Ideally, it would be great for everyone to walk, bike and take mass transit everywhere. Reality is, society is car-focused, and many still need a car.
All solutions are needed for a better, more sustainable future.
Addressing global population growth, climate change and biodiversity loss is needed if a sustainable and habitable Earth, one of beauty for people and wildlife, is to happen.
Electric cars, reducing their eventual numbers, as through car sharing, reusing good batteries for electrical storage, and recycling their elements offer some more.
Corporate action and inaction to address abuses in the mining of cobalt for batteries used in everything from smart phones to laptops, and also electric cars, is a reality. The true cost of oil includes pollution, corruption, war and terror, debt and poverty, energy insecurity, human rights violations and blocking alternatives like renewables, in addition to global warming. Seems like nothing is perfect.
I wish life were simpler, that all my choices could be easy to make and live with and be totally ethical. But life and the world are too complex. Frankly I’m still torn, but I bought the first new car of my
life at age 65 this year. It’s 100 percent electric.
It won’t save the world, but, like all of us, I’m doing the best I can, from installing solar on my roof to making my front lawn a biodiversity garden, to listen and respond to my heart, to you, to everyone, my wildlife friends, and our incredible and beautiful Earth.
Al LePage
Eugene
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519
Comments are closed.