Emerald Magazine, Vol. 1, Issue 3

emerald MagaZIne

6 spring break

OREGON DAILY EMERALD • MARCH 2009 VoL. 1 • iSSuE 3

19 oregon surfing

33 going green

What’s inside

Emerald Magazine

Dare to surf 22

The frigid temperatures, unpredictable wildlife and inconsistent wave forecasts of the Oregon coast don’t deter these passionate surfers.. story Hannah Hoffman

up ’n out

features

Springing into break 6

Organic truth 30

Why fork over the dough for Cabo San Lucas when less expensive and more fulfilling experiences await you? stories Alex Gabriel and Kathryn Rose Beck

Discover when it’s worth it to buy into the organic label. story Ashley Vanosdel

St. Paddy’s: The folk way 7 A musician shares his perspective on St. Patrick’s Day, the uilleann pipes and his Irish roots. story Kalie Wooden

What kind of spring breaker are you? 9 Take our quiz and find out if you’re bound for adventure, ready to relax or preparing to party story Holly Schnackenberg

Go green 32 Cradle to cradle 16 Pending environmental doom is causing some Eugene businesses to break the norm and get with the green program. story Matt Petryni

get your drink on 11 Forget the green Bud Light and shake up your night with our new and improved St. Patrick’s Day cocktails. story Ashley Chase

odds ’n ends

Easy tips for any student to become more sustainable. story EM staff

Power of the pedal 34 Could stationary bikes make the rec center go? story Maria Baum

Taxes made easy 34 April 15 shouldn’t be a drag. story Rebecca Woolington

last word An industry of pollution 38 The hidden environmental dangers of the livestock industry are shocking. story Allie Grasgreen cover | P hoto J ayce G idden s

EM staff (541) 346-5511

ashley chase & Allie Grasgreen Editor in Chief and Managing Editor Jaime swindle EM Content Editor Maria Baum, Joseph Bomber, Roger Bong, Kelli Curtis, Maren Fawkes, Patrick Finney, Alex Gabriel, jayce giddens, Kaitlin Kenny, LesLie Montgomery, Mike perrault, MATT PETRYNI, Kathryn Rose Beck, Holly Schnackenberg, KALIE WOODEN, Rebecca Woolington, Ashley Vanosdel, Ivar Vong Contributors

Business

Michele Ross Interim General Manager kathy carbone Business Manager Monica Christoffels Administrative Assistant Kevin Armstrong Shawn Barnes Spenser Heaton Robert Kirkpatrick Distribution

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michele ross Technology & Creative Services Director Brianne Beigh Creative Services Supervisor brian aebi roger bong keith chaloux KATIE MILLER Adam Ryan emma silverman

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on a dime ...

Spring break

train yard security, eating dead rat meat and avoiding getting shanked by ravenous stabbing hobos.

Make your own YouTube movies.

It’s easy really. Grab a camera phone, a half-rack of PBRs and a kitten. Now throw the kitten onto a piano and let the camera and the good times roll. It’s a week of fun that you can share with everyone!

Fuck a road trip, ride the rails instead Well, looks like gas prices are going up again, guess you’ll have to postpone that road trip to Tijuana, Mexico. Wait, hold on, there’s another way – one that tramps and ragamuffins have been using for well over one hundred years.

It’s the United States railways and nothing gets the juices of life flowing faster than outrunning

Marathon of every movie Samuel L. Jackson has ever appeared in Try grabbing a pot of coffee and devoting the next 216 consecutive hours of your vacation to the man, the myth, Sam Jackson.

Having never read a movie script he didn’t like – as long as it came attached to a healthy paycheck – Jackson has appeared in more than 70 films in the last three decades. From the highs of his Spike Lee roles and mastery of

the monologue as Jules Winnfield in “Pulp Fiction,” to the lows of working with Eugene Levy, Jackson’s explicitly verbose, upsideyour-head charisma will max out your Netflix queue and cost you next to nothing but your sanity.

Can’t afford Vancouver, BC? Try Vancouver, Wash.

Forget about Vancouver, BC – skiing is bourgeois, fancy dining is passé and Canadians are well, you know, Canadians – because “The Couv” has everything anyone could ever want at a fraction of the price. “You might be a redneck” jokes come to life in this booming metropolis where the finest stores – Walmart,

Alternative breaks T

he words “spring break” don’t necessarily have to evoke an image of sunburned, drunken college students swerving their way from bar-to-bar across a sandy beach in Mexico or Florida. They also have the ability to produce an image of real-world change and positivity, if you go to the right place.

The University of Oregon’s Service Learning Program offers an opportunity to University undergraduate and graduate students called the Alternative Spring Break. This relatively new program was established at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. by an international non-profit organization called Break Away: The Alternative Break Connection. These programs are alcohol and drug-free

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Emerald Magazine

service learning trips that feature direct service, diversity, issues of social justice, self-reflection and re-orientation on a national and international level.

These trips not only have lifelong impacts on their participants and the communities they serve, but also provide a strong educational component with a pre-trip curriculum. Leslie Prieto, the University’s Service Learning Program Director, said the difference between “service learning and community service is that there is this educational experience as well.”

Through the program’s pretrip curriculum, students have the opportunity to discover new things about different people’s homes, cultures and backgrounds. “These trips provide a unique opportunity to hear

people’s stories firsthand,” said Prieto. “It is a gift to be able to do this, and for the communities to welcome us into their world.”

Now in the program’s second year at the University, two trips are taking place this spring. The first is from March 21-28, and is traveling to the Tenderloin District in San Francisco, Calif. to work with and support organizations that help homeless people living with HIV/AIDS. In this group there are 15 student participants and four student leaders who will all be staying in a hostel.

The second trip is taking place from March 20-28 and is traveling to San Diego, Calif. to work with the Casa Familiar and Border Angels organizations that deal with human rights awareness, social justice, economic and immigration issues. This

Kmart, Bi-Mart – feature low prices that let you treat yourself to microwaved corn dogs and Confederate flag Yosemite Sam shirts without having to feel guilty about it.

Google-search all the places you wish you were going

Wow, the lights of the Vegas strip sure are mesmerizing. Oh those white-sand beaches in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico are just to die for. God, Paris really is a city for lovers. Okay sure, you’ll be sitting at home hundreds and thousands of miles away from these places, but cheer up, they all have great Wikipedia pages.

Free sample-horde at Costco Bring a fake mustache, sunglasses and some chin putty and you’ll be hitting up the same Ortega salsa and Progresso hearty soup samples all damn day.

