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Here's something I'd like to see in this year's legislative session: passage of SB 525 - moving our state to become the first where there is an opt-in system for telephone books. 500 million phone books are created each year - a vast majority of them never used, but sent to landfills, instead - costing us lots of money. Here's a little cartoon which explains the problem. If you agree that it's time to move to an opt-in system for phonebooks in Oregon, please contact your legislator and express your support for this bill. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOC6PX6uSTQ

posted 2 years, 4 months ago
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It was great to participate in your show.  I would suggest people pick up a copy of the latest edition of Adbusters - http://adbusters.org - to find out more about Buy Nothing Day and the other great thinking that goes on in Adbusters and in that community of activists and thinkers. 

posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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here here on both accounts!

posted 2 years, 7 months ago
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What is the optimum population for Oregon?

Is there any limit?  If so, how do we stabilize or shrink our population accordingly?  

Or, do we just let population growth continue until we're completely gridlocked?

posted 2 years, 7 months ago
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I served as a tutor for a student for a short while recently at one of our local middle schools.  During that time I got a strong sense that life and learning could be greatly enhanced for middle school students through education around nutrition, eating, cooking, gardening and learning how to take care of oneself.  This aspect of education seemed to be sorely lacking in my student’s life as was his lack of access to a decent amount of exercise.  So, I am saddened to learn that the Portland School District is thinking about cutting out PE.  My wish for young people would be extra chances to learn about life through other means than books and sitting in a classroom.  I would recommend adding in more PE, nutrition, health, cooking, urban farming, bike-repair and practical skills helpful for living in our society.  Not that I think the 3 R’s aren’t important, but learning the 3 R’s without having basic information and practice around using and caring for one’s body and one’s health abandons students to learn these things on their own when they could be learning them in school.  Please reconfigure what students learn so that their educations are more rounded and so that they are more prepared to take care of their health earlier (and later!) on in life.

I'd also suggest adding in a healthy dose of medically-accurate comprehensive sex education for students at every grade level. This will lead to a healthy understanding of sex, less teenage pregnancy, less unplanned pregnancies, and again, a better understanding of our bodies and how to care for them.

Thanks for your show.

posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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Freedomworks is not a grass roots organization.  That needs to be mentioned.  Funded by big $ folks like Dick Armey.

I think the Tea Party is a dangerous thing.  It is not good for America it is not good for Oregon. It might be good to get people some better advocating skills, but otherwise, is a serious waste of time and our attention.  The planet, esp. on Earth Day needs discussion on how we're going to continue to survive here together.  Taxes will need to go up, not down.  Tea Party enthusiasts have the ear of our media right now because they're so outrageous.  Well, the solutions to climate change are going to take sacrifice.  Are tea partiers willing to make those sacrifices?  Doesn't look like it to me.  They seem like a group of selfish babies, to tell the truth. 

posted 3 years, 1 month ago
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Criticalthinker, thought you'd find this article about a 5-year moratorium on child-bearing interesting.

  http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-playing-field/200902/the-five-year-ban-because-billion-less-people-is-great-place-start

posted 3 years, 5 months ago
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Sometimes pictures help.  Here is a short movie that depicts what uncontrolled human population growth looks like. 

http://albertideation.com/2009/10/20/worldpopulationvideo/

This video was created by ZPG which is now known as Population Connection, and is one of the main groups working to raise awareness of the issue at hand.  We do this through education: speaking in schools; lobbying Congress for more international family planning funding; supporting more and better sex education in the US; and basically trying to fill the unmet need for contraception in the world (including here in the US). 

There are other great efforts to raise this issue.  One is the Global Population Speak Out.  Another is the Population Media Institute.  The latter has an amazing e-mail list which will keep anyone who wants up to date with world population issues.

I coordinate a group of people who work on this issue in the Pacific Northwest.  If you'd like to be included on our email list, please write me @ albertkaufman @ gmail.com - thanks for any effort you make to raise this issue. 

posted 3 years, 5 months ago
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I've just posted a White Paper about how Wal-Mart's kill off local economies.  I wish I could have gotten this on-line sooner.  It's crucial to this discussion.  I encourage the community to read this and do what they can to stop Wal-Mart from coming in.

http://www.scn.org/neighbors/beacon/pdx/WM.pdf

posted 3 years, 7 months ago
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http://vhemt.org is a great site that speaks to this issue at length.

posted 3 years, 7 months ago
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I find the Oregonian confusing to read. The editorial stance is really wacky.  LNG-Yes!  Sam Adams, No! (recall).  Whoever is really holding the reigns there, really needs to let go and let the editorial board do their jobs.  I'm still holding a grudge that the O backed Bush.  Also, the whole automotive section and much of the sports sections could go, if you asked me. I'd suggest News/Metro/Business and each day one of your other sections - Foodday, Arts & Liesure.  But a whole section on cars?  Also, the whole new thing "The Stump" - come look at these stories on-line... would rather see them in the paper, please.  Thanks - I know it's not easy running a paper, and I've come to realize that the O is better than many, but with a little tweaking it could be even better.  The website could also use help.  Having searchable archives that go back as far as possible would help everyone.

Thanks!

posted 3 years, 7 months ago
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Also, I'd like to see this session decide to have the legislature meet every year. This State is too big and there is way too much going on for the legislature to just meet once every two years. Make this happen, please!

Albert Kaufman
Portland, Oregon

posted 4 years, 4 months ago
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To save some money, the legislature should create an opt-in system for people to receive phone books. right now these giant pieces of tree are having to be recycled by the millions - we shouldn't have to pay for this anymore. If I want a telephone book, I'll let the phone companies know.

2nd. I'd love to see the Tillamook State Forest - logged way less. It could be such a great recreational place, and right now it's just a huge clear-cut. Would love to see the legislature make some movement to protect state parks and forests from over-logging.

posted 4 years, 4 months ago
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"What we need is many, many small banks and companies so that no single failure brings down the whole system. And I don't see that happening yet.

With the government we have, I don't see how we can expect to have them do anything but pour money in at the top to prop up the very system that is the problem. They should be bleeding money out of these huge companies and putting money into small banks and businesses, and local communities."

Agreed!!!!

posted 4 years, 6 months ago
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I would like to hear you talk about the structure of our economy. My sense is that what we have does not work. I would be interested to hear anyone talk about how we might restructure our economy so that things become more equitable. I don't imagine that if we keep working in the way we have we'll get a different result. What other models are out there that we might move towards besides the US version of capitalism? Thanks, Albert Kaufman, Portland, Oregon

posted 4 years, 6 months ago
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