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Greenwashing: public relations boosterism What is greenwash? Ecocentrism:
Eugene not "number one Green City"
TRANSPORTATION after Peak Oil WETLANDS Alternative:
West Eugene Collaborators:
Bypassing Sustainability:
Green Building & Boondoggles
ENVIRONMENT
Polluted Air and Water
ENERGY Region 2050 & limits to growth
SUSTAINABILITY
Human Rights City?
greenwash groups:
Disasters: preventative, permaculture perspectives
Disaster Mitigation and Land Use:
The Long Emergency: Katrina disaster shows the Federal government response: we are on our own Eugene: the bubble
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The Multi-Hazard study suggests that the main danger from a potential volcanic eruption for Eugene would be a mud flow down the McKenzie River valley from the South Sister. Eugene and Springfield are too far away from any volcano to risk the heat of an eruption, although McKenzie Bridge and Sisters might need to be evacuated if South Sister woke up from its thousand year sleep. A wintertime eruption would probably cause severe flooding from the sudden melting of the snowpack, and a summertime eruption could cause forest fires on the scale of the 2002 “Biscuit” fire. During the 1980 Mt. St. Helens eruption, a large lahar - an Indonesia word for volcanic mudflow - cascaded down the Toutle River, destroying structures and causing a large proportion of the total damage. While there’s probably not much that could be done to protect the communities of the McKenzie River valley from mud floods (other than evacuation), the Eugene / Springfield metro area needs to do 2 things. First, it is important to ensure that there are viable contingency plans for relocating drinking water intakes from the McKenzie to the Middle Fork reservoirs (should that ever be required). Second, plans to build a large regional hospital at the “Riverbend” on the McKenzie River should be permanently blocked, since a South Sister lahar could cover the proposed Peace Health site. Unfortunately, the City of Springfield allowed this planning disaster to go forward, and the hospital is now under construction. One benefit of the South Sister lahar is it might result in filling up the humongous gravel pits along the Willamette / McKenzie confluence, accelerating the process of river restoration.
www.registerguard.com/news/2003/10/26/ol.volcano.1026.html
Lane County could be economically impacted by eruptions from other major Cascade volcanos, several of which could disrupt or destroy key road and rail connections.
Mt. Hood, the tallest volcano in Oregon, could threaten I-84 with mudflows and / or hot ashes (depending on the severity of the eruption), and would probably destroy the main drinking water source for Portland (that would have economic reverberations for the whole State of Oregon).
Mt. Rainier (Tahoma) poses the largest lahar risks for any Cascadian volcano, which has made extremely large mud flows in previous millennia. A number of cities downstream of the mountain would be engulfed by the lahars should a large eruption melt Rainier’s glaciers, which could sever I-5 and the main north-south rail lines for an extended period. Mount Rainier has 26 glaciers containing more than five times as much
snow and ice as all the other Cascade volcanoes combined. If only a small
part of this ice were melted by volcanic activity, it would yield enough
water to trigger enormous lahars. Mount Rainier's potential for generating
destructive mudflows is enhanced by its great height above surrounding
valleys. .... Scientists estimate that debris flows can travel the distance
between Mount Rainier and the Puget Sound lowland in as little as 30 minutes
to a few hours. About 100,000 people now live in areas that have been
buried by debris flows during the past few thousand years.
Mt. Shasta’s eruptive history includes explosive events -- a repeat would destroy I-5 along the Sacramento River canyon and the rail line. (The town of Mt. Shasta is built on pyroclastic deposits, a geological term for the hot ash from explosive eruptions.) Fortunately, any of these events would be preceded by a lengthy series of earthquakes that would enable evacuations and other preparations.
http://www.siskiyous.edu/shasta/geo/haz.htm
Spencer Butte, which looks volcanic,
is probably the result of erosion that removed softer rocks over millions
of years. The only danger it poses to the community is from people
setting off fireworks during the summertime, causing a preventable forest
fire. This mountain, and similar basalt buttes in the Willamette
Valley floor (such as Skinner Butte and Gillespie Butte) are between 30
and 35 million years old, http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/Lahars/framework.html - definition
of lahars
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