— A l e x Ga b r i e l

group is composed of 16 student participants and four student leaders who will be camping in a San Elijo campground.

These spring break adventures can do wonders for a student’s resume, and can help show that you are well-rounded, open to new experiences, a good volunteer and have a strong background in social justice issues.

This program is also a great way to have a fun, productive and safe spring break. It’s open to all University students regardless of age, gender, political views or sexual preferences. This means that you get to meet all the inspirational people in the communities you serve, as well as bond with a diverse group of people from our campus. An eye-opening opportunity, Alternative Spring Break can provide an educational way to transform your outlook on life while helping the people in the world around you.

— K at h ry n Ro s e Be c k

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| Spring break | St. Patrick’s Day | Quiz | Get your drink on |

Q&A

Celebrating St. Paddy’s the folk way T

he uilleann pipes, tin whistle and flute all combine to make the melodic sound of Eliot Grasso’s traditional Irish music. Grasso, a doctoral student in musicology at the University, has been playing the Irish uilleann pipes since age 11. The celebration of St. Patrick’s Day means something unique to every American, and Grasso gave his input on the celebration of the holiday as a performer of traditional Irish music.

Q: When were you introduced to Irish music?

A: I grew up hearing my father play the fiddle in our house. I was also exposed to the music of other traditional players in the Irish music community of Baltimore, Md. I learned a lot about how Irish people interrelate and the social constructs that attend the music, and how traditional Irish music culture has its own character that would be different from mainstream Irish culture today.

Q: What do you usually do to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? A: I have done various things from performing with the Oregon Chorale, to performing at the Irish ambassador’s house, to playing at a retirement community for my grandparents.

Q: How has your involvement in Irish music affected your view of St. Patrick’s Day traditions?

A: Over the past ten years or so, St. Patrick’s Day has changed over from a religious holiday to an Americanized holiday celebrating Irish culture. Until recently, the Irish living in Ireland observed it as a religious holiday. I’m an American. I was born here and grew up here, but a lot of my cultural influences came from American-Irish people. While my Irish heritage is negligible, I really just think of myself as a musician who happens to play Irish music.

Q: What role does music play in a traditional Irish celebration?

A: Music plays a fairly important role, although you have to distinguish between mainstream Irish culture and the culture of musicians who still play traditional music.

Ivar Vong

Among the people who do play it, traditional music would be a crucial part of celebrations like weddings and funerals.

Q: Do celebrations and traditions differ in Ireland than in the U.S.?

A: Yes. It seems to me that Americans find great importance in identifying with their ethnicity and making a big deal of it. The Irish just do what they’ve been doing for years and are happy enough for innovation to exist along with the tradition. Americans tend to be nostalgic for a motherland they’re not from and as a result, they tend to be a little more conservative culturally speaking.

— K a l i e Woode n

A

ccording to Grasso’s website, www.eliotgrasso.com, traditional Irish music develops bonds and community among those who play this type of music.

While ethnicity plays a superficial role in cultural inclusion, it does not inhibit those with diverse backgrounds from participating in traditional music. Not only does Grasso’s interpretation reveal the cultural differences in celebration of the same holiday, but his opinions of St. Patrick’s Day and Irish culture mark how music is incorporated into celebrations by different areas of society.

Emerald Magazine

|7|

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QUIZ

springbreaker WHAT KInD OF

ArE yOU?

1. What is your favorite class?

A. Evolution of Human Sexuality B. rock Climbing C. Meditation 2. What is your favorite sport?

A. Basketball B. Cliff jumping C. Does sleep count?

3. It’s a three-day weekend!

How will you spend your extra day off?

A. nursing my hangover B. Going to the beach C. Catching up on homework 4. What is your favorite movie?

A. “Animal House” B. “Gladiator” C. Whatever’s on Tv

5. Congratulations, you just won $100! How will you spend it?

A. Beer B. Parts for my new bicycle C. Tuition or food 6. It’s midnight on a Thursday.

Where are you?

A. At a party B. Hiking Skinner’s Butte C. In bed, asleep 7. What is your favorite animal?

A. Monkey B. Tiger C. Sloth

9. It’s time for a new phone. What are your requirements?

A. nothing less than an iPhone B. Semi-waterproof. you have a history of losing phones that way C. As long as I have service everywhere, I’m happy 10. Where was your favorite place to go as a kid?

A. Disneyland B. Camping C. Grandma’s house

8. Which countries have you been to?

A. The United States, Canada and Mexico B. north and Central America and parts of Europe C. Just the good ol’ US of A

mostly a’s party BreaK — You’re just looking to chill out, relax and blow off some steam this spring break, and you deserve it! Just make sure that you catch up on your sleep in between party nights and come back in one piece. Ideal vacation spots: Cabo, Laguna Beach or Miami Beach.

mostly B’s adVenturous BreaK — This break you just want to enjoy being young by doing as many things as possible that would make your mom cringe. While it’s great that you want to do some fun stuff that you definitely can’t do in Eugene, remember that spring break is only a week long and you have to come back and graduate sometime. Ideal vacation spots: Skiing the Alps, rafting the Amazon or spelunking in Mexico.

mostly c’s relaxinG BreaK — You’ve had a busy term and let’s face it: sometimes you just need to sleep. Make sure you don’t miss fun opportunities by staying in bed though — you’ll regret it once you hear about your roommate’s time in Hawaii. Ideal vacation spots: Your parents’ house, a deserted island or maybe the mall in your hometown.

Emerald Magazine

|9|

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get your wor ds ASHLE y CHASE | p hotos JAyCE G IDDEnS

drink

on history lesson:

As we say goodbye to winter, St. Patrick’s Day is a welcome sign of spring. The holiday is celebrated worldwide by the Irish and nonIrish alike to honor the life of Saint Patrick, who worked to bring Christianity to the Irish people. Legend has it that he used the shamrock to teach of the Holy Trinity.

In the early 17th century, the St. Patrick holiday became a day of feasting within the roman Catholic Church. Beginning in the Middle Ages, Irish Catholics would close shop and attend church to honor the patron saint. The day of celebration falls within Lent, the 40-day period from Ash Wednesday to the day before Easter when Catholics give up their vices as penance. The feast of Saint Patrick was a one day reprieve, when Irishmen were excused from Lent and able to down a pint or two in celebration.

Today, the Irish holiday has spread in popularity across the world and the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in new york City is the largest of its kind, drawing two million spectators and 150,000 marchers.

So, get green and glowing, ladies and gentlemen — it’s time to celebrate!

Punch: Limeade Sprite Dark rum Lime sherbet

There’s more to St. Patrick’s Day than Guinness and shots of Bushmills Irish Whiskey.

