There are other challenges life presents, certainly - like racism masquerading as diversity, and the global duncery of liberals. Not to mention the befuddling existence of white crayons. But Whidbey Island writer Sarri Gilman most saliently opines in the Everett Herald about the slippery selling of virtue, and anti-virtue, at the local grocery store.
I hadn't realized how much consciousness-raising was taking place....Everything from chocolate to sanitary napkins had an issue to raise. I became dizzy trying to sort it out. If we were going to eat chocolate, was I destroying habitat? Could I save chimpanzees in Africa if I bought dark chocolate instead of the milk chocolate? The milk chocolate saved turtles. I am very devoted to chimps, but I can't stand dark chocolate. Was it really within my means to spend $3.50 for a chocolate bar? Should I just send an organization a check instead?.....I (saw) tea being sold for $13.99 in bamboo boxes. Are you kidding? The bamboo box explains that each box is crafted to be Earth-friendly. Is there no cheaper way to package your tea in an Earth-friendly manner?...Aisle 6 is featuring soap, glycerin bath soap, for $6.99. The package insists that this soap is organic. What the heck is organic soap?....If this is a big concern, lots more effort needs to be put into educating the general public about the hazards of non-organic glycerin.
...Since I wasn't paying attention to the ring-up because (my husband) was with me, I gave my full attention to the magazine rack. What's that?...that magazine Elle Girl. I didn't know Elle had a magazine for girls. The lead article for...April 2006 is: "International Sex Survey." Who would want to read that to their little girl? Who would want their preteen or teen to read this? Under the Elle Girl banner it says, "Dare to be different."
Phew. Sometimes the little things doadd up. Virtuous chocolate, virtuous tea, and virtuous soap at the store; along with a magazine deemed perfectly acceptable by management, selling sex to young girls. Cognitive dissonance, anyone?
Posted by Matt Rosenberg at May 02, 2006 12:00 PM | Email ThisThis is no innocent girl's magazine in my world. I suppose in the world of "Friends" it is.
Posted by: swatter on May 2, 2006 01:19 PMIt just feels so damn good to feel so damn good about myself! Huh?
Posted by: Jeffro on May 2, 2006 01:48 PMDon't fret about their conscience bothering them when it comes time to dispose of the toxic battery, they have that covered. It won’t be their fault - it will be the fault of the people who either made the battery or the guy that sold it to them. Their intentions were good, ergo they get a pass on whatever damage they have caused. I know this seems like a stretch, and it is, but this is exactly the tack they will take and what is more the msm will reinforce their innocence by finding someone convenient to blame if need be.
Plausible deniability of any culpability or responsibility for one’s actions or one’s failure to act is the stock in trade of the holier than thou.
You nailed it and made me laugh. I can only hope that at that point in time they have a Republican Pres or a Republican Senate Majority to blame it on.
Come to think of it, what is the statute of limitations for blaming GW for everything?
Posted by: Jeffro on May 2, 2006 02:47 PMI feel like Martha Stewart. I just need to go to jail for a while for securities fraud and be worth billions, and I will be her.
Posted by: Jason Woodruff on May 2, 2006 03:20 PMhttp://carpoint.ninemsn.com.au/car-news/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabID=500648&ArticleID=5487&R=ce5487
Hybrid cars are hitting our roads in ever increasing numbers as purchase prices come down and fuel prices go up. But the substantial hidden costs of owning a hybrid car could make it a financial time bomb.
By Glenn Butler
Owners of 'environmentally friendly' hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight may be hit with a bill for up to $7000 when their car's battery dies less than eight years after purchase. The battery unit, which has a lifespan of 8-10 years -- shorter in hotter climates like Australia -- cannot be reconditioned. It must be thrown out and replaced with a new one, at considerable cost to the owner.
"A replacement battery on the Insight retails for $6840," said Honda spokesman Mark Higgins. Honda began selling the Insight hybrid in Japan car in 1997 and in Australia in 2000. It sold 44 Insights before withdrawing the futuristic-looking two-door coupe from the market earlier this year. Honda will re-enter the hybrid market with the Civic sedan in March, and aims to sell around 20 per month.
Toyota's Prius four-door sedan has fared considerably better since it launched in October 2001. Nearly 500 Australians had bought the hybrid sedan by September 2003, and Toyota hopes to move a lot more of the second generation model released in September. Toyota divisional general manager - marketing, Scott Grant believes there is a market for around 50 Prius a month. "This product is no longer a science experiment but a mainstream car," he said.
Toyota's manager of alternative fuels and specialized vehicles, Vic Johnstone, concedes the batteries, like the car itself, are built to last less than a decade. "The life of the car and the battery are supposed to be the same... around 8 to 10 years," he said. "We're not expecting to replace them [the batteries]. In fact we only hold one [replacement] battery in stock nationally."
