Think Out Loud

Cooler temperatures have brought some relief to the Willamette Valley and a large swath of Western Oregon which were under heat advisories from the National Weather Service earlier this week. The hot, dry conditions coincided with three straight days of the hottest global temperatures ever recorded. Farmers and ranchers are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change as they contend with hotter and drier weather conditions, particularly during the summer months. Oregon produces more than 225 agricultural commodities which can be impacted differently by heat and water shortages depending on their growing seasons, according to the Oregon Farm Bureau.  We hear from Lauren Poor, Vice president of Government & Legal Affairs for the Oregon Farm Bureau, about what is being done to help farmers and ranchers mitigate the effects of hotter and drier conditions on their livelihoods, and what the impact could be for them in the coming weeks and months.

There’s a lot that researchers still don’t know about volcanoes. But they do expect volcanic eruptions to coincide more often with other natural disasters, like floods and wildfires, as the climate continues to warm. Research from Portland State University shows that the increasing frequency of extreme weather events means they’re more likely to occur at the same time as a volcanic eruption – creating “compound disasters” that will challenge emergency management officials. The study is part of a new collection of scientific essays that assesses how volcano science has evolved over the past 30 years, and where it might go next. Jonathan Fink is a professor of geology at PSU. He co-edited the collection, and joins us to talk about how volcanic eruptions might factor into future disaster management.

Last Saturday, news broke that seven-time All-Star point guard Damian Lillard wants to be traded from the Portland Trail Blazers. Lillard is the all-time leading scorer for the Blazers and has spent his entire professional career playing for the team which chose him as the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft. Lillard unanimously won the NBA Rookie of the Year award his first season in the league but has yet to win a championship title after 11 seasons with the Blazers. Mike Richman is the host of the Locked on Blazers podcast. He joins us to share more on Lillard’s legacy and what his potential leaving could mean for the future of his career, and the Blazers. 

One of the best-known strategies to prevent dune erosion is to introduce plants whose roots will help hold sand in place and stabilize the dune. But experiments conducted at Oregon State University show that may not always be the case. Researchers found that newly planted vegetation can actually accelerate erosion in the face of extreme storms. Meagan Wengrove is an assistant professor of civil and construction engineering at OSU. She was involved in the experiments, and joins us to talk about what the findings could mean for coastal management.

In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a web designer refusing to make a website for same-sex marriages, despite a Colorado law that prohibits discrimination against gay people. In another case involving a mail carrier who was refusing to work on his Sabbath, the courts unanimously decided to broaden religious protections, creating a new standard for testing religious accommodations. Jim Oleske is a law professor at Lewis & Clark Law School. He joins us to break down the two cases and dig into the complicated intersection of religious freedoms and other constitutional values.

A church in Monmouth was exploring the idea of creating micro shelter housing for people experiencing homelessness. The housing would have been located on a grassy field owned by the church. The idea was scrapped after community backlash against the proposal. We hear more from Bill Poehler,  a Statesman Journal reporter, who has covered the issue.

Military veteran Lauren Grigsby describes the Central Veterans Oregon Ranch in Bend as a place of sanctuary. For nearly a decade, the 19-acre working ranch has opened its gates to veterans searching to talk to someone who understands the feelings of anxiety, isolation and other symptoms of PTSD they carry from tours of duty or other military service. In addition to peer support counseling, the ranch also offers mentorship and vocational training programs in ranching, beekeeping and farming, including a greenhouse where lettuce, basil and other produce and plants are grown. In May, the ranch began participating in “Together with Veterans,” a nationwide suicide prevention program focusing on veterans living in rural communities. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among veterans under the age of 45, according to the Department of Veteran Affairs, which also found a higher rate of suicide among veterans in Oregon in 2020 than the national veteran suicide rate. Joining us to talk about Central Oregon Veterans Ranch and the impact it’s having are Co-executive directors and U.S. Marine Corps veterans Lauren Grigsby and Adrian De La Rosa, who is also a certified peer support specialist.   If you or someone you know is struggling, you can call or text 9-8-8 to reach the national suicide prevention hotline.

In Southeast Portland, a woman has constructed what she calls the “giving fence” after a series of code violations and complaints from neighbors and the city. This unusual construction is a series of yellow bins stacked upon each other, filled with blankets, dry goods, clothes and hygiene products that are free for anyone who needs them. Courtney Vaugn, the news editor for the Portland Mercury, has been covering this story and joins us now to share more on the efforts the Sellwood woman is making.

In a 6-3 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled to ban affirmative action at colleges and universities. Justices heard two cases brought forward by the group Students for Fair Admission, who challenged race-based admission practices at Harvard and the University of North Carolina.  Sabrina Sommer is the equity specialist for the David Douglas School District. Eric Staab is the Vice President of Admissions and Financial Aid at Lewis & Clark College. And Scott Vignos is the vice president and chief diversity officer at Oregon State University. They all join us now to share what these decisions will mean for Oregon students and the impacts they believe it could have on Oregon colleges and universities.

Brit Bennett’s book The Vanishing Half was on a lot of best-of lists in 2020. Though spanning the second half of the 20th century, the novel speaks to questions about race and identity that have been central to national conversations for the last two years. In that novel and her other writing, Bennett deals with the bonds of family, the importance of storytelling, and nature of identity. We talked to Bennett about her essays and novels in front of an audience of students at Grant High School in Portland in February 2022.