Ruppert is naive and optimistic about Oregon.  Oregon is divided almost evenly in the culture war.  Yes, there are a lot of peaceful aging hippie organic gardening ecofreaks in Eugene.  There are also a lot of violent OCA fundamentalists across the river in Springfield.  Post peak oil, the outbreak of a local civil war between the red and blue cultures of Lane County Oregon is possible.  Blood was shed during violence surrounding the gay rights elections of the late 80s early 90s, people died.

Of note, the rather bad movie (but pretty good David Brin novel) Postman was about a post holocaust civil war in the Willamette Valley of Oregon.  The militias out of the Rogue River Valley (Grants Pass) came riding north to enslave the peaceful farmers of Eugene and Corvallis.

David Brin called it right.  Oregon is very problematic.  When the KKK was big in the 1920s, there were almost no Blacks or Jews to opress in Oregon.  So the KKK controlled Oregon government outlawed Catholic schools.  That had to be overturned by the US Supreme Court.  If you are planning to homestead rural Oregon, bring lots of guns and ammo,  befriend your neighbors, and good luck.

I agree; Oregon is in big trouble along with the rest of us.  The western half of the state is parched by near-perpetual drought, and the east will be subject to decimation not only by right-wing and religious factions from within but by Viking-like raiding parties from Japan.

BTW, decent land in Oregon is priced out of sight; only the rich can now afford to "homestead" there.