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COMING UP ON Think Out Loud.
The General Election is Coming
We'll be heading to the Democratic and Republican Conventions at the end of the summer. What pressing questions should we ask the Oregon Democratic and Republican delegates? Are there any particular issues we should pay special attention to as we lead up to November? Let us know — your input will help shape the election coverage to come.
Forests on a Diet
Posted by Emily Harris on Thu, Aug 7
Is thinning the happy ending to the forest wars? After fights over timber harvests came to a head in the 1990s, logging was dramatically reduced and there were pretty hard feelings all around. Eventually, some environmentalist groups and timber communities sat down to talk. Now many agree that forests both east and west of the Cascades need some trees taken out. In the drier east, big concerns are insect infestation and fire. In the moist woods of the west, former clearcuts replanted with a single species of seedlings are now seen as too dense for overall forest heath.
Thinning is part of a forest management approach called stewardship. Collins Company in Lakeview just won a ten year stewardship contract with the US Forest Service. The deal means Collins pays the Forest Service for commercially useable timber it thins from the Fremont-Winema National Forest. In turn, the Forest Service uses that money to pay Collins to stabilize roads, remove culverts and clear brush in the same forest. Thinning is not expected to ever generate the income logging did, but as part of this shift of timber practices, Collins invested millions in a mill that could speedily handle logs down to four inches in diameter and is planning a biomass plant to convert forest “thinnings” into energy. This is only the second ten-year stewardship contract the Forest Service has signed and it's brought an increased sense of stability to the mill.
But not all thinning is created equal, and not all environmental groups support it. Some timber sales deemed thins by the Forest Service are still contested in court. This trend of forest management has fans in Congress. But even among those environmental and industry groups who are willing to work together now to thin and restore the forests, there are different visions for what our national forests should look like and be used for fifty years from now.
Do you live in a logging community or one that has depended on timber in the past? Have you participated in any community dialogs including environmental groups and industry on forest management? Do you feel we’re at a point now where “we all can get along” and agree on forest policy - or is the consensus, well, too thin?
Photo credit: Emily Harris
Show airs Monday, Aug. 11
Blowin' in the Wind
Posted by Chelsea Davis on Thu, Aug 7
According to a report by the American Wind Energy Association, the U.S. has recently surpassed Germany as the leading producer of wind energy worldwide this year. That same organization says that Oregon is the seventh-ranked state in the nation in terms of its installed wind capacity. And just last week, the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council approved plans for a new wind farm in Shepherd’s Flat which, if completed, would more than double the state’s current wind energy megawatt capacity.
While the Shepherd’s Flat project would join numerous other wind farms along the Columbia River Basin*, the next frontier for wind power in Oregon may be the state’s southeastern region. At least two major wind companies are looking into projects ranging from the Stinkingwater Mountains to the Pueblo Mountains.
Wind turbines’ potential impact on the surrounding environment and bird, salmon and human populations have drawn some criticism of wind farm projects in the past. However, a relatively new focus of concern over wind power seems to be how the energy will be incorporated into the current power grid, which some say may not have the capacity or geographic spread to handle an influx of wind megawatts from southeastern Oregon. Proponents say that the importance of expanding wind power's reach outweighs this potential risk.
Is there a place for a major wind power presence in Oregon? How will wind farms in the Southeast integrate with the power sources already in place in our state? What hopes or concerns do you have about wind energy’s impact on your community?
GUESTS:
- Ken Dragoon: Research director for Renewable Northwest Project
- Chris Taylor: Director of development for Horizon Wind Energy
- Eric Rosenbloom: Founder of Vermonters with Vision
Photo credit: slworking2 / Flickr / Creative Commons
Show aired Friday, Aug. 8
Bend Meet-Up Reminder for August 7th
Posted by Lizzy Caston on Wed, Aug 6
Bring yourselves, your friends and your family! We just wanted to remind you that Think Out Loud is hosting a Bend Meet-Up tomorrow, Thursday August 7th. We'd love for you to attend to enjoy complimentary food and beverages and loads of lively conversation.
We are even handing out t-shirts to the first few guests, so get there early. We are meeting from 5-7 PM at:
Silver Moon Brewing
24 NW Greenwood Ave.
Bend, OR 97701
What's a Think Out Loud Meet-up? Think of it as a casual way to meet and mingle with other Think Out Loud listeners. This is also your opportunity to provide us with feedback about the show, suggest future show ideas and anything else on your mind. David Miller, the online host of Think Out Loud and Ethan Lindsey, OPB's Central Oregon correspondent will be there too. So come on down...
If you want to RSVP or have any questions, please feel free to drop us a line at thinkoutloud (((at))) opb (((dot))) org. See you there!
Do You Know This Girl?
Posted by Eve Epstein on Wed, Aug 6
Dorothea Lange's photographs of people struggling during the Great Depression come down to us like ghosts from another time. But the youngest people in her photos may well still be alive today, and they can tell us the stories behind her black and white images of hard times.
Lange worked for the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s, documenting the lives of farmers searching for better land, and others caught up in the great displacements of that era.
For an upcoming show about Lange's work in the Pacific Northwest, we're interested in tracking down some of the folks in her photos. But since many came from families who were passing through Oregon and Washington, or who were not named in her notes, finding them is tricky.
So we're harnessing the power of the Think Out Loud web community. Do you know any of the people in the Library of Congress photos linked below? Are they relatives, or former neighbors, or people you heard about growing up? Do you know somebody who might have a lead?
Write us in the thread here, or email us at thinkoutloud (((at))) opb (((dot))) org if you have any information to pass along.
Some photos to get you started:
Chris Adolph, his wife, six of their eight children and his teams, Yakima Valley, Washington
Young mother, 25, says "Next year we'll be painted," near Klamath Falls, Oregon
The Arnold children and their mother on newly fenced and newly cleared land Michigan Hill, Thurston County, Western Washington
Photo credit: Library of Congress
August Ideas
Posted by David Miller on Tue, Aug 5
With a new(ish) month, a new thread for show suggestions. We got a number of interesting ideas in July, including this one.
Read a fascinating article? Had a good conversation over dinner? Observed a trend in the Northwest? If any of it strikes you as the basis for an hour of lively radio, let us know. We're always hungry for more ideas.
Talking PC in a Post-PC Age?
Posted by David Miller on Tue, Aug 5
We got an interesting suggestion about political correctness in our July "Suggest a Show" thread. MeanMachine2 wrote:
I would very much like to hear a discussion on the impact "political correctness" has on the lack of open and honest discussion in the public square. My personal experience indicates large numbers of people only verbalize their heart felt deespest beliefs, if ever, among their closest and like-minded family and friends who frequently share such feelings and beliefs. This, I believe, contributes to a lack of learning and evolution of our thoughts and feelings on a wide range of social and political issues. For example, I was a very strong supporter of Al Gore's presidential campaign. I learned a great deal in my visits to Lack Oswego and Clackamas County talking to Republicians to understand why they were opposed to Al Gore. It was not only very educational but enjoyable as well. For the record, I have been an independent for the vast majority of my adult life after having been a Democrat and a Republican. Or is it not politically correct to talk about political correctness?
I was struck by this comment, because in a lot of ways "political correctness" seems like an old-fashioned phrase -- more 90's than 00's -- now that "post-PC" has gained currency.
Is there an hour of radio here? How exactly does political correctness affect your social or political conversations these days? What are you less likely to talk about in public? What do you think others are? And where does this self-censorship come from?
View more posts in the Think Out Loud archive.
