In response to Saint John Hunt’s letter “The Rape of Oregon,” EW 4/7: Our local Seneca Timber brags on a sign outside of their Hwy 99 factory that there are more trees on the lands they log now than there were 100 years ago. A hundred years ago, the lands Seneca began clearcutting were actual forests with giant trees of many types surrounded by thousands of understory species, supporting thousands of animal species, spiders, insects and fungi.
Seneca has turned those forests into tree farms. The crop is entirely composed of identical genetically modified trees planted densely and sprayed with herbicides to kill understory plants competing with the commodity. Using this logic, today’s tree farms have far more trees than forests do. If words matter, we shouldn’t call tree farms “forests.”
Restoring forests is one of the most cost-effective ways of restoring the biosphere. Instead of destroying forests for building materials we could use carbon neutral building blocks. Grist makes a brick from residue from waste-to-energy plants, mixed with carbon dioxide and recycled materials. Each block contains more carbon than it took to manufacture. If the city of Eugene mandated the use of carbon neutral building blocks for the new constructions coming with their rezoning of residential neighborhoods, Eugene might be able to comply with its 2.0 Climate Action Plan.
If this sounds too radical, explain why — to your grandchildren.
Darin Henry
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
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