Conscious Choice Seattle: Our ‘Score’ on Saving the Pacific Northwest

June 2004 | Evergreen News

Our ‘Score’ on Saving the Pacific Northwest

The new and ambitious “Cascadia Scorecard” from the Northwest Environment Watch (NEW) organization starts out with a clear, full definition of the Pacific Northwest:

“It includes British Columbia, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and adjoining parts of Alaska, Montana and California. Often called Cascadia — for the Cascade Mountains and the earthquake-prone Cascadia subduction zone — the region is home to more than 15 million people, along with diminished but still impressive numbers of salmon, eagles, grizzly bears, killer whales and wolves.”

The book ($12.95, www.northwestwatch.org, 206-447-1880) then moves swiftly into clear, intriguing and sometimes disturbing news about our region. It is thoroughly reported (20 pages of explanatory notes and sources) and will provoke reactions on every page.

One highlight is a series of population and density maps that show which metropolitan areas are protecting against “sprawl” and which are not. For the record, despite recent successes in growth management, the Seattle area nonetheless authorized 46,000 residences outside the urban-growth boundary lines between 1991 and 2001.

Another set of maps color-codes five Northwest forest areas through NASA satellite imagery. The maps show park or wilderness, forest (both in green shades) and clearcut (in orange). There is much more orange than any of us would like to imagine.

The Scorecard reveals more surprises in its information-hefty 104 pages. For example, despite our Ecotopian reputation, residents of Washington use more highway fuels and non-industrial electricity per person that Californians or New Yorkers and almost as much as Texans.

Ouch.

On the plus side, Seattle City Light is cited as a regional model. It owns the first large-scale hydroelectric dams in the world to win an environmental seal of approval. The utility has invested aggressively in wind power and is close to eliminating net emissions of greenhouse gases.

In the health category, Washingtonians have the second-longest expected life span in the region, 78.6 years, behind only British Columbians (80.7). In fact, if B.C. were an independent country it would be second only to Japan for life expectancy among all nations.

The idea of the project was to create tools to monitor seven important topics for the region: health, economy, population, energy, sprawl, forests and pollution.

“We wanted to provide a deeper knowledge about how we are doing in key areas,” said Alan Durning, 39, executive director at NEW. “We intend to regularly update the index of trends and ask the right questions.”

Among the questions: Are we living healthier, longer lives? Are we building stronger communities? Are we handing down to our children (and their children) a place whose ecosystems are regenerating?

As it turns out, the news is mixed. What’s most encouraging is Durning and his staff will be on the case.

— Andrew Mulholland

Local Bag Man: Is He a Democrat?

Bringing new meaning to the phrase “inside joke” is Tom Bihn’s company based in Port Angeles. Bihn designs, manufactures and sells laptop bags, messenger bags, backpacks and briefcases.

As a service to his customers, Bihn attaches a laundry-instructions label. In Canada, the label has instructions in both English and French. As it turns out, the French portion of the laundry has some additional commentary.

An extra line reads in French: “Nous sommes desoles que notre president soit un idiot. Nous n’avon pas vote pour lui.”

Any guesses on the translation?

Right. It reads, “We are sorry that our president is an idiot. We didn’t vote for him.”

Bihn, who has 10 employees and a Seattle retail outlet (visit www.tombihn.com), told Reuters he has “no idea” how the label was, ahem, enhanced but did allow that the resulting buzz from an Internet blog posting has doubled sales.

Bags with the cheeky tags have made their way ‘round the world — including to some American soldiers in Iraq. Bihn, in a feat of diplomatic shading, has relented to issue an apology, claiming the tag was referring to him and not President Bush. “I am terribly sorry that this inside joke has been misconstrued to be a slur on any other president [some people wonder if French prez Jacques Chirac was the target],” Bihn says. “The joke is on me, and I think it’s funny.”

On a serious note, Bihn has created a t-shirt featuring the label. He will donate all proceeds of the sale of the shirts to the Seattle Vet Center, specifically toward its Homeless Vet Program.

— Dan Cohen

Organic Foods Under Assault

Outraged organic-foods activists are calling for action against the staff of the National Organic Program (NOP), a governmental agency that is supposed to protect the integrity of the organic labeling program. The organic program staff recently unveiled a slew of new directives that instead the standards for organic foods.

Among the directives is that fish and seafood will not be eligible for the organic label. Another move sure to adversely affect small organic dairy farmers is that large organic dairy farms, such as Horizon, will be allowed to purchase conventional heifers and phase them into their organic production — and still maintain the organic label.

Critics believe that NOP’s director Richard Matthews and his staff intentionally loosened the organic standards to cater to large-scale agribusinesses. They are concerned that he and his staff have set a course to make “organic” meaningless, akin to “all natural” or “whole” — a move that ultimately will jeopardize the livelihood of small organic farmers.

Perhaps most galling is that the organics program staff issued its new directives without consulting its advisory board.

“We’re going to have to mobilize if we’re going to preserve the organic label and organic integrity,” says Ronnie Cummins of the Organic Consumers Association (OCA).

Direct your protests to the NOP’s director, Richard Matthews, through the OCA’s letter-writing campaign at www.organicconsumers.org.

