Conscious Choice Seattle:

March 2004 | Evergreen News

Revving Up at Local Hybrid Dealers

If you hope to buy a hybrid car this year, be forewarned it might be later rather than sooner. Vic Rasmussen at the Toyota Seattle dealership reports demand for that company’s news Prius has been strong even before its official release date last October.

The dealership is back-ordered 10 months (no, that’s not a typo) for the cars, which cost $20,000 to $27,000 and gets somewhere between 48 and 68 miles per gallon. The dealership is getting orders from as far away as New York, adding up to a waiting list of 70 to 80 people. If a Prius happens to make to the dealership lot, it lasts no more than two or three days and sometimes doesn’t get through the first afternoon without being affixed with a “sold” sticker.

The hybrid combination of gasoline and electricity appears to be irresistible—and is even surprising car companies. Along with the Toyota Prius, both the Civic and Insight models from Honda are selling briskly.

Wait lists for the car grow around the country. Sam Butto, of Toyota’s corporate office, says the demand for the Toyota Prius is higher in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world – even Japan. Out of Toyota’s 12 regions, California tops the market with 27 percent of their national sales. The Pacific Northwest region of Washington, Oregon and Idaho also has a strong showing of 9 percent of national sales from less than a third of California’s population.

–Heather Nordell

Saturday Morning at the Caucus

Washington state resident and novelist Kim Antinea (“Coyote Cowgirl”) attended a Democratic caucus last month. She filed this report for Evergreen Monthly:

On Feb. 7, I participated in the Democratic caucus in Stevenson, my small town in Skamania County along the Columbia River about an hour from Vancouver, Wash., and Portland. I have lived in four different states since I was old enough to vote, and I have never participated in a caucus or primary.

When I registered to vote and the form asked me my political affiliation, I always wrote, "Independent." But these desperate times require desperate measures. I needed to become part of the "establishment."

At 9:55 a.m. I went to the Courtroom Annex two blocks from my house. I was pleasantly surprised to enter the room and find it packed with 60 other people. I hadn’t known we had that many Democrats in our conservative rural county. As it turned out, many people attending were like me. They had never registered as Democrats, believing as I had for so many years that there was not an appreciable difference between the two parties. We believed that until George W. Bush came into power.

First thing I had to do was sign a paper saying I was now a Democrat. For an anti-establishment brat from way back, I found this difficult, but I did it.

At my precinct table, I found that I knew several of the other nine people at the table. A few minutes after 10:00 a.m. a woman stood at the front of the room and read the Value Statements of the Democratic Party to us. She told us that normally only six to 10 people attended this caucus, and we all cheered. None of us at our table had been to a caucus before, so we didn’t know what to do. First off we needed a precinct chair. We chose another woman as the chair. She picked me as the secretary.

First thing we had to know was who was for which candidate. Six of us wanted Kerry for president, two were for Dean and two were undecided. I was one of the undecided. When it was time for discussion, I told my fellow Democrats why.

"Dean said he’s thinking of dropping out," I said. "I don’t think he should. It’s amazing what he and Kucinich have done for the party. They are partially responsible for this amazing turnout. That and the fact that we all want Bush out of office. I don’t want anyone else to drop out because I don’t know what the Republican party is going to do to Kerry. I want to make certain he can stand up to what they’re going to throw at him."

We talked about how great Kucinich was. One man said that Kucinich couldn’t be elected, and he didn’t believe Dean could be elected either. The two Dean supporters said they did not understand "electability." They said it was a term coined by the media that meant nothing. A Kerry supporter tried to explain what "electability" meant to him; we needed to choose someone with charisma, someone that was steady. (This was a veiled reference to Dean, we all knew.)

The Dean supporter wasn’t buying it, but it was a calm discussion. I loved it. It was exhilarating to be in a room with a group of people who could agree to disagree. We talked about politics with respect for the other speakers.

As a group, our precinct decided we wanted to send the message that we didn’t want Dean to drop out, so we wanted one of our delegates to be for Dean. Two for Kerry, one for Dean. Once we had decided on this, we went on to discuss the Democratic Value Statements. We objected to any wording about "morals" or religion. We wanted separation of church and state.

We also decided the Value Statements did not say enough about the environment. We wrote our own statement to add to the others. We said that protecting the environment was essential to the health of our communities.

Our caucus gave Kerry five delegates, Dean three and Edwards one.

At the end of the process, about noon, feeling buoyed and hopeful, I said good-bye to my precinct-mates. I wondered where the people I saw in the caucus room had been all these years. They may have been wondering where I had been, too. Although I have done peace and environmental work most of my adult life, I have never been involved in the electoral process—beyond voting.

For a long while many of us have wondered why the Democrats haven’t stood up and fought against this regime. Where were they? Today I think I found some of them in that basement room. They is us.

—Kim Antieau

Cruisin’ for a Change in the Law

In case you missed it, state Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson (D-Seattle) introduced a bill in late January that if passed would pretty much outlaw cruise ships from dumping wastewater in the Puget Sound.

