AltWeeklies Wire
Back to Nature: Naked Blackberry Whacking and Other Earth Day Delightsnew

The mission of the Glassbar Island Volunteers is to create and maintain a peaceful, nurturing symbiosis between the natural habitat and the nudists who enjoy it.
Eugene Weekly |
Camilla Mortensen |
04-22-2010 |
Environment
Tags: Glassbar Island, Earth Day
License to Lie: Criminals Lie, but So Do Police Officersnew

Police officers don’t have to tell you the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth — not while they’re trying to arrest you, investigate you or even while they’re interviewing you. There are times they do have to tell the truth, and there are times when lying becomes entrapment, and that’s not legal.
Eugene Weekly |
Camilla Mortensen |
01-21-2010 |
Crime & Justice
What's all the Dam Fuss? The Army Corps Plays with Willamette's Water Flowsnew

The Army Corps of Engineers teaming up with The Nature Conservancy to change the way the river flows as part of their “Sustainable Rivers Project." The alliance will experiment with the way the Corps manages flows of water from the dams to see if it might alter the future for the fish and the river’s ecosystem. With TNC’s reputation for bowing to big business and the Corps’ bedraggled renown for bad projects like the “monumental negligence” that led to the flooding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, it’s hard not to look at that particular pairing without some skepticism. But can the unlikely pairing improve the river, or is the Sustainable Rivers Project a greenwash scheme to make dammed rivers look better?
Eugene Weekly |
Camilla Mortensen |
12-03-2009 |
Environment
Democracy is Messy: Amy Goodman Works to Clean Up Dirty Politicsnew

Amy Goodman both writes the headlines and has been in the headlines as one of best-known independent media journalists on the frontlines of the news, and as an outspoken critic of U.S. policy and politicians.
Eugene Weekly |
Camilla Mortensen |
11-19-2009 |
Media
Fajardo's Fight: Taking on Big Oil in Ecuadornew

Pablo Fajardo is the David in a David and Goliath-esque case pitting Ecuadorian Indians and mestizos against major American oil companies.
Eugene Weekly |
Natalie Miller and Camilla Mortensen |
08-13-2009 |
Environment
Tags: Amazon, Pablo Fajardo, rainforest, Texaco, environment, business, pollution, international, Chevron, Ecuador, Big Oil
Killing Fields: Field Burning's Deadly Legacynew

The fiery death in 1988 of novelist William Wharton's daughter, her husband and baby girls is probably the grimmest reminder of the dangers of field burning smoke. Today the fight to ban the burn continues in Oregon.
Eugene Weekly |
Camilla Mortensen |
06-18-2009 |
Environment
Lawsuits and Tree-Sits Surround Oregon Bureau's Proposal to Lognew

A tree-sit has gone up in an Oregon forest where the state Bureau of Land Management proposes to log Fall Creek, an old-growth forest that has been successfully defended by tree-sitters time and time again.
Eugene Weekly |
Camilla Mortensen |
06-11-2009 |
Environment
Did the University of Oregon Fire a Professor for Alleging Racism?new
University of Oregon professor Paula Rogers filed a grievance alleging racism on the part of another faculty member, and she says it cost her the job in 2005. Now she has filed a $500,000 lawsuit in state and federal courts alleging racism and retaliation by the UO.
Eugene Weekly |
Camilla Mortensen |
03-22-2009 |
Education
Pigs Gone Wild: Feral Swine are Tearing it Up in Oregonnew

Call them swine, hogs, pigs or boars, call them what you want, but Oregon calls them an invasive species and has come up with a Feral Swine Action Plan to get rid of the porky pests.
Eugene Weekly |
Camilla Mortensen |
02-05-2009 |
Animal Issues
They Save Horses, Don't They? Equines and the Economynew

The downturn in the economy is not only hitting families; it's hitting the animals those families own and love. Equines are among the most expensive of pets, and horse owners are starting to feel the brunt of high prices and lost jobs.
Eugene Weekly |
Camilla Mortensen |
12-18-2008 |
Animal Issues
Oregon Eco-Activist Sent to Secretive New Prisonnew

The federal government has begun creating special prison units for terrorists, and eco-saboteur Daniel McGowan has been sent to the newest "communication management unit" (CMU) in Marion, Ill., possibly in retaliation for his continued environmental activism while behind bars.
Eugene Weekly |
Camilla Mortensen |
12-07-2008 |
Civil Liberties
Attacking Ecocrimes: Stomping Out Oregon's Pollutersnew

Oregon has a history of not enforcing its environmental laws, allowing industries to pollute its air and water with barely a slap on the wrist. There have been bigger penalties given for growing cannabis than for emitting toxic gases. Is Oregon's new attorney general going to change that?
Eugene Weekly |
Camilla Mortensen |
11-26-2008 |
Environment
Who's Running the University of Oregon?new
A inquiry to the Oregon Attorney General's reveals the University of Oregon hasn't been governing itself legally, according to state law, in 30 years.
Eugene Weekly |
Camilla Mortensen |
11-21-2008 |
Education
Speak Softly and Throw a Big Sticknew

Cesar Milan (aka the Dog Whisperer) talks pit bulls and racism while he rehabilitates "El Diablo" the most vicious Chihuahua in Oregon.
Eugene Weekly |
Camilla Mortensen |
08-28-2008 |
Animal Issues
Why is Homeland Security Watching Eugene's Activists?new
The Department of Homeland Security's monitoring of a peaceful anti-pesticide group led to the arrest and violent Tasering of a 19-year-old university student by local police.
Eugene Weekly |
Camilla Mortensen |
06-26-2008 |
Civil Liberties