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. in office to promote the welfare of citizens, but state Sen. Bill Morrisette, D-Springfield, is working hard to strap Oregon taxpayers with the cost of subsidizing illegal aliens with in-state college tuition The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. College tuition rates at $10,000 per student each year. The Legislative Fiscal Office says that subsidizing only 80 illegal aliens per year will cost us $1.92 million in just two years. Oregon hasn't just 80 illegal alien students, it has thousands. Still, Morrisette believes that we all must pay to help illegal aliens go to college no matter if it breaks our backs or federal law. That's right. Section 505 of the 1996 Illegal Alien Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act states that illegal aliens mustn't get breaks that Americans can't enjoy, and it has created a class action lawsuit class action lawsuit A lawsuit in which one party or a limited number of parties sue on behalf of a larger group to which the parties belong. For example, investors may bring a class action lawsuit against a brokerage firm that has actively promoted a tax in Kansas on behalf of out-of-state citizens. If the case succeeds and becomes a precedent, Oregon stands to lose $89 million in out-of-state tuition revenue. The contempt of our legislators toward the constituents who voted them into office is stupefying stu·pe·fy tr.v. stu·pe·fied, stu·pe·fy·ing, stu·pe·fies 1. To dull the senses or faculties of. See Synonyms at daze. 2. To amaze; astonish. . If the news media did its job better, we'd know that Morrisette thinks taxpayers are just chumps. LYNEIL CHASE Tualatin Roadless policy improved The Register-Guard's May 9 editorial "Wrong road for forests" mischaracterizes the announcement we made on roadless area conservation Roadless area conservation is a conservation-related term in which most road construction is prohibited on designated areas of public land such as national parks and national forests. Laws that support roadless area conservation are often called roadless rules. . Our approach represents a better way that will yield significant environmental benefits, which are best achieved by working with states and local communities through collaborative conservation efforts and will continue to provide protections without the uncertain legal future faced by the 2001 rule. Recall that a U.S. District Court determined that the original rule violated two major environmental laws. Our final rule will involve decisions that are more informed by better site-specific information. We are better able to ensure appropriate hazardous fuels treatment and firefighting access in areas where roadless areas are near the wildland-urban interface. This approach fosters collaboration, and we are committed to working closely with the nation's governors to ensure that roadless area conservation meets the needs of all interests. Through the rule-making process, roadless areas will continue to be protected. How a decision is made is just as important as or even more important than the decision itself. More constructive involvement by all of our stakeholders will result in a superior outcome as people become vested in that outcome. MARK REY REY Religious Education for Youth , Under Secretary Natural Resources and Environment U.S. Department of Agriculture Washington, D.C. Get off Mayor Piercy's back I'm so tired of hypocrites who call themselves Christians going around espousing hate in the name of Jesus Christ. Oh, my gosh, Mayor Kitty Piercy won't attend our prayer breakfast, so let's ruin her life! To heck with empathy and humility. Pick up a stone and throw it. The witch deserves to be burned at the stake. That really sends a good Christian message, doesn't it? What a way to lay nice groundwork for others to follow. No wonder people I talk to about Christ have such a difficult time hearing the message. Time and time again they talk about how hypocritical Christians are. How this prayer breakfast is being handled in the media by some so-called Christians proves that the perception of hypocrisy is correct more often than not. People should get off Mayor Piercy's back and go take a look in the mirror. I'm sure they will still have plenty of stones left to throw. DEAN SMITH Eugene Public needs the facts on Plan B I'm grateful to The Register-Guard for addressing the issues related to the Plan B emergency contraceptive over the last several months. Editorials have reminded us that the Food and Drug Administration has declined to make Plan B available over-the-counter - despite a recommendation to the contrary by its expert panel - that some pharmacies deny patients' access to it by declining to fill prescriptions, and finally clarifying that it is a contraceptive, not an abortive medication Abortive medication (such as the Triptans) is used to interrupt an attack or episode of severe headache. See also
That final distinction is critical for public acceptance and for eventually having it available over the counter. The measure of the benefit in publishing the scientific information will be a decrease in unplanned pregnancy and abortion. The public health benefit of publishing the facts is beyond measure. PAULA CIESIELSKI, M.D. Eugene Stop demonizing federal judges If I gave speeches across the country singling out a specific group of people and stating that they are the most evil enemies to the United States in its entire history, do you think it's possible that a few ignorant people out there might take my words as gospel and try to kill them? If that happened, would I be culpable Blameworthy; involving the commission of a fault or the breach of a duty imposed by law. Culpability generally implies that an act performed is wrong but does not involve any evil intent by the wrongdoer. ? Even if it wasn't illegal, would you blame me? The preceding statement is an accurate description of what Republican leaders are doing to federal judges, and they aren't ashamed to admit it. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has promised that the Terri Schiavo Theresa Marie "Terri" Schiavo (December 3, 1963 – March 31, 2005), from St. Petersburg, Florida, United States was a woman who suffered brain damage and became dependent on a feeding tube. case judges will have to "pay for their behavior." Christian Coalition Christian Coalition, organization founded to advance the agenda of political and social conservatives, mostly comprised of evangelical Protestant Republicans, and to preserve what it deems traditional American values. founder Pat Robertson Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (born March 22 1930)[1] is a televangelist from the United States.[2] He is the founder of numerous organizations and corporations, including the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), says judges pose a worse threat than the Sept. 11 terrorists. Does it surprise you that in recent weeks federal judges and their families have been the targets of killers? Republican and Christians alike should be ashamed of their actions, and we all should let our leaders know it. CHRIS LINDSLEY Corvallis Tax cut would hurt school funds In the May 11 Register-Guard, in an article concerning business taxes, the reporter cites an Oregon Center for Public Policy study that concluded that "Oregon ranks 50th among the states and the District of Columbia District of Columbia, federal district (2000 pop. 572,059, a 5.7% decrease in population since the 1990 census), 69 sq mi (179 sq km), on the east bank of the Potomac River, coextensive with the city of Washington, D.C. (the capital of the United States). in the percentage of all state and local taxes that come from businesses." The same day, Rep. Debi Farr, R-Eugene, said that she voted for a capital gains tax cut to foster small businesses. With this type of favorable business tax climate, why aren't businesses flocking to Oregon now? I would venture to guess that one of the main reasons is because we have forced our public school system to make cut after cut, year after year. Businesses are not interested in a state that will not invest in its students and the future. Farr also states that she doesn't believe a cut in the capital gains tax would harm schools in the long run. But what about the short run? The proposed cut in the Bethel School District Bethel School District may refer to:
Farr has the power to help stop some of the devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. cuts that Bethel and other school districts face. She ran on a pro-education platform, and it is time she stands up for what she knows is in the best interest of our children and our state. BETTY TUMLIN Eugene LETTERS LOG Letters received in past week: 178 Letters published: 59 What's on readers' minds: The letters continued to sizzle siz·zle intr.v. siz·zled, siz·zling, siz·zles 1. To make the hissing sound characteristic of frying fat. 2. To seethe with anger or indignation. 3. this week with opinions about Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy's decision not to attend this year's Mayors' Prayer Breakfast. Writers also contributed multiple letters on allegations of a hostile environment for students of color at the University of Oregon's College of Education, the debate over teaching the theory of intelligent design in schools and whether drug abuse is a victimless crime. |
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