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Old-school
Greed isn’t good?
Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review. Last week, I got to go down to Silicon Valley on a field trip with my Participatory Journalism class. We visited various journalism and tech-related outfits, including the Center for Investigative Reporting, the Stanford University d.School, Google and Ideo. I felt a little ambivalent to be honest. While almost all my fellow students were picturing themselves working for these places, I don’t ever see myself doing that sort of work or dragging myself to work at those places. OK, maybe I could picture myself at the Center for Investigative Reporting, a little bit, if I could freelance or telecommute. And maybe if I knew then what I know now, I might have made my way to Stanford, but ... you know, probably not. I think my attitude toward monolithic corporate or educational entities must go back to the ’70s, growing up listening to punk rock music and living a punk rock lifestyle. The whole DIY philosophy was anticorporate. While I had no musical talent, I adopted the ideals of doing things for myself. For example, I worked on my own cars, most of the “art” that is around my house I did myself. Even today, when I want to do something that requires a skill I don’t have, when I can, I learn it. This whole local food, buy local, support local stuff movement seems to me as though it sprang from punk rock, and it seems as necessary in the 21st century as it was back in the mid-20th. Just because something is bigger does not make it better. But I do find some of the concepts that I took away intriguing, and I’ll figure out how to bring them into my own life. For example, that idea of “design thinking”—bringing diverse skill sets and philosophies together to come up with new ways to solve problems—that I saw at both the d.School and Ideo is something that I’ll figure out how to take advantage of. I’m sure it won’t be long before you see an example here on these pages.
Re “This land is our land” (Editorial, April 17): This wasn’t an ongoing tax based on grazing rights but rather an “invented” environmental fee regarding tortoises. It appears the Bureau of Land Managment is going to (smartly) back away from this one. Bundy was in the right. I’d bet the Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t have any empirical evidence that cattle grazing really effects the tortoise population, but it’s a great excuse. As Bundy stated, years ago, there were lots of tortoises and lots of grazing, including sheep, which are rougher on the foliage than cattle. Also, as Bundy asked, “The feds have irradiated large parts of Nevada, and now they are worried about some tortoises?” Our government and their corporate masters need to tread lightly or there could be violence, and that would be bad. Unfortunately, the big-headed Wall Streeters probably won’t get it until a few of them are swinging from light poles. (I’m not proposing anything.) Yup, our world is going south in a handbasket, and it’s all due to greed. I hope we live long enough to see a better day. Greed will never go away— it’s human nature—but hopefully they’ll stop teaching it in our schools as being a positive attribute. John Bogle Reno
—D. Brian Burghart
b ri an b @ n e w sre v i ew.com
OPINION
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NEWS
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GREEN
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For the pets A donation-matching mission in full swing to benefit pets that belong to the homeless. A donation-matching challenge, issued by the WHC Foundation of Reno to Pets of the Homeless of Carson City (POTH), will help pets that belong to the homeless in Northern Nevada. Until September, the Foundation will match donations up to $10,000. The money will be used to provide pet food to area food banks, emergency veterinary care for pets that belong to the Northern Nevada homeless population, and sponsorship of at least two wellness clinics during the year in downtown Reno. Nationally, since 2008, POTH has treated over
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ARTS&CULTURE
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10,000 pets of the homeless with veterinary care and POTH’s 475 member collection sites have reported over 265 tons of pet food has been taken to food banks in their respective communities. To donate or learn more, go to www. petsofthehomeless.org Genevieve Frederick Carson City
Fear of an inorganic future Re “The Organic Food Lie” (Feature story, Feb. 13): The article demonstrates modern biochemical accomplishments that will shape the world scientifically, agriculturally, medically and socially. The whole world is currently in a biological revolution, which was triggered by the agricultural revolution and the need to supply countless countries with the food necessary to support their growing populations. The reason people continue to die for lack of nutrition is due to the people who are standing in the way of science and what we can accomplish with it. (This includes people who are against transgenic crops and modern business policies that squeeze every penny from customers, as well as unsustainable population growth.) There is no evidence that transgenic food has ever caused a human death. Transgenic crops cannot alter human genomes simply by eating them. The proteins and carbohydrates of transgenic plants are broken apart into carbon and nitrogen just like any other food a human eats. Of course enhancing a gene is going to cause strains on the metabolic regulation of the plant, but the shift will not result in something deadly or even poisonous, it will simply focus the energy the plant uses on growing its fruits instead of growing leaves. Even if off-gene effects resulted from the transformation, they would quickly be recognized and terminated in the thorough testing all products go through. The only threat transgenic crops pose to the world is the potential for them to grow out of control and displace strains growing in the wild. Luckily, science controls this potential problem by disabling the plants from reproducing, which is why
