Oregon, My Oregon!

A couple articles I've been saving for a rainy day. And it's raining. First, Jazz Shaw at Hot Hair notices that Portland Mayor finally notices people have been burning down his city

Last weekend saw yet another round of riots, looting and arson in Portland, Oregon, as John described in detail for us. Given the events of the past year or so, that would normally be nothing more than another day ending in a Y for the City of Roses, but it appears to have produced a different response from Mayor Ted Wheeler. Hizzoner sounded rather fed up with the never-ending cycle of violence and destruction during remarks given on Friday evening. He pleaded for the help of the citizens of Portland in “standing up” to the anarchists who have been running the town since last summer. He even promised that the police would be unleashed to restore order. As we’ll see in a moment, however, he still can’t manage to say the names of groups that are responsible, or if he does, he gives them a free pass. (NY Post).

The mayor of Portland, Ore. has asked for the public’s help putting an end to the violent protests that have ravaged his city since the Black Lives Matter riots first erupted last spring.

“They want to burn, they want bash, they want to intimidate, they want to assault,” Mayor Ted Wheeler said Friday, while announcing the city would extend its state of emergency through Monday.

“If BLM leaders can show the courage to stand up to this mob, then we all should,” said the mayor, singling out the “the self-described anarchist mob” responsible for “criminal intimidation and violence.”

“Together we can make a stand … and take our city back.”

Notice how Wheeler is willing to call out the violence and destruction, but he makes sure to praise “BLM leaders” in the same sentence. It’s almost as if he hasn’t noticed that a significant number of the riots and looting sprees have happened when BLM protests break down after dark. Whether some of these crimes are being committed by actual BLM supporters involved in the marches or just gang members blending in with the crowd and waiting for an opportune moment doesn’t really matter. They don’t do a very good job of policing their own ranks.

So who does Wheeler blame instead? He calls out “the self-described anarchist mob.” This has been going on since last summer and he still can’t bring himself to say the word “Antifa.” It’s just amazing.

In response,  Portland cops, FBI reportedly probe veiled Antifa death threat against mayor (NYPo). That's what you get for tolerating and encouraging riots last year.

Second, from Eric Worrall at WUWT,  Oregon State Advocates Global “Convergence”, Equalising Per Capita Emissions

According to Oregon State social science professors, we need harsh carbon taxes to force a global convergence of per-capita carbon emissions. Most of the sacrifices will have to be made by rich nations.

Socially just population policies can mitigate climate change and advance global equity

by Oregon State University
APRIL 28, 2021

Socially just policies aimed at limiting the Earth’s human population hold tremendous potential for advancing equity while simultaneously helping to mitigate the effects of climate change, Oregon State University researchers say.
…
“There are strong links between high rates of population growth and ecosystem impacts in developing countries connected to water and food security,” he said. “Given the challenges of food and water security, effective population policies can support achieving both social justice and climate adaptation, particularly when you consider the current and projected uneven geographical distribution of the impacts of climate change. Policies that address health and education can greatly reduce fertility rates.”
…
“Three examples of countries in which improved education for girls and young women may have contributed to significant fertility rate declines are Ethiopia, Indonesia and Kenya,” Ripple says. “Among those nations, specific education reforms included instituting classes in local languages, increasing budgets for education and removing fees for attending school. Ethiopia also implemented a school lunch program, large-scale school construction took place in Indonesia, and primary school was lengthened by one year in Kenya.”
…
“From both climate and social justice perspectives, affluent overconsumption by the wealthy must be addressed immediately, for example through policies like eco-taxes such as carbon pricing,” Ripple added. “Reducing fertility rates alone is clearly not enough. The middle class and rich must be responsible for most of the needed reduction in emissions.”

Taking steps to stabilize and then gradually reduce total human numbers within a socially just framework enhances human rights and reduces the further ordeals of migration, displacement and conflict expected in this century, Wolf and Ripple say. One potential framework is contraction and convergence, which calls for simultaneously reducing net emissions (contraction) while equalizing per capita emissions (convergence). This is equitable in the sense that it entails equalizing per capita emissions globally, a stark contrast to current patterns.

…Read more: https://phys.org/news/2021-04-socially-population-policies-mitigate-climate.html

What a miserable vision for the future. Even the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin never attempted to create an economy this tightly controlled. And of course, just as in Soviet times, the elite would need special dispensation for extra emissions, so they could fly around, attend their conferences, and perform their good works.

Now that I'm safely gone, I urge all Oregonians to take the advice from my Alma Mater, and adopt the per capita climate foot print of Chad (or even India).