Pounding Set For Saturday
This Saturday is the 18th annual Pound to benefit the Florence Food Share. In recent months the food Share has been in need of food as the needs of the community have grown. According to Norma Barton, the executive Director, the food share is serving record amounts of people for 2017. And with Thanksgiving right around the corner there is a specific need in addition to general food concerns.
“Right now we’re facing a couple of crisis. We’re looking at not having as many turkeys for Thanksgiving as we traditionally have.”
Barton says they usually give turkeys to all of their clients for thanksgiving but this year they are not seeing the supply of turkey donations come in. but with the pounding this Saturday…
”If they would like to purchase their turkeys that way and just give it to us on Saturday that would absolutely work as well.”
The addition of money raised during the pounding is also a great benefit to the Food Share. Money that are received from the state in the form of grants are usually earmarked for operating expenses such as water and power, but the food share is still working on paying for remodeling that was necessary to increase the amount of space for food. Two private donors are promising a match of the pounds of food collected this Saturday with dollars which will help the food share to continue to serve the community.
Sneaker Wave Danger
Coastal Storms are beautiful to watch but they are also very dangerous for beachgoers. Sneaker waves are a constant danger and can hit the shore at any time without warning. Lives have been lost to people that were not aware while walking along the coast. BM1 Nick Cimarossa with the U.S. Coast Guard says it only takes a second to get swept away.
“They’re much larger than the preceding waves and they just catch people walking down the beach or alongside the jetty that’s the biggest place we see them. They just catch you without warning.”
While Cimarossa says the majority of driftwood is not from sneaker waves, there can often be large pieces of wood and debris in a wave that can render a person unconscious or even cause death. And there are times when the dangers are increased.
“It’s usually associated with storms a storm surge will bring the waves up a little bit farther than it normally does.”
Cimarossa says to always be aware when taking a walk on the beach.
Sneaker wave south of Coos Bay: Caught on camera in 2016
Oregon’s New Corn Crop
A new report examines how the expansion of cropland in Oregon and other states because of the ethanol mandate has contributed to the surge in climate-change pollution. The mandate, enacted in 2007, requires certain amounts of plant-derived fuels to be blended into gasoline. And research finds that as a result, more than seven million acres of habitat have been plowed under for corn and soy across the country. Lead author of the study Seth Spawn says no matter the cause, cropland expansion is having profound impacts on the land and the carbon it holds.
“For so long, we’ve heard about the importance of tropical rain forests as an important carbon reserve. This research shows now is the time to also recognize the importance of the less charismatic carbon reserves here at home and the impacts we’ve been having on them.”
Not typically thought of as corn country, the report found cropland expanding in Oregon at nearly 230 square kilometers a year. The national impact was the release of 115 million metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere – which is the pollution equal to 20 million additional cars on the road per year.