cblechschmid

**State:** Oregon
 * Name:** Chrysta Blechschmid

** SENATOR I MOST AGREE WITH: **
==== The senator I most agree with from Oregon is Jeff Merkley. I mostly agree with him because we have the same views on energy conservation and stopping our dependence on foreign oil. He believes that we should ramp up the making of electric cars and he believes that domestic drilling will not solve the problem. I agree with his thinking. Jeff wants to stop sending so much money on foreign energy and wants to try to get our economy back on track. We also agree on many other issues like education, animal conservation and many more. He says that education is so important. It determines whether the children will succeed and if our nation will succeed in the future. If our country wants to keep growing we need to have children with a well-round curriculum. I agree with all of his education issue. And also would like to create jobs in Oregon. I agree with most of what he is doing, but not all of it. ====

** 7 Interesting Facts **
1. State Bird is meadowlark

2. Oregon was the 33rd state admitted into the Union over 150 years ago
3. State Motto: "She flies with her own wings"

** Facts: (And connections to my issues) **
1. Oregon is home to the wildlife Safari (Endangered animals is one of my issues and they are helping endangered animals)

2. Oregon has become a leader in developing renewable energy sources and is greatly expanding production and development of green technology (Energy conservation is on of my issues and they are helping with the problem)

3. The Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) comprises a medical, dental, and nursing school in Portland and a science and engineering school in Hillsboro. It rated 2nd among US best medical schools based on research by The Med School 100. (Education is the issue I most agree with him on)

4. Some of the National Forests in Oregon are Deschutes, Fremont, Malheur, Mount Hood, Ochoco, Rogue River, Siskiyou, Siuslaw, Umatilla, Umpqua, Wallowa Whitman, Willamette, Winema. (Protects the wildlife and helps keep environment safe for endangered animals)

5. A National Park in Oregon is Crater Lake which is home to numerous animals and plant species. It varies with the seasons. (The Columbian white tailed deer, the gray wolf, and the American Peregrine Falcon all live in this park and all of them are endangered animals and the park protects them)

6. Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon thinks that we will oil independent by the year 2030. (Oil independency is one of the issues I agree with Jeff Merkley on//)// = // Important issues: Endangered Species, Energy conservation, and cyber bullying // = 1. __Endangered species Overview__: An organization called the Convention in trade of endangered species also know as CITES protects the animals and the habitats. We have many laws today about the conservation of endangered wild life and it is strongly enforced by many other countries beside ours. CITES does not have a law however that is strongly enforced about the habitat conservation on which these endangered animals live on. So deforestation and progress will presume. There are many rescue groups to try and protect these animals, but they are not always successful. The law against hunting and harming endangered animals and their habitats use to be a very protective but the amendments made it broader every time. Now there is CITES which only covers the trading portion which a much less protective law than before. This is a very important issue and many people will agree with me.

2. __Energy conservation__: Fears about global warming, environmental destruction, endangered plant and animal life as a result of habitat loss, and toxic waste concerns have driven many environmentalist groups to think that energy conservation is necessary if people want to maintain their standards of living. You could use renewable energy such as solar, wind, hydro (water) to cut down on how much pollution we put into our environment. Many call it going “green”. We rely so much on our fossil fuels and they are nonrenewable so once they run out, they run out. We rely on gasoline and oil, but we get our oil often from foreign counties. There is a lot of new technology that encourages Americans to “go green”. We only have one earth let’s protect it so generations to come can have all that we do.

3. __Cyber bullying-__This topic needs a lot of attention because with the increase of technology it is happening more often. This form of bullying can happen online and through text messaging. It can be direct and indirect. Direct is when the bully is personally posting mean comments online and texting them mean comments. Indirect is when the hack into the account and mess with it. There are many causes to this type of bullying. One is simply because of boredom which we need to stop and show people that it is really affecting the victim. Many schools are trying to encourage students to not bully, but it is hard to monitor everyone.

My bill is on animal safety. It states that any household animals are limited to the back seat of a moving vehicle. We are proposing this bill because 80% of all car crashes are from distracted driving and we want that percentaged lowered. This bill will be payed for by donations and by fines. We would have to pay for the education and the advertisment.This bill would ensure that the driver’s distractions would be at a minimum and it would cause less car accidents. People should vote for this bill because it makes it gives the maximum safety to the driver, and all the passengers with or without fur.
 * My Bill SB46: **

** Sources: ** 1. ABC-CLIO1.Vaughn, Jacqueline. "Endangered Species: Overview." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 7 Mar. 2011. 2. Stockdale, Nancy. "Energy Conservation: Overview." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 7 Mar. 2011. 3.[] 4. Kowalski, Robin M. "Cyber Bullying: Overview." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. 5.Moan, Jaina L., and Zachary A. Smith. "Energy Use Worldwide: Overview." //Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society//. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 6 Apr. 2011. 6. Endangered Species Program: Home Page." //U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Home//. Web. 06 Apr. 2011. [] .  // 7. Cyberbullying — National Crime Prevention Council." Home — National Crime Prevention Council . 2001. Web. 06 Apr. 2011. []. // 8.“Distracted Driving: Are Animals in the Car Just as Distracting as Texting?” //Washington Consumer Attorneys// August 18, 2010 __[]__ 9.Pets Distract Driver’s, Too.” //Automotive Digest// January 22, 2011 __[]__ 10.Santos, Enrique. “Dogs Could Be Forced To Wear Seatbelts if Bill Makes Drivers Restrain Pets” 2011 __[]__ 11. “Pets and Vehicles” //Pet Care// 2011 __[]__ 12. “Restraining Pets in Vehicles Improves Safety For All” //Hameroff Law Firm, PC.// 2011 __[]__