While tried-and-true staples are always an option this March 17, why not add some pizzazz to your night with some delicious glowing green cocktails? From the Drunk-Punch Love to the Truffle Shuffle, these delectable beverages are sure to get the night going.

Emerald Magazine

| 11 |

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| spring break | St. Patrick’s Day | Quiz | Get your drink on |

stock up on ...

1

3

1. Vermouth

Extras

This fortified wine is not Irish, but does serve as a great base for any martini-style drink. You can find sweetened Vermouth, but the most popular is dry, or unsweetened, which has a bitter taste and balances fruity or sugary flavors.

Garnishes to consider: Maraschino cherries Limes Lemons Fresh berries Mint leaves Shaved ice Sugar crystals to rim the glass Simple syrup (see below)

2. Crème de menthe A particularly sweet, mintflavored liqueur that’s great for the bright green drinks boasted on St. Patrick’s Day. The liqueur can be overpowering in flavor, so steer clear if you’re not into peppermint. Upside: fresh breath after a night of drinking.

3. Irish whiskey

2

the basics Irish Pride

3 oz Crème de menthe 3 oz Amaretto almond liqueur 2 oz lemon juice Layer in a highball glass and mix.

Truffle Shuffle

1 oz cherry liqueur 1 oz Crème de cacao 1 oz Crème de menthe

Astroturf 1 oz Crème de menthe 1 oz Crème de cacao 6 oz milk 3 tsp chocolate syrup Mix Crème de menthe, Crème de cacao and milk in a glass. When ready to serve, squirt in chocolate syrup and stir.

The principle difference between Irish whiskey and other whiskys is the letter “e.” Irish and American distilleries added the extra vowel to distinguish the Irish version of the spirit as higher quality.

Perhaps that’s debatable, but the deliciousness of a good Irish coffee is not.

The right glass Martini: usually good for any drink under 5 ounces that isn’t taken as a shot.

Collins: Good for any drink that involves soda or juice as a base, or that you would drink with a straw.

Old fashioned: Go classy with this choice, best for two-ingredient drinks like whiskey sours or rum & coke.

mixing tips: Ice it up

Simple syrup

The shape of your ice matters.

Cubes have a larger surface area and melt slower, preserving the flavor of the drink longer before it’s too watered down. Cubes are hard to blend, though, so if you’re going for anything blended, choose cracked or shaved ice, which can be bought by the bag.

If you’re throwing a party, don’t forget to stock up.

A staple in any bar, a sugar/water syrup can save a drink gone wrong or help tone down a drink that’s a little on the strong side.

To make your own, boil down 2 parts sugar, 1 part water. Once the sugar is dissolved completely, remove from heat, cool, and bottle. Use a dash or two to sweeten up a drink.

Don’t let it curdle Drinks with cream can become troublesome if the wrong cream is used or it’s not mixed properly. When making a cream-based drink, like White Russians, make sure to add cream last and always try to use the heaviest cream available. Milk is not a good substitute. Unless you’re going for the cement mixer effect, don’t mix cream with citrus.

| 12 |

Emerald Magazine

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drunk punch love

1 gal limeade (frozen and prepared or bottled) 2 liters Sprite 3 cups dark rum Lime sherbet Pineapple juice or other citrus to taste Mix all ingredients in a large pitcher or cooler, top with scoops of the lime sherbet or top each glass with a scoop.

Keep the punches coming If you’re throwing the St. Paddy’s day party, consider this refreshing punch, too. minty-merry Berry punch

White cranberry juice raspberry vodka Blueberry vodka Ginger ale Mint leaves (or a mint liquor if you want) Green food coloring Ice Crush the mint and ice together, then add all ingredients to a large pitcher or cooler. Add green food coloring a few drops at a time and stir until desired color is reached.

| 14 |

Emerald Magazine

ninja turtle

cold shower

Green haze

Add Blue Curacoa and gin over ice in a tall glass. Splash orange juice on top, give it a quick stir, and enjoy.

Stir it all together and serve in a tall glass over ice.

Shake the Gin and Crème de menthe over ice and pour into a martini glass. Top with pineapple and garnish.

1 oz Gin 2 oz Blue Curacoa top Orange juice

1 part Crème de menthe - green 1 part gin 3 parts club soda

1 oz Gin 1 oz Crème de menthe - green Splash Pineapple juice

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Hot cocktails ...

Hard to order in a bar, but a great homemade treat for a relaxing evening. The base for warm drinks is usually coffee, hot chocolate or tea. If you’re planning to skip the hangover that many will have the morning after St. Patrick’s Day, or just getting over a cold, try a hot tea with whisky or hot cocoa with a splash of peppermint schnapps. It’ll warm you up, soothe a sore throat or put you right to sleep.

Irish Eyes

1 part Irish whiskey 1/4 parts Crème de menthe, green 1 part Irish cream This is a layered drink, so be careful.

First, pour Irish cream into the bottom of the shot class. Layer Crème de menthe next and top with whiskey. Two ways to drink: shoot it, or stick a straw straight down and suck.

•Layering tip: hold a spoon upside down on the inside of the glass with the tip touching the edge of the glass right above the last layer.

Slowly pour your next layer over the spoon, raise the spoon slowly if necessary. Always start with the most dense ingredients and top with the least dense.

Green Kiss

1 oz Crème de menthe 2 oz Irish whiskey 1 oz dry vermouth Shake with ice and pour into a martini glass. Garnish with a slice of lime or cherry. Optional: rim the glass in sugar for a sweet surprise in every sip.

Irish Coffee

1 1/2 oz Irish whiskey 1/2 oz Irish cream 1 tsp brown sugar 6 oz hot coffee Whipped cream

Mix coffee, whiskey, brown sugar and Irish cream in a mug. Top with whipped cream.

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features

| Oregon surfing | Cradle to cradle |

Rain poured down on Newport, Oregon’s popular Agate Beach before Eugene surfer Sean Robertson hit the water to ride the stormy Northwest swells.

dare to be dangerous

surf oregon wor ds hannah hoffman | p hotos jayce giddens

At 6:30 a.m. on a cool August morning, Mark Blaine floated on his surfboard many yards out from the beach. He gazed south through the sunny blue air, searching for better waves. Behind him came the sound of heavy breathing and a rush of air and water. Turning around, he saw the whale about 50 yards behind him and the plume of water from the blowhole shooting up against the ocean and sky. The spray rained down in a swirl on the flat ocean surface, and with a swish of the tail, the whale was gone.

Another surfer saw Blaine still staring to the North where the whale had been. “How big was it?” the man asked.

