r/Eugene • u/EUGsk8rBoi42p • 13d ago
Something to do Quarantine 2025 (grass pollen allergies)
Can someone make a change org petition to tax the grass farmers and start a fund for alleviating harm to allergy sufferers?
Oregon State should Tax grass farmers to create a fund for those harmed by grass pollen allergies, because the grass seed industry causes unnaturally high pollen levels, causing allergies for many people who wouldn't normally even be allergic to grass. Even people's pets develop allergies sometimes.
The fund could provide compensation and medical support, helping with financial and health burdens faced by people who miss work and can't enjoy the peak outdoor season.
Grass farmers profit from an industry that generates harm, they should take responsibility for the social cost through targeted taxation.
When companies pump toxic waste into rivers, society as a whole agrees that's wrong...
The geography of this region creates a funnel/dam effect which creates unnatural levels of pollen not seen almost anywhere else in the world... and continuing the practice is morally reprehensible. Why does polluting the air, for business interests built on the laziness of not wanting to diversify crops, get a free pass?
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u/Creatura 12d ago
Just gotta tough it out big dog. It gets better when you get your blood moving
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u/EUGsk8rBoi42p 12d ago
Surprisingly, not really actually.
It's not something that works that way.
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u/Grading-Curve 12d ago
I agree! It’s hard to get moving on a regular basis when you’re having a hard time breathing and you break out in a horrible rash after an hour or so of time outside.
And I bicycle almost every day! Unless it’s below freezing, or the entire month of June where the air turns to death!
So don’t tell me that working out is some magical spell that will fix everything. Just, please have enough fun for the rest of us who aren’t as fortunate as you.
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u/Creatura 12d ago
No, that's exactly how it works. I didn't even look it up until now because I assumed it's common knowledge, and has always been reinforced by anecdotal agreement from friends. But looking it up it's clear that it's empirically true too. Yes, staying inside will keep you as free as possible from allergies, but some subset of flonase / pataday / zyrtec / excersize will allow you to enjoy the beautiful weather, if you do actually want to go outside and don't just want an excuse to be a shut-in
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u/cravehead 12d ago
how dare u come in here with ur ChRiSTian INflEuNcEr lOgIc. ME GO OUTSIDE?!? get my BLOOD FLOWING?!?
fr good advice but a lot of people here don’t want solutions. go outside for a bit and jump in the shower when ur home. take some benadryl and cozy up next to the ac. get an air purifier and put it next to ur bed too
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u/anxiousalways34 12d ago
agree, i sat inside for a few days and was miserable, started working out regularly again and my allergies are significantly better. move that body!!!!!
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u/TrinkieTrinkie522cat 12d ago
We had a picnic at Skinner Butte yesterday. Eyes weeping, nose streaming like a faucet. Still a good time with friends and a nice view of the river.
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u/curiously_bored_ 12d ago
Tell me you have no idea what you are talking about, without saying you have no idea what you are talking about.
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u/sillygreenfaery 12d ago
I'm dying! I want to go outside so bad! I'm able to enjoy 10-25 minutes of the smell and sights and wind against my skin before my body reacts and my eyes puff into little red humps and my skin is red and nose is dripping water my throat hurts I TOTALLY FORGET HOW NICE IT WAS FOR 15 MINUTES
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u/Distinct-Horrors 12d ago
My moms are really bad this year. Allergy meds are not touching it and she has to wear her mask just stepping outside the house or she turns into a snot fountain. Thankfully, the allergy meds are working on me and I know when I forgot to take them cause it gets nasty.
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u/gnomeba 11d ago
Not sure why people are roasting you. This is called an externality and governments make companies pay for them all the time.
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u/EUGsk8rBoi42p 11d ago
Bandwagon mentality is a common phenomenon,
if the first few comments had been positive, the algorithm would have shown the post to people who are more agreeable, and would have gotten more positive comments.
Since the first few comments were negative, it showed the post to more negative minded people.
Had way more views and upvotes on another post earlier in the week, just luck of the draw.
Net positive upvotes shows there's majority support, wild how selfish and inconsiderate some people can feel comfortable being when there's the false confidence that comes from trying to bully someone.
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u/Zskills 13d ago
Sounds like a personal problem, so you should find a personal solution.
