Oregon: A Natural Paradise...or Not?

Oregon is an American state in the Pacific Northwest. It is known for environmental conservation, unique politics, Christmas trees, hippies, possibly Sasquatch (Or is that a California thing?), and of course, bridges. Lots of bridges.

-Year of statehood: 1859

-Capital: Salem

-Largest cities: Portland, Eugene, Salem, Gresham

-Bordering states: Washington, Idaho, Nevada, California

-Major natural features: Crater Lake, Pacific Ocean, Columbia River, Willamette River, Hell's Canyon, High Desert, Cascade Range

Oregon was originally inhabited by Paleo-Indians, it is likely believed. Human inhabitation may go back 15,000 years to 13,000 BC. (That is 14,919 years before Joe Biden was born, and he is OLD!) Unsurprisingly, there were two hundred years of colonization and settlement by Europeans. The first permanent European settlement was Fort Astoria, which was located in what is now the town of Astoria on the south bank of the Columbia River. Oregon became a state in 1859 after years as a territory.

Going west to east, there is the Pacific Ocean, which if you didn't catch from the name is an ocean, followed by the coast. Oregon Coast Highway runs down the western coast of most of the length of the state. A swath of forest sits between the coast and Interstate 5. Along the northern half of I5 are located most of the towns. (There are some other towns out in the middle of nowhere, but it is very unlikely that anyone would ever end up there unless they were very lost.) Between the Interstate and Idaho is just a bunch of desert. Would not recommend unless you are into rock formations and sand as well as the occasional highway. There are some mountains too. Occasionally. Anyways, Oregon's population is mostly concentrated in the Portland area, including surrounding cities such as Gresham, Tigard, Beaverton, Lake Oswego, and Clackamas. A large number of people live on the Willamette, which flows through Salem south toward Eugene.

There are lots of good things about Oregon. Here are a few.

Western Oregon is covered with forest, which makes it a beautiful place to be. In many towns and cities, you do not have to walk far to stumble upon nature. Oregon is very good at conservation and sustainable forestry practices. We produce lots of timber without causing major environmental stress. The forests and nature are one of the best things about Oregon.

In Portland, the Oregon Zoo is a popular tourist and local visitor attraction. They have a wide collection of animals and many fun programs to teach kids to enjoy animals and nature. The zoo has a train that goes past the exhibits, providing epic views but not disturbing the animals. Every winter, they do an event called Zoo Lights, where they set up huge light displays throughout the park, which attract lots of children. This certainly provides hope for future generations to be more climate conscious than past ones. A rhino baby recently turned one month old, a happy milestone for the species.

The zoo also has a Non-Lead Hunting program focusing on the use of copper bullets instead of lead equivalents, as lead poisons the forest and animals, particularly the endangered California Condor. You can also donate if you would like, which would help endangered species thrive on this planet.

In addition to the zoo, Oregon also has a coastal aquarium in the city of Newport. It features a small selection of marine mammals, including harbor seals and sea otters, and even has an aviary full of seabirds, including some different types of puffin. The aquarium has rocks placed throughout open spaces, creating mazes of pathways to walk through. It is, like the zoo, intended to be enjoyable for kids in the hopes that they will become more eco-conscious.

There is a popular tourist destination in central Oregon. (In my opinion, it's in western Oregon, but I didn't get to define the boundaries. Sunriver is a resort town outside of the major city of Bend. It has many hotels and resorts, as well as a few homes. Lots of people vacation there, as well as surrounding towns and holiday rentals. (Although, in my opinion, Hawaii is better, but that's thousands of miles across a giant ocean. Not so easy to get there, and also super expensive.)

Oregon has lots of bridges.

Okay, fine, I'll write more about that. According to the ARTBA Bridge Report, Oregon has 8,292 bridges. What is scary is that over 400 of them are structurally deficient. One of those is a 100-year-old Interstate bridge in Portland that goes over the Columbia River. It receives almost 60,000 daily crossings. Guess I'll never go to Washington. Or I guess I could take a different bridge. Whatever.

Anyways, Oregon is very eco-conscious. You can go camping everywhere the heck you want if that's your thing, not to mention see a bunch of bridges if you're an infrastructure nerd. There is a beautiful resort town. But it's not so pretty. I have lived here most of my life, and it seems like a good place to live. But recently I have discovered bad things about this state. Read more...if you dare.

Oregon is not as good as it seems. I had trouble thinking of bad things about our state, so I found a webpage by an Oregonian telling people not to move there. It consisted primarily of someone ranting about hippies, camping grounds, Oregonians "hating" people who moved from California, the slow driving by 80-year-old grandmas and "everyone else too", "white boys", and the cutting of funding on "looney bins", resulting in "crazy people everywhere". If you really want to read it, I won't judge. You can find it here.

Anyways, enough about that bogus webpage. Here are my reasons that Oregon is bad.

One of the main reasons people don't like Oregon is the rain. People say it rains a lot there. It seems pretty normal to me. It is hot an sunny in the late spring, summer, and early fall. The rest of the time, it is mostly rainy, except for a few days of sun. So, like I said, seems pretty normal. But that may just be because I live here

Oregon has some of the most homelessness in the country. I took the featured quiz on the states with the most homeless people. I was surprised to find Oregon on there. I thought it was this bad in the rest of the country too. But it's not. That is good, and I hope Oregon improves. Portland and Eugene have major homelessness problems. But thankfully, Eugene really wants to fix it. They have built lots of houses for homeless people, and some relatives of mine have funded the projects. I don't  know how much Portland is trying to fix the problems of homelessness, but I hope it is a lot.

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Oregon is one of the states that has recently legalized marijuana. Marijuana is a plant that is commonly smoked. In school, the counties pay people to come into class and give multiple detailed lessons saying basically that marijuana is bad for you. (They're right, but they are putting a lot of effort into this.) Many people, me included, do not want our communities to be full of weed. Thus, marijuana is a negative about Oregon.

You may be aware that residents and visitors to Oregon and New Jersey may not pump their own gas. This was true until August 2023, when the rules changed. Gas stations were then allowed to have self-service as an option, after a 70-year ban on self-service of any kind. Some people still find it annoying, though.

Without a doubt, the absolute worst thing about Oregon is that we are supposed to have an earthquake on the Cascadia Subduction Zone. According to the Oregon Department of Emergency Management, "there is a 37% chance that a 7.1+ magnitude earthquake will occur over the next 50 years." It has been described as "any day now in geological times". Many people believe that a 9.0 or higher magnitude earthquake will occur sometime soon. It is absolutely terrifying.

(Oregon Department of Emergency Management (Accessed 2024, January 7) Cascadia Subduction Zone  State of Oregon https://www.oregon.gov/oem/hazardsprep/pages/cascadia-subduction-zone.aspx

So, Oregon is, in conclusion, not as good as it might seem. It is rainy, full of homelessness, as well as legal marijuana. Until very recently, you could not pump your own gas, and still now you may not be able to. Not to mention the earthquake...

Oregon is very climate-friendly and has a resort town as well as many programs encouraging young children to become climate-conscious. But it has lots of rain, which is sometimes good for crops, but not very pleasant for ordinary people. It has marijuana and homelessness, you are not allowed to pump your own gas, and there is a disturbingly high probability of a major earthquake. What do you think? Do the pluses outweigh the minuses? Tell me in the comments!