“I don’t know,” Blaine said. “It just swirled!”

Blaine, a University journalism professor, was off the coast of Hubbard Creek, near Port Orford, Ore. Our state, known for its skiing, hiking and camping opportunities, may not be known for its surfing, but those who try it find Oregon surfing a distinctive experience.

The water is cold, the swells tall, the wind battering and the wildlife plentiful, but the

combination influences a breed of fearless, dedicated surfers.

Those who go out into the coastal waters say it’s a passionate experience, a connection between person, water and weather.

Jonathan Faulkner, owner of Boardsports in Eugene, has been surfing seriously for about six years and began the sport 14 years ago.

“Surfing is a life-long addiction and pursuit,” he says. “Something I wish I could do every day.”

Blaine finds the vacant beaches and empty waters of the coast one of the most appealing

aspects of surfing in Oregon. Compared to California and Hawaii, Oregon’s coast usually feels almost uninhabited and sometimes even eerie, especially in the fog.

Kevin Koenig, a University junior and member of the University Surf Club, finds the same, and says the people he runs into are usually more approachable than down in California, where he is from.

“It’s just a nicer crew up here,” he says.

The emptiness of the beaches and the water appeal to Faulkner the most because he Emerald Magazine

| 19 |

features

| Oregon surfing | Cradle to cradle |

Even with online resources such as www.oregonsurf.com, a site that forecasts wave

Oregon surfers have a passion for this region’s waves that transcends the inherent challenges and dangers that the weather and wildlife present.

Surfing equipment • Surfboard and surf wax • Wetsuit (thickness 4/3 mm or 5 4/3 mm) • Booties, gloves, hood (optional) • Leash

get involved • Rent surfboards from Boardsports • Join the University Surf Club • Take a surfing trip with the University Outdoor Club

conditions, predicting the size of the waves on the Oregon coast can be difficult. uses the solitude as an opportunity to relax and find inner peace. He surfs on average once a week, but wishes it could be more.

The more interesting company is usually of the animal variety.

Blaine’s whale encounter was an awe-inspiring moment.

“When you think about it,” he says, “that’s a big animal.”

And the whale is not alone. Birds fly overhead and seals, sea lions and porpoises all populate the surf along with the humans, who are strangers to the flippered mammals.

Koenig says sea lions often come up to the surfers and float on their backs, looking up at the black-suited people with looks saying, “You’re lost.” Sometimes they like to pop up behind him and startle him.

Of course, not all ocean inhabitants are friendly. Shark attacks happen on the Oregon coast, and all of the surfers in the water have the possibility floating in the backs of their minds. Koenig has never seen a shark, but once saw a small dorsal fin moving around him, which was unsettling. The water is often murky, he said, and sometimes a surfer can’t see his own feet. It leaves one with a “sketched-out” feeling.

Blaine has never encountered a shark either, but admits, “there are times it’s nerve-wracking to think there’s something out there,” and adds that the transition time between light and dark often feels “sharkier.”

The beauty and solitude of the beach and the delight of seeing animals make surfing on the coast fun, but the weather often presents a challenge. For surfers who love the sport, however, the challenge is just part of what makes Oregon surfing great.

The water alone distinguishes Oregon surfing. The most recently recorded temperature in the water off Port Orford was 48 F, according to the National Oceanographic Data Center. In Newport, Ore., it was 47.3 F. Compare these to famous surfing locales. In Los Angeles, the most current temperature was 58.6 F and in San Diego, 57.9 F. In Honolulu, it was 77.7 F. Emerald Magazine

| 21 |

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features

| Oregon surfing | Cradle to cradle |

Robertson rides the green Pacific waves into shore on his white shortboard.

A thick full-body wetsuit is a necessary surfing component for Oregon surfers because of the frigid water temperatures.

The cold temperature of the Pacific Ocean in Oregon can make it dangerous, and without a wetsuit, surfers run serious risk of hypothermia. Wetsuits usually include booties, gloves and hoods as well as the body suit, and keep the surfers warm, comfortable and safe.

The waves are huge and the current is strong. However, Koenig says the rough water creates an adaptability in Oregon surfers that Californians just don’t have. An Oregon surfer

usually can’t do the technical tricks their southern counterparts can do, but an Oregon surfer can handle almost any wave condition presented, he says.

Faulkner says the coast is not strong on consistency.

Some days are great to surf and others are terrible. However, part of the fun is trying to be in the right place at the right time.

The same spot on the coast can be impossible to surf one day and the next “it can be just as challenging and just as fun

if you get it on a good day,” Faulkner says.

Blaine also understands how tricky it can be to find a place and time for a successful surf. The time between waves, called the period, is the most important, he says. The longer the period, the more powerful the wave.

The height of the swells is also important — too small and they aren’t worth riding, but too big and they can be dangerous.

The wind matters too, and in Oregon the wind can vary a lot, Blaine says. The ideal wind is from offshore, an east wind, which makes the waves stand up taller and be more defined.

A west wind, by contrast, will make the waves fall down on themselves. Winds on the coast usually come from the northwest —south winds are harbingers of a storm — so a day with an east wind is special.

“On the Oregon coast, wind is one of the biggest things that kills you,” Blaine says.

The waves’ dependence on wind makes forecasting ocean conditions on sites such as www.oregonsurf.com “a joke,” says Koenig. He has driven the

hour out to Florence, Ore., on days when the Internet predicts excellent swells and found a flat, un-surfable ocean.

Adding up the effects of different conditions, wind and waves, adds to the fun of the sport for Blaine. “I love the problem solving of surfing. Just being aware of where you are and what you’re doing.”

Oregon surfing is not for everyone, like the sport is in other places, Koenig says. The only people “who surf up here just absolutely love it,” he says.

The conditions are just too intense and difficult for someone not in love with surfing.

Blaine is one of those. He surfs weekly, under ideal circumstances. He invests the time and the energy in it, because for him surfing is about “the temptation of just one more wave.”

For Faulkner, Oregon surfing is about more than loving a sport.

For him, it presents a form of meditation. The surfer can only focus on what is right in front of them, and it clears the mind.

The beauty of surfing is “riding something that’s out of your control,” he says. “It’s very pure.”

Emerald Magazine

| 23 |

features

| Oregon surfing | Cradle to cradle |

“

[In nature], waste that stays waste does not exist. ... Instead, waste nourishes; waste equals food.” —

Bill McDonough author

Cradle to

Cradle

I

wor ds matt petryni | p hotos Roger Bong

t’s safe to say that “sustainability” has become one of the hot buzzwords of politics and business in the past few years. It is pretty universally accepted that “sustainability”

is a really good thing. What’s less clear is exactly what “sustainability” means.