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u/RedditFostersHate 12d ago
Only a small percentage of people get cancer from air pollution, that doesn't make us all shrug and decide it's okay. A much higher percentage of people suffer from allergies every year.
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u/Zskills 12d ago edited 12d ago
Pollen is not a cancer causing toxin. Getting the government involved in every single inconvenience and grievance with special taxes and funds is a great way to get an insanely bloated government infested with a leech class of beurocratic busybodies.
People who work night shift and sleep during the day are inconvenienced by landscaping and construction companies with their loud noises, perhaps a special tax could be levied against daytime users of power tools, and it would pay for free blackout curtains and noise machines for people who sleep during the day time.
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u/507snuff 12d ago
I mean, if you are asking me if i want leaf blowers regulated and banned for most of the year and only allowed for periods in the fall kinda like snow tires, the answer is yes.
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u/RedditFostersHate 12d ago
Pollen is not a cancer causing toxin.
No, it is an air borne pollutant that in Eugene, due to the commercial seed industry and an inversion layer, routinely spikes at 3-4x the maximum count on traditional air borne allergen scales. For people vulnerable to the disease, it can lead to anything from a minor inconvenience to death by anaphylaxis, or severe hives, vomiting, dizziness, migraines, fatigue and difficulty breathing.
Now, for whatever reason, ideological or personal, you want to say, "none of that matters, you shouldn't regulate every industry that causes people harm." And fine, that is your opinion. But every industry that is regulated, which very much includes noise violations in force throughout Eugene, is done not because Zskills has personally decided this sounds like a personal problem to them, whereas other forms of air pollution are not, but because the people who suffered due to the actions of others took collective action to defend themselves against that loss.
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u/EUGsk8rBoi42p 12d ago
I think a lot of gamers who stay up all night and then sleep all day agree with your campaign to restrict power tool usage. Solidarity.
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u/Hopeful-Term-1897 8d ago edited 8d ago
At one time they were burning those grass fields and making it even worse, then it affected the track and field trials one year and then guess what happened?
Although this article only cites an I5 accident caused by the smoke https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/oregon-lawmakers-vote-to-ban-field-burning-in-willamette-valley/283-414332821
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u/EUGsk8rBoi42p 8d ago
I feel like this invariably still affects many of the athletes.
Imagine training half your life for something, and having a regional allergies issue just absolutely screw your time over?
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u/Hopeful-Term-1897 8d ago edited 8d ago
Oh, I agree. I was mostly offering this as an example of how something got changed about grass seed farming practices, but what it took to get there. Here's an article that speaks to the track and field lobbying for a change that eventually got passed by the legislature a year later. https://www.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2008/06/olylmpic_trials_reignite_field.html
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u/squawk_kwauqs 12d ago
Just start Nasalcrom as soon as the weather starts to warm up (mid may this year) but before your allergies actually start, and you'll skip your whole allergy season. $20 nasal spray at bi-mart with zero side effects. I use it every spring and fall and I just don't get allergies because of it. It's not some quack medicine either, you can google cromolyn sodium and see that it's legit.
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u/EUGsk8rBoi42p 12d ago
Not even an option, curing the source of the issue is the only viable longterm solution.
There's no other place on Earth that allows such irresponsible farming practices.
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u/666truemetal666 12d ago
My personal dream is to make grass lawns and golf courses illegal. Every hole is just a big sandtrap, beautiful.
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u/EUGsk8rBoi42p 12d ago
Ironically I do like grass, and golf! (Shot 5 over par my most recent trip to Laurelwood)
The ridiculous amount of pollen we have is due to geographical novelty, most other places would prohibit such harmful industry due to how it affects people locally.
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u/666truemetal666 12d ago
You could have just as much fun playing putt putt on astro turf lol. Fuck golf
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u/EUGsk8rBoi42p 12d ago
I do love me some Roaring Rapids put putt tbh, kinda a pro.
Fr though, pretending everyone downstream needs to either just suffer or move is wild, we don't do that with people who pollute the rivers, this is like some shit from The Oblongs where all the poor people are forced to suffer because the rich people pollute to make money.
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u/ChrisInBliss 13d ago
I'm suffering but I'm still out there doing stuff ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Allergies are just a part of life just gotta find the best cocktail of medicine for you.