Environmental issues

need to be prioritized
Most Oregonians might agree that water is one of our most precious natural resources. We need water to irrigate crops, to wash our dishes, to drink — and we enjoy water sports as recreation. Our fresh water provides habitat for countless native species of fish, birds and other animals.
The Willamette River — where 70 percent of Oregonians live and upon which tens of thousands of Oregonians rely as a source of drinking water — is unfortunately the most polluted river west of the Mississippi.
In December 2000, the Environmental Protection Agency declared Portland Harbor — where the Willamette meets Oregon’s other mighty river, the Columbia, in the midst of our state’s largest city — a Superfund site, identifying it as one of the country’s most dangerous and polluted areas.
Fish found in this area and up and down the Willamette have been shown to contain toxins such as mercury, arsenic and cadmium.
It’s time Oregon took these threats to public health and safety and these insults to the natural wonders and resources in our backyards seriously.
Oregon, led by Gov. McCall, restored the Willamette from a similar state 30 years ago, and we can do it again — I urge the next governor of Oregon to make cleaning up the Willamette a top priority, to set an example for other parts of this nation dealing with similar issues and to acknowledge that it is unacceptable in every way to treat our homes in this way.

Lea Goodrich

junior

environmental science