Jeff Reifman

Proper Context for viewing "Who Killed the Electric Car?"

I recently watched Who Killed the Electric Car? and am embarrassed to say I had no idea that the GM EV1 vehicle was so close to mass market viability. The impact of the actions taken together by GM, other car companies, oil companies buying battery technology and the California Air Resources Board (whose principles clearly had conflicts of interest and bad ethics) are incredibly tragic, irresponsible and possibly negligent.

But, the movie really has to be viewed as a companion to Taken for a Ride: Detroit's Big Three and the Politics of Air Pollution, whose story WKtEC? only alludes too once. Taken for a Ride tells the story of how GM illegally and surreptitiously bought up street cars around the country and gradually dismantled them over time at a rate just slow enough to prevent popular revolt - and ultimately paid only $1 in fines.

The subsequent investments by Congress in urban development centered around highways, roads and cars instead of livable cities with urban communities linked by public transit and rail has had a devastating impact on all aspects of American culture - or what some people today call America, as its the culture they've been raised in.

When taken in combination with the fact that GM has bankrupted itself and is bringing a portion of the American economy (and one could argue the habitability of planet earth) down with it as it pleas for further taxpayer bailouts, the impact of this greedy, misguided company is unfathomable and beyond deplorable.

Seeing GM's crushed electric cars (EV1s) (which owners wished to keep) alongside its crushed streetcars is damning evidence of GM's misguided profiteering which ultimately failed its shareholders.

The lesson to learn here and the lens to view this by is that there is something systemically wrong with a government and a culture that allows its corporations to manipulate policy so easily in a direction that is counter-productive to our communities, our health and the planetary environment. 

Those intrigued may want to visit CELDF's website now. The TfaR DVD is played as part of CELDF's Democracy School curriculum.

 

Washington State: Weighing Cars vs. People's Health

The Seattle Times appropriately juxtaposed two articles yesterday that showcase what I believe to be Washington State's misplaced priorities: State's health plan has to figure out how to drop 40,000 poor people and Alaskan Way Viaduct legislation is headed for the governor.

Essentially, Governor Gregoire is about to sign off on building a tunnel under Seattle to replace our aging highway known as the Viaduct at a projected cost of about $4.3 billion (for a project whose benefits may last 50 years). The simultaneous cut to the state health plan will save about $255 million (over three years). 

Gregoire is signing off on a pro-cars initiative as we enter a post-oil (which may not translate to post-automobile) age while the Legislature cuts funding for our most vulnerable citizens.

Add to this the likelihood that the tunnel costs will likely run much higher and that alternative investments in public transportation probably make more sense for the region long term - when taken together, these are just completely wrongheaded policy decisions.

Seattle residents should be particularly offended by the Legislature's language saying that "no more than $400 million of the additional costs shall be financed with toll revenue. Any costs in excess of ($2.8 billion) shall be borne by property owners in the Seattle area who benefit from replacement of the existing viaduct with the deep-bore tunnel." I for one, don't see this project as a benefit to my community. Nor, do I find amusing the fact that the Legislature expects cost overruns, but approved the project anyway.

Envision Spokane: A Community Bill of Rights - Democracy Now Video

One of the most exciting things happening in Washington right now that I haven't seen covered by any local news organization is the Community Bill of Rights in Spokane currently gathering signatures for the November ballot.

A grass roots community effort in Spokane, called Envision Spokane, has worked over the past two years building consensus among the many neighborhoods there to draft a bill of rights for their city. The outcome is fascinating:

 

FIRST. RESIDENTS HAVE THE RIGHT TO A LOCALLY-BASED ECONOMY.

SECOND.  RESIDENTS HAVE THE RIGHT TO AFFORDABLE PREVENTIVE HEALTHCARE.

THIRD. RESIDENTS HAVE THE RIGHT TO AFFORDABLE AND SAFE HOUSING.

 

FOURTH. RESIDENTS HAVE THE RIGHT TO AFFORDABLE AND RENEWABLE ENERGY.

 

FIFTH.  THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT HAS THE RIGHT TO EXIST AND FLOURISH.

SIXTH.  RESIDENTS HAVE THE RIGHT TO DETERMINE THE FUTURE OF THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS.

 

SEVENTH. WORKERS HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE PAID THE PREVAILING WAGE, AND THE RIGHT TO WORK AS APPRENTICES, ON CERTAIN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.

EIGHTH. WORKERS HAVE THE RIGHT TO EMPLOYER NEUTRALITY WHEN UNIONIZING, AND THE RIGHT TO CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS WITHIN THE WORKPLACE. 

NINTH. RESIDENTS, WORKERS, NEIGHBORHOODS, NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCILS, AND THE CITY OF SPOKANE SHALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO ENFORCE THE COMMUNITY BILL OF RIGHTS. 

 

Read the full text of the Bill of Rights Initiative

Thomas Linzey, founder of the Community Legal Environmental Defense Fund, and co-founder of the national Democracy Schools movement (which I've hosted here in the past in Seattle) has helped guide the process in Spokane. Recently, Linzey appeared on Democracy Now with Amy Goodman.

Last year, CELDF helped Ecuador draft and ratify a new Constitution codifying the Rights of Nature as inherent in the country's basic legal framework, thus providing new legal protections to the Galapagos Islands and Ecuadorian natural resources. 

Currently, Envision Spokane is seeking volunteers to help gather signatures to place the initiative on the November ballot.

  

Check out In:Site on Facebook, a new Arts & Culture Magazine

Congrats to the University of Washington's Supraprint journalism class who launched In:Site, a Facebook magazine covering Arts & Culture in Seattle - powered by NewsCloud. I've had the pleasure of going back to school the past few weeks to help the these emerging journalists launch their publication with the Facebook tools our team built for the Knight Foundation grant I received in December 2008.

Please check out In:Site. Invite your friends.

Read the news release.