Most efforts toward sustainability largely focus on reducing the output of wastes. While these efforts are no doubt laudable, there remains a huge problem with this model of sustainability: even if we manage to reduce our rate of pollution as much as possible, we still may run out of resources and pollution sinks.

So what other option is there? Do we go back to the caveman days? Many people see this as the eventual answer, and still it might very well be.

Industrialization as we know it must cease to exist. Our economy is generally a “cradle-to-grave” process where resources are created through the genius of nature; we extract them, process them, and eventually produce waste that we ask nature to somehow turn back into resources we can use.

And as our wastes get increasingly abundant and more toxic, this gets increasingly difficult.

To resolve this problem, some environmentalist thinkers look to nature. “Well, consider the cherry tree,” writes Bill McDonough, environmentalist and author of the book “Cradle to Cradle.” “It produces thousands of blossoms, only a few of which germinate. ... But after falling to the ground, the blossoms return to the soil and become nutrients for the surrounding environment.” This example from nature runs in direct contrast to the way we think about pollution. The problem, ultimately, is not that we create pollution in abundance; the problem is that our pollution is of such a nature that it cannot be fed into

| 24 |

Emerald Magazine

Bring Recycling brings sustainability into homes and businesses with reused construction and industrial remodeling tools.

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In the construction and industrial materials arena, Bring Recycling is helping businesses and homeowners go green. By recycling materials that would otherwise go to landfills, Bring Recycling reduces the exploitation of virgin resources and the harmful effects of pollution. Julie Daniel, director of Bring Recycling, admitted there’s still more they could be doing. “We are working to improve our social ‘leg.’ Our wage scale is below market and for many positions, below a living wage,” she said. “We provide fully paid health benefits, vacation and sick to all full time employees, and we do not make a practice of hiring part time. We (also) donate a lot of materials to schools, churches and other non profits.” Bring Recycling also hopes to work outside of its business to promote sustainability in the greater community. “We believe that every business should operate sustainably, and we’ll be starting a business assistance program this year to help with that,” Daniel explained.

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features

| Oregon surfing | Cradle to cradle |

either natural or human processes again with much success. “[In nature], waste that stays waste does not exist. ... Instead, waste nourishes; waste equals food.” This suggests a route besides doomsday. Ultimately, this is the path we must take, either on our terms or by force: we’ll simply run out of other options through ever-growing depletion and pollution, whether we like it or not.

It recalls the old adage, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Applying McDonough’s logic, we might adapt this adage to the 21st century, “Every man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

Is it possible? It’s difficult to say for sure. Some businesses, though, are working to turn wastes back into productive use, instead of pollution. Their successes prove that it might be eventually possible to conceive an economy that behaves less like a machine and more like an organism.

The most obvious way that businesses might intervene in the otherwise “cradle-to-grave” waste stream is recycling and reuse. In Eugene, a number of companies work in this area.

Profiling these businesses and organizations - Bring Recycling, SeQuential Biofuels, NextStep Recycling, Dalton Carpet and Rexius - is not intended simply to talk about how great a job they’re doing. Any business can always do more to reduce its impact on the ecosystem. But it does lend some hope that we can eventually realize an economy that operates less like a straight line and more like a closed loop.

Ultimately, in order to bring our economy back into harmony with nature, we must transform our “cradle-to-grave” system into one that is “cradleto-cradle.” While this mission certainly has a long way to go, valuable opportunities are being explored right here in Eugene to close the gap between waste and resources through innovation, rediscovery and a commitment to a better future. This is something every student, as we enter the “real world,” should begin to consider: what exactly do we want our “real world” to look like?

By composting natural waste to recycle nutrients, Rexius aims to reduce landfill volumes while reducing the abundance of greenhouse gas.

Rexius

1250 Bailey Hill Rd. It’s important to look beyond the impact of what we’re putting down beneath our feet indoors, and to look outdoors as well. Rexius, a yard waste recycling company, diverts waste from landfills through composting. They turn yard and forestry waste into “soil amendments,” or products for landscaping and agriculture topsoil. Jack Hoeck, Rexius’ vice president for environmental services, pointed out that this process benefits more than their customers. By reducing landfill input, they reduce the discharge of greenhouse gas methane. Landfill discharge is a major human cause of methane. But the process of composting itself has benefits beyond that, even.

“If you aerobically compost, you’re sequestering CO2,” explained Hoeck. CO2 sequestration is a major sink of carbon, and by locking carbon into the soil through composting, which is eventually used by plants for nutrients, this process effectively helps reduce the abundance of this greenhouse gas.

Nonetheless, Rexius has not yet achieved perfect sustainability. The company uses trucks to deliver its goods and services, and therefore burns fossil fuels. But the company is aware of this, and is working to introduce more sustainable fuels to its vehicle fleet. “We do use biodiesel, but it costs us significantly more. It can be hard to remain competitive in terms of costs when everyone else might not choose to follow the same commitments to sustainability,” Hoeck said. And as economic pressures increase with the recession, it tends to be hard for both producers and consumers to afford higher environmental standards.

NextStep Recycling 2101 W. 10th Ave.

NextStep revamps and resells old technologies and makes them into new innovations.

“In everything we do, we think it’s critical to look through the lens of sustainability. We try to apply the triple-bottom line: social equity, environmental health and economic prosperity,” said Lorraine Kerwood, founder and executive director of NextStep Recycling. NextStep isn’t just about putting waste materials back into productive use. The organization also provides job training to its employees and works passionately to expand access to technology for marginalized youth and adults. “In Oregon’s schools, there is one computer for every ten students,” Kerwood pointed out. “We’re working to break the education divide between those who have access and those who don’t.” Kerwood hopes that by providing computer access to those without it through thoughtful reuse of disposed materials, NextStep can simultaneously strike a blow to improve equitable opportunities and keep harmful waste out of landfills.

Emerald Magazine

| 27 |

Spend Your Summer in the San Juan Islands

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features

| Oregon surfing | Cradle to cradle |

SeQuential Biofuels reuses kitchen oil from restaurants to fuel cars. The company eventually hopes to provide ethanol from blueberry processing waste.

SeQuential Biofuels

Dalton Carpet

There are yet more ways “waste” can find new life.

For SeQuential Biofuels, used cooking oil serves as a source for transportation energy. Using this waste from Oregon restaurants, SeQuential can produce relatively carbon-neutral biodiesel for powering cars. They are also working to better educate consumers about sustainable options. “Ethanol’s received a lot of bad press in the last few years, and it’s just important to remember what it’s made from, and how it’s made,” said Alan Twigg, station manager for SeQuential Biofuels. “In 2006, we began producing ethanol in Oregon with Midwestern corn.

