Smoke Free Eugene (Portland, Salem: 2015, maintenance, live)

[Larry Caldwell]

Is Eugene happy now that there is no more smoke? You put the farmers out of business, so the air sparkles, right?

[oregonwoodsmoke]

I think that Larry is referring to having the grass seed fields burned to control weeds was stopped.

Decades ago, we used to have constant smoke in Central Oregon as the smoke from the Willamette field burning blew over the mountains and filled our air. Honestly, I don't miss it.

However, very likely the same people that stopped the field burning also stopped the maintenance of the forests (with lawsuit after lawsuit after lawsuit). So now, every year, we get forest fires that fill the air with smoke in the summer.

[CAjerseychick]

Interesting, I would think that burning the fields could be seen as a pesticide free alternative to weed control...

on the forest fire thing, I remember being given a lecture on the importance of fire to regenerate the Forest by a ranger in Yosemite....

so I thought that was understood that they are necessary for the health of the forest ...?

[Minervah]

This is the reason field burning was banned I believe. I remember being able to smell the smoke all the way up in Portland. This tragedy was the final straw.

Smoky 21-vehicle pileup kills 7 on I-5 (from the archives, 1988) | OregonLive.com

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by CAjerseychick

Interesting, I would think that burning the fields could be seen as a pesticide free alternative to weed control...

Were you here when they were burning the fields?

Do you understand what those fields were producing? Lawn grass seeds.

Field burning really wasn't meant as "weed control" (it was primarily used as a cheap way to combat fungal pathogens).

Plenty of pesticides were used in those fields.

Stopping the field burning hasn't resulted in the end of the grass seed farmers.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Minervah

This is the reason field burning was banned I believe. I remember being able to smell the smoke all the way up in Portland. This tragedy was the final straw.

Smoky 21-vehicle pileup kills 7 on I-5 (from the archives, 1988) | OregonLive.com

Yes, that was the last straw. Seven people died. I remember it being dark in Salem at 3 p.m. because of the smoke. The hospital ER was full of people experiencing respiratory distress.

And despite the burning ban, Oregon's grass seed industry is hardly "out of business."

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Yes, that was the last straw. Seven people died. I remember it being dark in Salem at 3 p.m. because of the smoke. The hospital ER was full of people experiencing respiratory distress.

And despite the burning ban, Oregon's grass seed industry is hardly "out of business."

Each year it seemed to get worse. I really used to feel it because I have breathing problems. My pulmonologist would tell me her patient appointments would rise considerably during those times.

I don't know just what the OP is referring to but I hope it's not that he wants this method of grass burning to return.

[CAjerseychick]

well there you go!


These responses do shed some light on the issue- it appears to be about a lot more than
putting "farmers out of business... sparkly air, " and keeping "Eugene happy"-

as I suspected....

PS
edited to add, it doesnt really matter what the fields are being used to grow, does it?
but just that the risk - benefit analysis did not come out in favor of field - burning

(and I for one do think that anything that diminishes the use of pesticides in our environment should be looked at - and before a Certain Someone jumps down my throat, lol, - yes it appears it Has been, and burning lost out -- for the reasons elaborated upon above)....

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by CAjerseychick

well there you go!



edited to add, it doesnt really matter what the fields are being used to grow, does it?
but just that the risk - benefit analysis did not come out in favor of field - burning

(and I for one do think that anything that diminishes the use of pesticides in our environment should be looked at - and before a Certain Someone jumps down my throat, lol, - yes it appears it Has been, and burning lost out -- for the reasons elaborated upon above)....

It matters, in the big picture. Lawns/golf course turf are notorious water/fertilizer/pesticide/herbicide hogs; producing a product that uses chemicals in abundance while claiming to be environmentally responsible because you're reducing pesticide use (even if it were true) by burning fields is laughably hypocritical.

And even before the burning stopped, the grass seed industry was the biggest user of pesticides in the state. It never was an either/or situation.

[ryan_ninenine]

If you're being serious with your question (I can't really tell if this is supposed to be snarky or not), then yes, I am super glad that there is no smoke coming for an unnecessary reason. Having smoke here from a wildfire up north, while unfortunate, is different from something that was being regulary done on purpose. We shouldn't be doing things that cause heavy amounts of smoke in a populated area, because we know and it's proven that it's a threat to our health.