— Mandy Burrell

Citigroup Antes Up on the Environment

After four years of grassroots organizing by Rainforest Action Network (RAN), Citigroup has adopted landmark environmental policies that RAN executive director Michael Brune calls “the strongest ... yet of any private financial institution in the world.”

Citigroup agreed to stop funding logging operations in tropical rainforests and to impose strident investment restrictions on oil, gas, logging and mining operations in all endangered ecosystems worldwide. It also has promised to increase investment in renewable-energy projects and help its clients reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

RAN followed the money trail that implicated the bank in environmentally destructive policies. It also enlisted Hollywood celebrities Susan Sarandon and Daryl Hannah to make TV ads urging the public to cut up their Citibank cards in protest of bank-funded cutting of forests from the Amazon to Northern California.

It’s good news that powerful corporations like Citigroup are responsive to progressive, citizen-led movements. In fact, in the wake of Citigroup’s decision, other mega-banks have stepped forward. J. P. Morgan Chase & Co., for instance, created “encouraging” targets and timelines for enacting environmental policies, according to RAN. “There is a new bottom line on Wall Street, and financial institutions that don’t reconcile with it are destined to become ... fossils,” says Brune.

Meantime, RAN’s victory is tempered by an investigation that Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee are launching into RAN’s affairs. In the same vein as the radical right’s recent attacks against non-governmental organizations such as Greenpeace (see April 2004, “Pirates vs. Patriots”), the committee is challenging RAN’s status as a taxpayer-supported organization. For more info, visit www.ran.org.

— Allan Hunt Badiner

Note: The author serves on the Board of Directors for Rainforest Action Network.

Good Beans at the U.N.

“Conscious” coffee drinkers at the United Nations (UN) in New York City can get their fix and still rest easy now that the UN has made the big switch — and we don’t mean to decaf. Cafeterias and coffee shops at the UN have started serving sustainable coffee, certified by the Rainforest Alliance.

“Ultimately, how dollars are spent in the developed world has a major effect on sustainability in the developing world,” says Sean Southey, manager of the UN Development Program’s Equator Initiative. “At the United Nations, we now have a chance to ‘walk the talk’ — to put our dollar behind the issues we talk about.”

Coffee production is, indeed, a major issue worldwide. The coffee industry is the world’s second largest after oil, employing nearly 25 million workers — many of whom do not receive fair pay for their labor. In addition, most beans are grown in the tropics, where chemical-laden conventional farming methods threaten waterways, wildlife and native vegetation. On Rainforest Alliance-certified farms, emphasis is placed on conserving soils, preserving and replanting tropical forests, protecting rivers and natural habitats and compensating workers with fair wages, decent housing, good schools and access to health care.

— M.B.

The Rub on Fat Chickens

High-protein dieters, take note: A report from the National Institutes of Health and the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service found higher-than-expected levels of arsenic in the flesh of broiler chickens.

Why? Two words: fatter chickens.

“Arsenic is typically placed into the feed [of conventionally raised chickens] to promote growth,” said Matt Flanagan of Shelton’s Poultry in Pomona, Calif. “Because it irritates the lining of the stomach, they’re always hungry; they eat out of control.”

Organic chickens, by the way, are not fed arsenic compounds. But unfortunately, while most Americans don’t eat organic, they do eat chicken — and a lot of it. The report states that “chicken consumption in the United States has increased steadily from 32 pounds per person in 1966 to 81 pounds per person in 2000.”

What’s more, a person eating 12 ounces of chicken a day would get 15 to 20 percent of the maximum tolerable daily intake of toxic, inorganic arsenic — a maximum that the report suggests is set too high and should be lowered. One reason is that arsenic “hides” in many sources, including drinking water, dust, fumes, seafood, rice, mushrooms — not to mention poultry. Thus, most people ingest arsenic without knowing it, risking overexposure. Indeed, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says long-term exposure to arsenic in drinking water might cause cancers of the bladder, lungs, skin and other organs.

A lead researcher on the arsenic report suggests that people who know the arsenic in their water is high or who are exposed to arsenic at work should keep tabs on their total dietary arsenic intake.

— Danila Oder

Toss the Prozac and Breathe?

An ancient yogic breathing technique called Sudarshan Kriya has been shown to have a 68 to 73 percent success rate in the treatment of depression, regardless of severity, according to studies published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Patients practicing the breathing technique, which was created by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, experienced relief from depression within three weeks, as determined by standard psychiatric measures. What’s more, after three months, patients remained stable and in remission.

Further studies suggest the technique normalizes patients’ brainwave patterns and increases serum prolactin (a “well-being” hormone). Researchers conclude that the technique is as effective in the treatment of depression as antidepressant drugs or electroconvulsive therapy, yet is free from unwanted side effects, cost-effective and self-empowering.

Columbia University senior psychiatrist and leading depression expert Dr. Richard Brown recommends the program to both patients and colleagues as an alternative to conventional therapies. “Other techniques are either so difficult to do that people just stop practicing them, or [they] take 30 years or more to show results.”

For more info, check out www.artofliving.org.

— Jeffrey Ainis

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