Polluted by Money - How corporate cash corrupted one of the greenest states in America

Albert Kaufman

"In the last four years, Oregon’s most powerful industries have killed, weakened or stalled efforts to deal with climate change, disappearing bird habitat, cancer-causing diesel exhaust, industrial air pollution, oil spill planning and weed killers sprayed from helicopters. What changed Oregon? Money. Lots and lots of money."

The Oregonian had a great 4-part+ series recently about Money in Politics. Here is a link to the articles - required reading for all Oregonians who care about our future.

Over 18 years of living here I keep wondering what's going on in the Oregon legislature. One of my greatest concerns is climate change. It seems obvious to me that we should have stopped clear-cutting all Oregon (and world) forests years ago - and instead be focused on planting as many trees as possible as quickly as possible. We grow trees well in Oregon - and we can also do it without poisoning local communities. Trees that are left standing longer provide more oxygen and many other benefits. All the science to back this up is faced with short-term thinking of investment banking firms that own Oregon forest land. And that's just one of the focii of this incredible 4-part series that the Oregonian reported on this past year. If you're wondering why our state is poisoning itself on a number of fronts, read this series and share it with your friends. This has to change. Money has to come out of Oregon politics so we can deal sensibly with the challenges we face.

Here's how corporate cash is corrupting one of the greenest states in America

And, by the numbers...

Thank you to the Oregonian for this great reporting. In the comments you're welcome to add what you're doing to change this situation. Or, any other thoughts you might have.

By Albert Kaufman June 09, 2019 Posted in in the news, open discussion.