But now we’re working to provide ethanol from blueberry processing waste generated by a company in Portland. This could reduce a lot of ethanol’s inefficiencies,” Twigg explained.

Walking into Dalton Carpet’s showroom on West 11th Avenue, you might not think there’s much special about their carpet retailing operation because they sell carpet and floor surfaces like most carpet dealers. But imagine you’re not just seeing the products on the shelves, but everything they were and everything they will be. Using this “product life cycle lens,” most carpet showrooms would be full of virgin oil plastics evolving to the landfills where they’ll end up. But if you took your lens into Dalton Carpet, you’d often see something different.

Instead of virgin oil for plastic, there would be old pop bottles, which have been a major source of the material in carpets sold by Dalton since 1995.

They feature carpets made from corn, recycled padding and vinyls that can be recycled many times, rather than simply “downcycled” into asphalt or other low-quality materials.

As oil prices rise, the interest of installers in recycled materials only tends to increase. Rocky Stevens of Dalton Carpet believes this commitment to sustainability is hardly a fringe practice anymore. “I’m no treehugger,” said Stevens, “but I just feel like Mother Earth’s going to get real tired of us, here, if we don’t start changing some of the things we do.”

Further, Stevens believes the innovations will keep coming, if given a chance.

“They make padding from soybeans now, and improvements in chemistry could reduce the amount of water used in the carpet industry.” Carpet processing is one of the most water-intensive industrial operations, he says, “but this is an up-and-coming industry, it must have a chance to crawl before it’s expected to walk or certainly run.”

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SeQuential looks at a lot of problems this way, making short-term actions that lay the foundation for future sustainability. “When we began providing biodiesel, there was no market for it in Oregon,” Twigg said. “By importing soy biodiesel from the Midwest, we developed the market necessary to support a locally sourced, more sustainable processing facility in Salem.”

This kind of “sequential” logic is really important to the emerging biofuel company. By working with the “big picture,” they seek to be a part of the effort to reduce pollution and fossil fuel consumption, and hopefully bring it to zero. Efficiency must remain a part of the solution, but so must renewability.

3815 W. 11th Ave.

Emerald Magazine

| 29 |

odds ‘n ends

| Organic truth | Go green | Power of the pedal | Taxes made easy |

the organic truth wor d s A SH LE y vAnOSDEL | p hoto s IvAr vOnG

APPLES PE ACH ES

conventionally grown produce is usually covered in pesticides.

Best Foods to Buy organic

Apples and other fruits tend to be heavily coated. Spinach and bell peppers have some of the highest levels of pesticides among vegetables.

Washing these products will help, but still doesn’t get rid of all the residue.

BELL PEPPErS A n y B Er ry

organic milk and dairy has not been treated with growth hormones or antibiotics that are often

Gr APES

present in non-organic products. But if you can’t afford organic milk, opt for skim because chemicals tend to accumulate in the fat that’s present in dairy products.

SPI n ACH BUTTEr & CHEESE

it’s better to buy organic meats because the USDA regulates that organic livestock and poultry be fed only organic food, given time outdoors and not kept in confined quarters.

MILK r E D M E AT P O U LT r y

Foods not to Bother Buying organic

A S PA r AG U S AvO C A D O BrOCCOLI BAnAnA PInEAPPLE BrEADS & P A S TA PAC K AG E D ITEMS DrIED FrUIT OnIOnS SEAFOOD

| 30 |

Emerald Magazine

Foods that are peeled or have thick skin are safer. Pesticides aren’t found in

significant levels in asparagus, avocado, broccoli or cauliflower. Pesticides reside mainly on the surface or outer layers of the fruit or vegetable.

processed or packaged foods have less nutritional value than fresh foods,

whether they are organic or not. These products are simply not worth the routinely higher prices.

seafood isn’t always safe. Because the

USDA has not developed steady guidelines for seafood, it’s just as likely to contain mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls, or highly toxic industrial compounds that are sometimes found in the fatty tissues of fish, as conventionally caught or farmed fish.

in general, it’s always better to buy organic. The point here is that buying organic can be expensive, so it’s better to concentrate your organic purchases on the foods that count the most. Happy eating!

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UOgreen

2. Reduce paper use Double-sided copies; electronic communication; reuse mailers.

3. Turn off lights when not in use 4. Turn off computers & monitors when done 5. Buy products containing recycled content

Kick Butts

Breathe Free

6. Bike, walk, carpool or take the bus

• 86% of UO students agree that the right to breathe clean air should take precedence over the right to smoke.*

7. Conserve water Running water wastes 11 gallons per minute!

• 69% of UO students report they had been bothered by secondhand smoke on UO campus.* • 18.7% of UO students have been diagnosed with asthma.* (*National College Health Assessment, spring 2007)

Clean Air Project’s mission: To eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke by creating a smoke-free campus.

8. Regulate your own temperature Wear sweaters in the winter. Open windows as needed.

Show your support: • Sign a card at the Peer Health Office (1st floor of Health Center) stating why UO needs to go smoke-free • Join our Facebook group at http://healthed.uoregon.edu Over 200 campuses have gone smoke- or tobacco-free, including: University of Arkansas; ALL of Iowa’s public colleges and universities; University of North Dakota; Portland Community Colleges; Indiana University; University of Kentucky; Minnesota State University.

9. Avoid using disposable products Refill water bottles, coffee cups; reuse plates and utensils.

10. Recycle & compost Help reduce greenhouse gas production.

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The independent student newspaper at the University of Oregon

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odds ‘n ends

| Organic truth | Go green | Power of the pedal | Taxes made easy |

how to:

go green & be a college student Sustainability isn’t just for hippies. With a few quick changes to your daily routine, it’s easy for any student to live a more sustainable life. These tips can help you break your bad habits and reduce your impact on the environment. Maybe you’ll even save a few bucks in the process.

Tip: An apple a day keeps the doctor away — and locally grown, organic apples keep your conscious clean, too. not all conventionally grown produce is bad, though. For a quick reference guide, check out page 30.

lecture notes

BAD HABIT: Printing out 20 pages of slides for every class.

EASy FIX: Do you ever look at them after you print them out?

