Monday, October 28, 2013

News on Dam Removals

For those of you tracking information on the Klamath River - a video on the agenda of dam removal.  In addition, a discussion on the potential coming battles.  It looks like this issue is being pushed to the forefront - another means for dividing people rather than uniting them.

It seems to me that if they pull the existing dams, they will have an unbelievable silt problem for years, as all the fine particulate behind the dam will cover every little bug hole in the river.  No bugs, no food, no fish.  Plus, there is a lot of land and the current system is a compromise between many players.  Local environments are local decisions - perhaps the feds need to be invited to leave.


Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Open Letter to the Editors and the People,

"The Sovereignty Seed Company" is part of my on-going personal effort to expose through art and writing the dangers of GMOs, unmitigated climate change, and lack of jobs and alternative energy development.  It is a small business I started as a conceptual art happening that could become the core of a boycott to encourage consumers to stop buying all seeds produced by Monsanto, Syngenta and their subsidiaries and alert Jackson County voters to the dire need to ban GMOs.
 
Via this open letter I am proposing the idea that the region known as "State of Jefferson" becomes a "District of Resource". I believe our region is truly "the last stand" where people will finally come together to champion Planet Earth and Mother Nature.  In the center of this region is Jackson and Josephine Counties, where 90% of the world's non GMO beet and chard seeds and 50% of the world's non GMO food seeds are grown.  This is why the Rogue Valley is Ground Zero in the battle for seed sovereignty, food security and community and individual rights.  The groundwork has been laid to make this the perfect home to a new kind of leadership.
 
"Jefferson" (which is roughly delineated as Redding to the south, Roseburg to the north, the eastern California and Oregon borders to the east, and the Pacific Ocean coast of Northern California and Southern Oregon to the west) makes more sense now than any other time in the past. Instead of ambitions to secede from the Union, I am promoting the idea of abandoning the struggles of rehashing the past and add something brand new to the Constitution.
 
 As Washington D.C. is a center for government and politics, creating a District of Resource in our Western region would be a center for job generation and resource stewardship that could put our country back on track.  Because our region  has the remaining untouched and protected Old Growth Forests, the Siskiyou Monument known for its miraculous bio-diversity, vast watersheds, huge resource reserves, gold mining and other features that need to be stewarded for the good of our Country, it seems the very best place to honor and build environmental protections and healthier living standards and to incubate a new economy, new beliefs and hopes for an economic revival that works in concert with and with respect for Nature and natural systems.
 
Washington D.C. is the location for politics and government, and our region, as a District of Resource,  could become the center for stewardship of natural resources with focus on creating jobs that are in concert with nature and projects that reclaim the commons and  prevent further exploitation and waste of America's natural resources and dependence on fossil fuels. Adding to the U.S. Constitution for this problem-solving concept with help us heal many rifts and move forward with new courage, resolve and tools for action, as opposed to get bogged down in disagreements, divisions and potentially a civil war.

It is towards that purpose the Chamber of Commons is growing our national platform from the cradle of the beautiful Rogue Valley. Please friend Champions of the Commons on Facebook and consider becoming a member of the Chamber of Commons. 
 
Sincerely, 
 
Catie Faryl  www.catiefaryl.net   see more of my artwork there
a co-founder of the Chamber of Commons
2983 Highway 66
Ashland, OR  97520
(541) 488-9223
champions of the commons on Facebook
championsofthecommons @gmail.com

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Benton County on SB 863

   The state of Oregon pulled a fast one on the people, and the Feds are in the process of pulling the same stunt on the states.  We, the people of Jefferson, should concur with the sentiment expressed by our compatriots in the Williamette Valley.