52-percent recovery rate is very aggressive. Seattle's solid waste disposal plan is similar to Portland's, with a goal of a 40-percent recycling rate. A problem that both Seattle and Portland may face that has been evident in other communities is funding. However, with government and community support, the necessary funding can be obtained. The community has already expressed an interest in recycling. A telephone survey conducted in October 1985 determined that 73.4 percent of the households rated recycling as important. Another important consideration is markets. Unlike some communities, Portland has the market capacity to accept recycled materials. The problem lies in giving these industries financial benefits to make using these materials a profitable alternative. Metro has addressed this problem through a variety of measures, including a consumer education program to promote the purchase of products made from recyclable materials, research and development of new method_s for utilizing recycled . materials, and targeting Qf users of recycled materials to encourage more of this use: ' The individual or company that recycles will also receive some sort of "waste diversion credit" for.p'ure recyclable loads (this recognizes rhe avoided costs of not requiring incineration and landfilling). And finally, the hauler and recycling center will receive direct subsidies for collecting recyclables. For more information on the Waste Reduction Program, contact Metro, 2000 SW First Avenue, Portland, OR 97201-5398; 50,3/221-1646. Salem's Peace Plaza Citizens of Salem, Oregon, recently received, unanimous approval by the City Council to establish a Peace Plaza in the downtown area. The plaza will include banners and an information kiosk with a bulletin board of current peace events throughout the city and information about Salem's peace-related involvements with sister cities. Later a decorative wall and flower beds, with flowers native to sister cities, will be added. For more information, contact Peace Park Inc., PO Box 62, Salem, Oregon 97308. (Recommended by Sariah Loveday, Pacific Cascadia Correspondents Network) ·, Better than Food Stamps The Home Gardening Project builds complete gardens for low-income people, bringing right to their backyards a trellis, three· 5' x 8' soil frames, weed free organic .soil to fill them, seeds, plant starts, and low-toxicity pesticides. People start out with everything they need to be successful•gardeners. The project put in 100 gardens in the last three years, for senior citizens, single parents, and people with large families, who can use the independent food source. Since the soil doesn't need to be tilled, the gardens are ideal for seniors or disabled people. The project will be putting in 75 gardens next year for people with multiple sclerosis, through the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Dan Barker, the founder, wants ·to publish a book about the project, in order to spur development of new projects in other cities. He started out by himself with a grant from the Bureau of Community Development. Looks like one person can make a big difference. For more information, contact the Home Gardening Project at 7300 SE Stevens, Portland, OR 97215; 5031775-9648. Indians and Fisheries on the Columbia Four Indian tribes of the Upper Columbia River~the Coeur .d 'Alenes, Kalispels, Kootenais, and Spokaneshave formed the Upper Columbia United Tribes (UCUT) to .deal with common problems like fishing resources. The fishing runs on which they depend have been devastated in the past by construction of dams which prevent fish from returning up river to spawn. Now the tribes are working through the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program, part of the Northwest Power Planning Council, to influence the decisions that affect them, using their combined numbers to advantage. Working with the Fisheries Research Center of UCUT through Eastern WashSummer 1986 RAIN .Page 49 ington University, Indians can be trained as fishery biologists, their fisheries can be improved, and hatcheries can be developed to offset the destroyed spawning habitats caused by reservoir fluctuations that flood the tributaries. In these ways, the UCUT Indians are trying to restore what's. left of their self-reliant fishing _heritage. Many Call for 'N-Reactor Shutdown In the wake of the Chernobyl disaster, many r~gional organizations have called for the shutdown of the N-Reactor at Hanford, which has many similarities to the reactor at Chernobyl, inclu'ding a graphite core and lack of a concrete and steel containment structure. Organiza-' tions that have called for N-Reactor shutdown so far include the Portland City Council, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, Oregon SANE, and Physicians for Social Responsibility. An onging campaign to get more groups to endorse a call to shut down the ·N-Reactor is being sponsored by· the Oregon Hanford Oversight Committee, an organization made up of individuals from such groups as Fellowship of Reconciliation, American Friends Service Committee, Sierra Club, and League of Conservation Voters. For more information, contact the Hanford Clearinghouse, 408 SW .Second Avenue, Suite 408, Portland, OR 97204. Mondragon West The Mondragon West Development Group has been meeting monthly since May to develop a system of democratic business in the Puget Sound region. The group derives its name and inspir- . ation from the network of cooperatives in the Basque region of Spain, but it is more interested in developing a cooperative economy appropriate to its own locale than trying to duplicate the Mond.ragon model exactly. Participants in the gioup include people involved with EarthBank, the Puget Sound Cooperative Federation~ and the Cascadia Green Alliance. Several committees have been formed to work in the areas of "mission and model development," enterprise implementation, 'finance, outreach; and implementation steering. For more information, contact Mondragon West, 2128 North 53rd, Seattle, WA 98103.
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