Maybe, but not more then once or twice, right? They’re often provided conveniently in PDF format on the Internet, so why not look online? If you print them out before class to take notes on, consider bringing your laptop to class instead. If you insist on printing them, make sure to print double-sided with more than one slide per sheet. Then, recycle, recycle, recycle!

textbooks & class packets

BAD HABIT: Hanging onto your textbooks because you can’t resell them and tossing your class packets in the trash because it’s easy and convenient.

EASy FIX: recycle both of them.

They’re made of biodegradable paper and there’s a bin in the bookstore where you can donate your textbooks to people who might really need them.

school supplies

BAD HABIT: Buying separate notebooks for each class every term. Also, the tendency to buy more Post-its, pens, pencils and highlighters than anyone could ever use.

EASy FIX: Buy one notebook with subject dividers and use only it until it runs out. Buy one package of each thing you need, and don’t replace them until you run out. Also, buy wooden pencils because they’re biodegradable and made of a renewable resource. Mechanical pencils are plastic and are made of oil products, and when you lose them or they break, they are a scourge on the environment.

Emerald Magazine

One step at a time. Being a college student is stressful enough — carrying the weight of saving the world can feel like a burden. remember that even small changes make a difference.

It doesn’t have to break the bank. A common misconception is that being more sustainable means spending more money. While higher quality products might cost a little more, buying in bigger quantities and making careful purchasing decisions can save time and money in the long run.

| 33 |

odds ‘n ends

| Organic truth | Go green | Power of the pedal | Taxes made easy |

Showering

Bad habit: Taking long showers wastes a lot of water.

EASY Fix: If you can’t give up 30-minute showers, and the thought of showering every other day isn’t appealing, purchase a low-flow showerhead for your shower. Low-flow showerheads reduce the energy expenditure and cost of heating water while lowering the amount of water used during a shower.

Cigarettes

Beauty products Bad habit: Using beauty products full of chemicals. Not only do many of the chemicals used in beauty products — such as cosmetics, fragrances and hair care — damage the environment, they also pose a threat to consumer health. Some of the chemicals used in these products, such as coal tar ingredients found in many hair dyes, have been linked to cancer.

Easy Fix: Buy products made from all-natural organic ingredients such as products with botanical-based formulas. Avoid buying products with artificial fragrances, flavors, coloring or mineral oils. Also, look for products that come in biodegradable packaging instead of non-renewable plastics, and that are not tested on animals.

Be careful: Labels can be deceiving.

Beverage containers

BAD HABIT: Using disposable cups for water, coffee, tea and other beverages.

EASY FIX: Let’s face it: Everyone needs fluids to maintain homeostasis, but that doesn’t mean you need to get a new bottle of Evian every time you decide you’re thirsty. Plastic bottles take up a large volume of landfill space.

There are inexpensive, reusable and nice metal containers you can buy for under 15 bucks. In Oregon, tap water is just as good as bottled water, and it will save you money. Tip: keep multiple reusable cups at your place of work and in your car so you have a backup if you forget.

| 34 |

Emerald Magazine

Food

Bad habit: Purchasing individually wrapped food.

Excessive packaging is wasteful, and much of the materials used to package the food are not easily recyclable.

Easy Fix: Buy food in bulk and store it in durable containers.

Not only are you making the world a greener place, you also get more food for your buck.

Lunchtime

BAD HABIT: Eating out most days, or buying snacks and drinks on the go.

EASY FIX: Packing your own lunch or eating at home can save lots of food waste in packaging and disposable plating. Not to mention when you prepare your own food, you can ensure you buy local and organic. Get a reusable sandwich container and pack a banana to hold you over ‘til you get home. An average lunch and snack, when purchased on the go, costs about $10. A packed lunch can be as little as $2. You do the math.

Bad habit: Cigarettes are full of chemicals that should not be in the atmosphere — tar, rat poison, etc.. Throwing the butts on the ground or in a body of water is awful, and the plastic on the packages is not going to decompose anytime soon.

Easy Fix: The best thing is to just not smoke at all. But if you’re still going to smoke, roll your own. It produces less trash (butts) and puts fewer chemicals in the air. At the very least, if you’re going to smoke those Marlboros, throw the butts in a trash can or ashtray — end of story.

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odds ‘n ends

| Organic truth | Go green | Power of the pedal | Taxes made easy |

Power of the pedal T

housands of students, faculty and community members enhance their personal health and fitness at the University of Oregon’s Student Recreation Center. With all this activity, we find ourselves wondering — how much energy could the rec center produce with human power? While the rec center doesn’t currently have a plan to become more innovative with its energy conservation, it’s not hard to imagine how the contributions of modern technology and “thinking green” have the potential to benefit our bodies and the environment.

The rec center has 40 stationary bikes that have the potential to generate anywhere from 50-70 watts per half hour depending on the effort levels of the person pedaling.

There are environmentally friendly and cost-effective ways to assemble electricity-converting

A generator can be hooked up to a stationary bike to produce energy for as little as $20.

Joseph Bomber

generators for these bikes. Adam Boesel, owner and founder of the Green Microgym in Portland, Ore., said that hooking up generators to stationary bikes is cheap and easy. “Any motor can be a generator and the concept is based on wind,” explains Boesel.

“As long as the motor is spinning, you are generating energy.”

Boesel has installed generators for as little as $20 at Green Microgym.

Energy produced from a single

5

workout session can generate enough electricity to power a light bulb for one hour. The more bikes in use, the more energy that can be produced. Boesel’s system, for example, generates about 1000 watts (one kilowatt) of electricity that is saved in a battery and used to power TV and entertainment systems in the gym.

University student and avid cyclist Megan Frankel thinks this possibility for the rec center could

tips for filing your taxes UNDERSTAND YOUR RESIDENCY It may seem straightforward to determine if you are an Oregon resident, but when it comes to determining residency for tax purposes, it can get a little dicey.

Your residency status in Oregon determines which form you use to file your taxes.

Full-year resident: You are a full-year resident in Oregon if you live in the state during the entire course of the year.

Or, if you are living outside of Oregon, but all of the following apply: you think of Oregon as your permanent home; your core financial, social and family life are in Oregon; and you plan on returning to Oregon after you are away. The Oregon Department of Revenue says an individual with a mailing address in Oregon with a valid Oregon driver license also may be considered an Oregon resident for tax purposes.

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Emerald Magazine

Part-year resident: It is also possible to be considered a part-year Oregon resident if you moved into, or out of, Oregon during the tax year.

Nonresident: You are considered a nonresident if your permanent home is outside of Oregon all year. However, even if you have a permanent residence outside of Oregon but you worked in the state, the income you earned is taxable.