Editor/Publisher D. Brian Burghart News Editor Dennis Myers Arts Editor Brad Bynum Calendar Editor Kelley Lang Staff writer Sage Leehey Contributors Amy Alkon, Woody Barlettani, Laura Davis, Bob Grimm, Ashley Hennefer, Sheila Leslie, Dave Preston, Jessica Santina, Todd South, Brendan Trainor, Bruce Van Dyke, Allison Young
ART OF THE STATE
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FOODFINDS
Creative Director Priscilla Garcia Art Director Hayley Doshay Junior Art Director Brian Breneman Design Serene Lusano, Marianne Mancina, Skyler Smith Advertising Consultants Gina Odegard, Bev Savage Senior Classified Advertising Consultant Olla Ubay Office Manager/Ad Coordinator Karen Brooke Executive Assistant/Operations Coordinator Nanette Harker
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farmers have to buy seeds from companies like Monsanto every year. Haley Toups Carson City
We need erosion abatement Re “Big brother’s warm, friendly hand” (Let Freedom Ring, April 10): All of these stupid federal government reactions, such as the National Defense Authorization Act, are knee-jerk reactions by government to perceived catastrophes that the federal idiots feel merit unconstitutional acts at the federal level. If these federal idiots would react in a civil, descent and constitutional manner; the terrorists would not gain the erosion of the principles upon which this nation was founded, nor would we lose the efficacy of those principles. James M. Young Reno
Try Snopes Re “On second thought” (Notes from the Neon Babylon, April 10): Since Bruce Van Dyke has already absorbed a dose of reality on this, he might also take 10 minutes to fact check the reality of his despised Koch Brothers’ actual involvement with XL. Hint: It’s also mostly, if not all, more mythology. Dare not to be just another knee jerk! I enjoy Van Dyke’s bird reports from Ranch Secluso on the NVBIRDS forum. Brian Adams Reno
Two degrees of devastation
NIGHTCLUBS/CASINOS
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THIS WEEK
Jan Freed Los Angeles, Calif.
Correction
Re “On second thought” (Notes from the Neon Babylon, April 10): There are many good reasons to say “no” to Keystone, and to say “yes” to jobs. It will not create the jobs claimed for it, nor will it reduce prices at the pump. In fact, prices may go up as domestic oil finds easier ways overseas. It threatens drinking
Distribution Manager Valerie Mets Distribution Drivers Trevor Bexon, Sandra Chhina, Ron Large, Joe Medeiros, Ron Neill, Andy Odegard, Jesse Pike, Martin Troye, Warren Tucker, Matthew Veach, Gary White, Joseph White General Manager/Publisher John D. Murphy President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel Chief Operations Officer Deborah Redmond Human Resource Manager Tanja Poley Business Manager Grant Ronsenquist
water supplies. But most importantly, the International Energy Agency estimates that Keystone could harvest three times the carbon that would take us over 2 degrees C, the absolute limit for a catastrophe we might survive, if we’re lucky. And other carbon projects are in the wings, taking us up to plus-6 deg. C, with “massive climate change and irreparable damage” How reckless can we be? We are warned of this climate abyss by our most trusted messengers, such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, every scientific academy, the very conservative World Bank, fact-checked by National Geographic, Scientific American. We are told of current disastrous health effects by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization and the American Medical Association. We cannot rely on state department assessments, if made by employees of the carbon industries. And Keystone could eventually strip forests the size of Florida, forests that might have absorbed enormous quantities of CO2 before they were removed as “overburden.” Would Keystone “replace” those forests? They’ve said they would make good any future damage. Laughable. Many of us know the bitter taste of the weird weather out there, with just current warming of .8 deg C. Shall we roll the dice for our kids and grand kids, saying “let it ride!” beyond 2 degrees and more? More, and we might invite abrupt, irreversible changes. No, taking your kids to soccer practice or Disney World does not make up for that. With its high risks and low return, Keystone XL is not a smart gamble.
Re: “What drones may come” (Feature, April 17): We incorrectly stated that documentary director John Heminway used Drone America vehicles during the production of his National Geographic film Battle for the Elephants. We apologize for the error.
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Web site www.newsreview.com Printed by Paradise Post The RN&R is printed using recycled newsprint whenever available. Editorial Policies Opinions expressed in the RN&R are those of the authors and not of Chico Community Publishing, Inc. Contact the editor for permission to reprint articles, cartoons or other portions of the paper. The RN&R is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. All letters received become the property of the publisher. We reserve the right to print letters in condensed form.
Cover design: Brian Breneman
APRIL 24, 2014
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