Five years ago, that might not have all that significant because six ships—count ‘em, six—made Seattle a port stop in 1999. This year 140 ships are expected. That’s a lot of you know what. Especially when you consider these ships can carry up to 5,000 passengers and crewmembers.

The cruise ship industry and state department of ecology have been negotiating to establish voluntary “memorandum of understanding” but environmental activists have called for an actual law. A bill here in Washington would follow similar legislation on the books in Alaska and California, plus be welcomed by anyone who recalls the Norwegian Sun cruise ship dumped 40 tons of human waste into the Strait of Juan de Fuca last May.

"We need more than memos to protect ourselves," said Dickerson, whose bill would give the state ecology department authority to board the ships once a season.

"The legislation that you have before you is tantamount to putting a "cruise ships not welcome" sign at the entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca," Dan Grausz, vice president and general counsel for Seattle-based Holland America Line, told the House Fisheries, Ecology and Parks Committee during a hearing.

Even so, Grausz told an Associated Press reporter after the meeting that the requirement was “technically feasible” because cruise ships tend to stop over in Seattle for only one day.
"It’s got to go somewhere," Grausz said to AP. "The next place is Canada."

—Andrew Mulholland

Mad cow disease? Not on This Day

Dare to be meat-free on March 20 as the Great American Meatout campaign promotes eating vegetables, fruits and grains. Meatout’s goal is to persuade people not to eat any meat products on the first day of spring...with the intent of eating less of it overall.

Dawn Moncries, Meatout’s national coordinator, wants regular meat eaters to become educated on the individual and collective benefits of a vegetarian diet.

“It’s not really so difficult to give up meat for one day,” Moncries said. “There are so many joys from excluding meat, and we hope that one day will expand to two or three.”
From a worldview, going veg reduces the negative environmental impact of meat production and consumption. According to the Worldwatch Institute’s recent “State of the World” report, to produce one calorie of beef requires 33 percent more fossil fuel energy than to produce one calorie of potatoes.

Obviously, the mad cow disease crisis has alerted many Americans. But Meatout suggest any consumption of meat can be harmful—since eliminating meat from meals reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer.

Meatout organizers hope to promote alternative food choices with hundreds of billboards and media coverage in over 10 metropolitan areas across the U.S.

Nationwide, exhibits and entertainment will focus on going meatless.

Local Meatout events around the Puget Sound include a “Meatout Bash and Lecture” sponsored by the Center for Vegan Organic Education in Vashon Island (the fundraiser costs $30 with dinner and other goodies included; 206-250-7301). For details on the national campaign, visit www.meatout.org or call 800-632-8688.

—Renee Edlund

Wearing the jacket—of Solar Power

Now you can slip on your jacket and be instantly wired. ICP Solar Technologies, a Canadian company, has designed a solar-powered jacket that allows wearers to carry, connect and charge their portable digital devices within the pre-wired jacket’s vest.

This is a departure from the route that solar has been taking, Interest in solar power has typically been focused on large-scale buildings and architectural planning. Incorporated into buildings’ designs, solar power is an important ingredient in making a building more green by saving energy and reducing expenses.

The jacket runs between $200 and $400. ICP says it is waterproof and durable (presumably protecting both you and the solar cells). The number at ICP Solar Technologies is 514-270-5770.

—R.E.

Just Say No to Coffee for a Month (?!)

In an interesting and somewhat bold move, Nebraska’s Gov. Mike Johanns has declared all of March “Caffeine Awareness Month” throughout his state. In his proclamation, the Governor says, “I call upon the Nebraska citizens, government agencies, public and private institutions, businesses and schools to recommit our community to increasing awareness and understanding of caffeine addiction and to support those who are trying to reduce or eliminate caffeine consumption.”

While Johanns’ intentions are fitting—66 million Americans are currently consuming caffeinated products at an average of 3 cups per day —why designate an entire month to the issue?

Al Kushner, husband and supporter of Marina Kushner, who developed the organic coffee substitute Soyfee and conceived the idea of an awareness month, explains the immediacy of caffeine awareness. “A 12-ounce can of [soda] in a kid is the equivalent of four cups of coffee for an adult,” he says. “A lot of children are addicted to caffeine and we’re letting parents know that this is a big issue.”

The concerns aren’t solely about how caffeine effects our kids because it’s also been shown to have a ripple effect in the workplace. According to Johanns’ declaration, caffeine overdoses can lead to headaches, jitteriness, irritability, difficulties in concentration and mood swings, which can affect productivity.

Johanns isn’t alone in his desires to quell caffeine consumption in his state. In fact, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle issued the same proclamation for his state and two others, New Hampshire and Tennessee, are currently considering it.

No word on Washington and don’t hold your morning espresso waiting for a proclamation from Gov. Gary Locke.

Kushner has distributed a video on caffeine addiction to dieticians and health organizations throughout Nebraska to promote “Caffeine Awareness Month.” And recommends checking out for more info. “We basically want to provide people alternatives to decaffeinated products,” says Kushner.

“People are unaware of how much caffeine is in their products today. We’re hoping to create a trend going downward.”

Visit www.caffeineawareness.org for more information.

—Dan Cohen

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