STEPHEN MICHAEL – On August 19, 2013, the Main Street Alliance of Oregon released their most recent report, Voices of Main Street, which challenges conventional perceptions of rural small business owners’ thoughts on key policy issues. It details responding business owners’ views on economic, tax, immigration and health care issues facing Oregon and the nation.
U.S. Plans Nuclear Missile Tests Around International Day of Peace and UN High-Level Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament
NUCLEAR AGE PEACE FOUNDATION – Two dates this month have special significance to those who want to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons: the International Day of Peace (September 21) and the UN High-Level Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament (September 26). Instead of honoring the significance of these dates and working in good faith to achieve nuclear disarmament, the United States has chosen to schedule two tests of its Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile on September 22 and September 26.
Something in the Air: Lead Poisoning from Aircraft Fuel
MICHAEL BEHAR – The health risks of leaded gasoline are a thing of the past, right? Wrong. While jets and turboprops run on kerosene-based fuels, the majority of general aviation aircraft are piston-powered and consume aviation gasoline, or avgas. Populations close to “general aviation†airports (a term that covers nearly all types of flight activity except scheduled commercial passenger service) suffer the consequences of exposure to the lead in avgas.
Health Co-Ops Pave the Way for Change in Oregon
CHRIS THOMAS – In less than two months, Oregonians who need to shop for health coverage will be able to find and compare plans in the new health insurance marketplace, called Cover Oregon.
New Waste Slashing Energy Legislation Promises Savings, Jobs
AMERICAN COUNCIL FOR AN ENERGY-EFFICIENT ECONOMY (ACEEE) – Proposed bipartisan energy efficiency legislation has the potential to save the nation billions while creating domestic jobs and reducing energy waste, according to a new analysis released today by ACEEE.
The Real Culprit in Syria: Climate Change
WILLIAM R. POLK – Underlying the political situation in Syria is an economic and ecological disaster resulting from climate change. As more and more people competed for scarce jobs, food and other resources, they became desperate and their desperation led inexorably to war. Military support for neither side of the conflict will address its root causes.