CHECK YOUR DEPENDENCY STATUS If your parents claim you as a dependent, you cannot claim yourself. If someone else claims you as a dependent, it affects both your exemptions and standard deduction, which is a dollar amount that reduces the amount of income that is taxed.

The Oregon Department of Revenue encourages students to discuss their dependency status with anyone who could poten-

be a small step toward energy conservation. “This is an amazing opportunity for our generation to contribute,” says Frankel. “ I would pedal faster not only to benefit myself, but to benefit our campus.”

Physical education instructor Susan Graham looks forward to seeing progress in upcoming advancements that could increase the amount of energy produced by the pedal. “I think that the idea of charging the batteries with pedal power is fun ... with more research, it will be something special.”

Boesel thinks the rec center should start working on this conversion process right away.

“We have two choices, we can either continue to waste energy or figure out ways to limit use.”

The possibilities to store energy in the rec center still remain untapped. But making one small change could benefit and support a worldwide cause of energy conservation.

— M a r i a B au m

Be daring, file your own taxes this year. It’s not as hard as it seems, really. Here are a few pointers for students to prepare their own taxes before the April 15 deadline.

tially claim them. The department says it is a common mistake among students to claim independency when someone else is actually providing them with enough assistance to claim them as a dependent. To find out if you should claim yourself, visit http://www.irs.gov/faqs/ index.html.

DON’T WRITE OFF YOUR TUITION AND FEES DEDUCTION TWICE A common mistake made among student tax filers is to deduct their tuition and fees on both their federal tax returns and their Oregon tax returns.

The thing to remember here is simple: either/or, not both.

MAKE SURE YOU DON’T OWE MONEY Because most students work in a W-2 situation, it is likely that many will be in a refund situation for their taxes. However,

if you think you may owe tax money, the Oregon Department of Revenue says it is essential to have your taxes in by the April 15 deadline. If your taxes are not in by deadline and you owe money, you will be subject to penalties and interest.

FILE ELECTRONICALLY The Oregon Department of Revenue says filing online limits the errors that students make because the online system asks specific questions to keep people on track. You can file your taxes online for free if your annual income earnings are less than $56,000 or if you younger than 20 years of age.

Resources: More on residency guidelines www.oregon.gov/DOR/ Find your form www.oregon.gov/DOR/ PERTAX/faq-qa_forms.shtml — R e be cc a Wool i ngton

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l a s t w o r d | Vegetarianism |

An industry

of pollution wor d s Allie G r asg r een i l lu st r at ion patr ick fi n n e y

T

his is not an essay about animal rights.

Yes, I like animals — even the less charismatic ones. Yes, I don’t eat meat because I see serious ethical issues in the way the industry operates, but there’s more to it than that. There are environmental travesties that are not being addressed because it is less expensive and more convenient to continue living with the status quo.

But in the face of the most immense environmental challenge in history, one that has already given us a glimpse of its wrath and has a great deal more in store, the status quo is no longer acceptable.

We need to get off our lazy asses and do more.

Which is why we should all be vegetarians.

It’s really not as radical as it sounds. In less prosperous times, of course, eating meat two or three times a day was nothing more than a fantasy.

But because mass meat consumption is so ingrained in our culture today, the repercussions are an afterthought — if they’re even a thought at all.

Industrial livestock production accounts for 18 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions — more than the transport sector — eight percent of world water use, and is likely the largest sectoral water pollution source, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization.

The term “livestock production” may sound odd, because, after all, should we really be “producing” livestock? The corporate images of happy cows and chickens going about their days on the farm certainly don’t suggest production; they suggest old school, family farming where resources are used wisely and livestock are raised responsibly. No, the public faces of these corporations feature no indication of the environmental degradation and breeches of ethics going on behind closed doors.

The numbers are staggering, but few people consider them.

For starters, America’s 100 million beef cattle consume 60 percent of American commodity corn, which is grown using pesticides and fertilizer whose massive nitrogen runoff disrupts marine ecosystems. Factory farms, officially called CAFOs, or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, have normalized the feeding of corn to cattle, making the

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Emerald Magazine

production process, and consequently the finished product, extremely cheap.

However, it is costly in other ways: The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 20 percent of anthropogenic methane emissions from 2004 can be attributed to livestock’s digestion of cheap feed. Traditionally, cows and farms have a symbiotic relationship in which cows graze on grass, fertilize it with manure, and the sun grows the grass back again.

These days, cows are fed corn (with the assistance of myriad drugs and antibiotics, the corn accelerates the growth process, bringing livestock to slaughter weight in a third of the time), and they don’t graze; instead they are confined in pens with hundreds of others.

Antibiotics keep rampant disease from killing off the cattle (and pigs and chickens) but they also produce disease-resistant bacteria that we ingest.

Not only is forcing livestock to live in their own feces disgusting, it’s also dangerous. The bacteria in the manure, including E. coli, can move from feces, to cow hide, to hamburger. Once it needs to be cleared out, the manure is typically transported from the animal confinement facility to a nearby tank or lagoon where it decomposes and releases hazardous hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, carbon dioxide and methane.

And then there’s the oil. More factory farms means fewer family farms, which means more meat being transported over long distances. Plus, with the rate at which cattle are fed corn, about 25 pounds a day, it is estimated that each cow consumes the equivalent of 35 gallons of oil. Multiply that by 100 million cattle — well, you do the math.

So. What to do?

We like meat, but we don’t need meat.

If you can’t quit, that’s OK. You can still cut back, or at least pay attention to where you’re buying your meats; some are more sustainable than others.

But if we were all vegetarians, think of the difference it would make.

It’s something to consider.

Every Saturday Night

free cookie or muffin

If you’ve never done Argentine Tango before, please come at 8pm

with the purchase of a loaf of bread

The Tango Center 194 West Broadway downtown Eugene

Great Harvest Bread Co. 2564 Willamette St. 541-345-5398

A non-profit community center dedicated to the music & dance of Argentine Tango

No partner necessary • $7 All Ages 22368

Coupon

Tango social dance from 9pm-1am

www.tangocenter.org

Must present coupon at time of purchase.

Expires March 25, 2009

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St. Thomas More Newman Center 1850 Emerald Street • 346-4468

www.uonewman.org

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Tango

Introduction to Tango class at 8pm

2345 W. BROADWAY, EUGENE 681-3260

G L A S S

Mass Schedule 5 p.m.

Wednesday

8 – 8:45 p.m. Student Reconciliation 9 p.m. Student Mass

Saturday

5 p.m. Vigil

Sunday

9 a.m., 11 a.m., 7:30 p.m. Student Mass

Sacrament of Reconciliation

4 – 4:45 p.m. Saturdays or by appt.

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