A high percentage of hybrid vehicles brought to Australia so far have ended up in government hands. In fact Toyota believes government and business fleets will account for around 50 percent of all Prius purchases. Fleet managers turn over their vehicles after 2-3 years, meaning unsuspecting second hand buyers will be stuck with an unexpected and unwanted bill down the track.
The cost of batteries will come down as technology improves and more companies take up hybrid engines. Toyota announced a tie-up with Nissan in September, which will see the Renault-owned car company packaging Prius' Hybrid Synergy Drive system into future models.
Toyota lowered the price significantly on the Prius battery pack, from $4500 on the first model to around $3000 on the latest version, though unlike Honda, which offers an eight year warranty on the battery, Toyota only offers five years.
Despite the dramatic price drop, hybrid ownership remains a nod to better fuel economy, not financial savings. CarPoint's review of the Prius, published in October, compared the hybrid's fuel consumption to a similarly specified Toyota Corolla, and reached the conclusion it would take 15 years before the Prius' fuel economy paid off the extra purchase price.
Add battery replacement every eight years to this equation, and replacement parts costs as the vehicle exceeds its planned life of ten years and components wear out, and owners have no chance of ever seeing a dollar back.
To further add environmental insult to injury, a considerable cloud exists over just how recyclable NickelMetal Hydride batteries really are - some reports even suggest that those who buy green may be doing more environmental harm than good. Both Toyota and Honda were unable to tell CarPoint exactly how much of the battery could be recycled. Both have left the task of recycling in the hands of a third party recycler.
Internet site www.BatteryUniversity.com warns against the careless disposable of Ni-MH batteries, due to the toxicity of it main derivative, Nickel.
" The main derivative is nickel, which is considered semi-toxic. Nickel-metal-hydride also contains electrolyte that, in large amounts, is hazardous. If no disposal service is available in an area, individual nickel-metal-hydride batteries can be discarded with other household wastes. If ten or more batteries are accumulated, the user should consider disposing of these packs in a secure waste landfill."
Battery packs like that used by Toyota in the Prius, contain up to 28 groups of six Ni-MH battery cells. Correct disposal is therefore important.
"TMCA has a process in place where it comes back to the dealer," said Toyota's Vic Johnstone, "and we can recycle the battery. There's a supplier in Australia that can manage the recycling."
The global market for hybrid vehicles is booming: by 2010 Toyota expects to have sold two million worldwide, while Honda expects hybrid power trains to account for five percent of its worldwide sales in the foreseeable future. Both General Motors and Ford -- the world's two biggest car makers -- have yet to significantly flex their hybrid muscle in the market, and industry watcher JD Power expects hybrid sales to increase tenfold in the next five years.
Most agree that hybrid vehicles are a stepping stone to fuel cell technology, which requires a major infrastructure overhaul to be practical, but it's hard to see a single financial reason for consumers to buy petrol/electric hybrids.
Posted by: JDH on May 2, 2006 03:25 PMBack on point- I also like the elite Seattle progs that drive miles out of their way to shop at a Whole Foods or PCC. They'll sneer at you if they see a spray bottle of Tile-x in your cart. I feel like apologizing, "Sorry, showering causes soap build up, you ought to try it sometime".
Posted by: Jeffro on May 2, 2006 03:32 PMhttp://ideas.4brad.com/node/308
Posted by: JDH on May 2, 2006 03:33 PMNot to worry- your own words:
Plausible deniability of any culpability or responsibility for one’s actions or one’s failure to act is the stock in trade of the holier than thou.
Posted by: Jeffro on May 2, 2006 03:40 PMEvery time I see a Prius, I laugh.
Posted by: Jeff B. on May 2, 2006 05:22 PMIt's OK to offend them Jeffro!
I know that the Toyota Pious has decently impressive pickup, but you wouldn't know it from the way their driven (0 to 40 in a quarter mile!).
Posted by: alphabet soup on May 2, 2006 08:45 PMI wonder how much arsenic is in all those batteries fluids. I was thinking that maybe it would be less than the Seattle Schools Drinking Fountains and we could bottle it up sell it to the school district???
Why have we not heard from you friend and mine on this issue... the man who single-handedly revitalized Tacoma. Put Sound Transit on the right track. Rescued the Monorail system from sure financial ruin. Then with one mighty blow, blew out the smoking lamp in Washington. Friend of the “Working Girl” and the Homeless...Kevin Phelps???
Posted by: Pacific Grove Phlash on May 3, 2006 12:13 AMGiven the potential problem of toxic metals in hybrid batteries, what do those of you here suggest as a lower-environmental-impact alternative to the Prius?
This post is about virtuous feel-good purchases that do only that - make the rightious feel good. I don't have an answer to your question, but I do know that necessity is the mother of invention.
Posted by: Jeffro on May 3, 2006 08:05 AMPlus as a fire fighter we really worry about a car wreck and the power of these batteries.
Cutting into a car to save someone could become really dangerous.