crumb rubber and older materials, a new generation of artificial turf carpet and infill will be used. <br />However, this familiar tactic from the chemical industry has an obvious flaw. It takes years to study and <br />recognize the health and environmental hazards of new products and technologies. The current, and most <br />widely used, artificial-turf technology containing crumb rubber infill -- <br />fields -- was introduced around 2000, in response to drawbacks of the first two generations of fields. It <br />has taken over fifteen years to recognize the potentially serious environmental drawbacks of 3G fields. A <br />new generation of artificial turf will (presumably) be using materials that are not known to be dangerous, <br />but which may turn out in time to be just as bad. We should not be experimenting with potentially toxic <br />new materials in the riverfront area. <br /> <br />This still is not all. In the summer, temperatures on artificial turf fields can become very high, to well over <br />140 degrees Fahrenheit. As well as being unpleasant for sports participants, this creates an undesirable <br />heat-island effect that affects the surrounding natural area and undermines its value as habitat. <br /> <br />And then there are the flood lights. The intention is to include flood lights around the fields for use at <br />dusk and in the evening to maximize use of the fields. Flood lights will create light pollution in the <br />surrounding area that can disrupt the circadian rhythm of birds and animals, as well as being annoying to <br />people, on or near the Frohnmayer footbridge, looking at the sunset or the night sky. As noted by the <br />International Dark- known as light pollution can have <br />pollution can be mitigated by having the lights point downward, but adequate mitigation is not possible. <br />The purpose of the lights is to illuminate brightly the recreational field; this results in an unavoidable glare <br />visible at considerable distance. And as can be verified by going in the evening to the university <br />th <br />recreational fields on 19 Avenue and near the Student Rec building, the lights themselves, though <br />downward pointing, are visible (I would say visibly annoying) from a considerable distance, because by <br />necessity the lights must be mounted at great height. We will be told that hours of use can be limited, but <br />those hours of use will unavoidably include dusk, twilight and early evening. <br /> <br />In summary, the introduction of artificial turf fields and/or flood lights is a completely inappropriate use of <br />the land in the riverfront area. The Willamette River and the riverfront area are a unique resource <br />available to the University. To capitalize on this unusual natural resource, the University should aim for <br />educational, restoration and research missions This was well captured <br />in the UO Senate Resolution in Section II.4: <br />BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University Senate moves that any future uses for the Riverfront make use of the unique <br />features of the Willamette river and associated habitats, and should emphasize ecological restoration, nature experience, and <br />learning and public service, and stewarding its natural resources. <br />Artificial turf fields can be located elsewhere; it cannot be right to use the riverfront land for such a <br />purpose that is totally unrelated to the River. ŷĻ /źƷǤ ƭŷƚǒƌķ ğķķ ğ ĭƚƓķźƷźƚƓ Ʒƚ ƷŷĻ / <br />t ƷŷğƷ ƓĻźƷŷĻƩ <br />ğƩƷźŅźĭźğƌ ƷǒƩŅ ŅźĻƌķƭ ƓƚƩ Ņƌƚƚķ ŅƌźŭŷƷƭ ğƩĻ ƦĻƩƒźƷƷĻķ źƓ ƷŷĻ <br />h wźǝĻƩŅƩƚƓƷ ğƩĻğ͵ <br />5 <br /> <br /> <br />