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UO E-clips, Aug. 28
Top stories for August 28, 2008: UO law professor Mary Wood is going green through "atmospheric trust litigation," reports UTNE.com, the Seattle Times uses the Associated Press story on UO archaeological findings from the Springfield, Ore., hospital site; Pacific Magazine in Hawaii reports on the Palau research of Greg Nelson, a UO archaeologist who has refuted claims of little people on the island chain; Eugene police are getting ready for UO football, or at least ready to target tail-gate drinkers, reports KEZI-TV; and KVAL remembers the turmoil of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, interviewing retired UO sociologist Steve Deutsch
Green all the lawyers (UTNE.com): A 1,500-year-old legal precept could steer us toward the next radical mind shift in the fight against climate change. Mary C. Wood, a professor at the University of Oregon School of Law, has carved out a bold new legal strategy based on the public trust doctrine, which dictates that it is the government’s duty to maintain certain natural resources for the benefit of its citizens. Through Wood’s approach, which she terms “atmospheric trust litigation,” lawsuits would establish that the atmosphere is one of those resources, and that by not taking action against climate change, the government is shirking its legal responsibility.
19th century remains found at Ore. hospital site (Associated Press, appearing in the Seattle Times): Archeologists say the remains of four people and 12 graves from 19th century white settlers in the Willamette Valley have been uncovered at the site of a new hospital in Springfield. A backhoe operator in May spotted what appeared to be a human bone. Archeologists were called in. They held a press conference Tuesday to describe their findings. Tom Connolly of the University of Oregon says the remains are believed to be from the Stevens family, possibly the first white family in the town. He says the family buried a dozen members at the site by the mid-1880s, but in 1901, eight were relocated. He says it's possible that the four left behind had been marked with wooden crosses and the locations forgotten by 1901.
Archeologists refute Palau "hobbit" claim -(Pacific Magazine, Hawaii): An archeologist’s claim that a group of dwarfs or hobbit-like people once lived in Palau has been refuted by a team of researchers from American and Australian universities. Archaeologists from the University of Oregon, North Carolina State University and the Australian National University after studying the findings and published report of Lee Berger of the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa have found Berger's conclusions were false based upon faulty research that ignored an abundance of archeological, linguistic and historical data indicating a continuity of cultural traits over a period of three millennia that do not suggest a separate isolated group such as the claimed "Palauan hobbits."
Eugene police prepare for tail gaiter drinking (KEZI News 9): Last year, Eugene's City Council passed an ordinance allowing drinking in private parking lots from Leo Harris Parkway to I-105 and from Coburg Road to Kinsrow. The University of Oregon football season that kicks off Saturday will be the first full season under the new ordinance. Eugene Police will conduct DUII saturation patrols to keep roads around the area safe. VIDEO
Delegate from '68 convention shares memories (KVAL News 13): In 1968, the "Summer of Love" turned into the year of discontent. It all came to a head in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention. "Good evening from Chicago for the 35th Democratic National Convention," Walter Cronkite said, introducing a convention that forever changed the political landscape. ... Retired University of Oregon sociology professor Steve Deutsch had a front row seat to the drama as an alternate delegate in the Oregon delegation. He said the Vietnam War overshadowed everything and the national turmoil for the Democrats filtered down to Oregon.