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Greenwashing:
public relations boosterism
What is greenwash?
Concise Oxford English Dictionary, Tenth Edition
greenwash (n):
"Disinformation disseminated by an organisation so as to present an environmentally responsible public image.
Derivatives greenwashing. Origin from green on the pattern of whitewash."
Ecocentrism:
Eugene not "number one Green City"
"World's Greatest City of
the Arts & Outdoors"
world's most absurd slogan
TREES:
Transportation, Energy,
Environment, Sustainability |
TRANSPORTATION
after Peak Oil
WETLANDS Alternative:
West Eugene Transportation,
Land and Neighborhood
Design Solutions
West Eugene Collaborators:
Bypassing Sustainability:
Planes, Trains, Automobiles
Green Building & Boondoggles
ENVIRONMENT
Protection and Restoration
- ecoforestry:
selective logging to restore tree farms to forests
no clearcuts or biocides,
value added products
- green business, clean industry
myco and bioremediation,
- zero discharge
ban toxics to protect public health
carbohydrate
economy, no petrochemicals
- reduce garbage: waste is a terrible thing to mind
- intelligent (urban) design:
beauty not ugliness
(prevent strip mauls, billboards)
Polluted Air and Water
- Clearcutting the Cascades
& Coast Range
- Aerial Herbicides blanket our forests
- Slash pile burning - a huge waste of trees
- Toxic Eugene:
Plywood glue factories
Railroad pollution
wood preserving
- Grass Seed Capital of the World:
Pollen and Smoke Pollution
- Nano-pollution info at oilempire.us
ENERGY
for the Year 2025
Region 2050 & limits to growth
- build solar panel and wind turbine
factories
- convert grass seed farms to grow
biofuels
- require passive solar design in
building codes
- relocalize production to reduce
consumption
(fewer delivery trucks)
- retrofit buildings: conservation
& renewables
- initiatives for sustainable jobs after Peak Oil
SUSTAINABILITY
is not efficiency, it is zero petroleum
- paradigm shifts: psychological and political
- beyond boom and bust: steady state
economy
- local food security,
more community
gardens,
teach gardening skills at neighborhood levels,
protect farm soils
from "development"
regional inventories of food production and
processing
- economic stability needs democratic
decisions,
Campaign Finance Reform
- public health: single payer health
care
- support local economy:
strengthen
local businesses,
build downtown Farmers Market
not Whole Foods predator,
ban big box megastores & franchises
Human Rights City?
- Chinese Olympics
- June 1, 1997:
pepper spray used on
peaceful protestors
- rapist cops convicted of felonies
- scaring toddlers
- tasers
greenwash groups:
Activist Malpractice
Disasters:
preventative, permaculture perspectives
Disaster Mitigation and Land Use:
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Eugene needs intelligent (urban) design
Hospitals, Earthquakes, Floods,
and Lahars
Troubled Bridges Over Water:
the I-5 bridge crisis
West Eugene sprawl in floodplains: WEP, Target megastore, Royal Node
subdivision
The Long Emergency:
Peak Oil and
Climate Collapse require paradigm shift
Katrina disaster shows the Federal
government response: we are on our own
Eugene: the bubble
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this page is under construction
Ugliness and Beauty
driving on the WEP would be more visually pleasant than driving past the West
11th strip malls ... but would ruin the landscape
"little boxes on the hillside"
West 11th strip mauls
Gateway / Beltline
Coburg Road
Springfield Main Street / Springfield lighting
Former Mayors Jim Torrey and Brian Obie were in the billboard industry, and
the landscape of Eugene suffers as a result. Late in Torrey's second term, a
large billboard (with Torrey's corporate logo at the bottom) magically appeared
facing the Washington-Jefferson bridge off ramp.
Now that Eugene has a mayor not connected to what is euphemistically called
the "outdoor advertising" industry, the City has the opportunity to
prevent further uglification. Here are several suggestions for coping with this
problem.
1. Ban Billboards
The State of Vermont prohibits billboards, since their natural beauty is
an important asset. The highway department allows small signs to provide public
notices for upcoming shops is sufficient to indicate destinations for motorists.
2. Moratorium on more billboards
A less controversial, but less effective approach would be to ban further
construction of more billboards -- we already have more than enough.
3. Ban lighting of billboards
It is absurd that non-renewable coal and natural gas are being burned so
that billboards can be lit, forcing everyone to see their messages (whether
you want to or not).
4. Dark Sky Association recommendations for lighting
The least intrusive restriction on billboards would be to mandate the guidelines
from the International Dark Sky Association (www.darksky.org), a group of
astronomers fighting light pollution. These standards require lights to be
pointed downward, not upward, so that pointless light pollution of the heavens
is prevented.
uglification - Wal-Mart / Target / Home Depot |
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