A chapter in Oregon is guided by the genius of its members

Phil Barnhart, the President of the 2-year-old Emerald Valley Electric Vehicle Association (EVEVA) in Oregon, has learned in his career to turn the talent that comes his way into an asset. 

That’s how he navigated the 18 years he served in the Oregon House of Representatives, where he marshalled the help of environmental and clean energy organizations to pass a remarkable number of pro-electric vehicle (EV) bills that became state laws and/or regulations. And that’s how he runs the EVEVA now. 

“We’re very lucky with the Emerald Valley chapter in that we have so many great members who are very imaginative and very active,” Barnhart said. “Together, they go a long way toward broadening our reach and our capacity. My job is to help and comment and then get out of the way.”

Chapter member Sid Baum is a case in point. In addition to co-running a 50-acre family farm outside Eugene with her husband, she’s been an advocate for everything EV, including farm equipment. Most recently she has spearheaded efforts to include electric tractors in the list of EVs eligible for state rebates. 

”We were amending the bill to add electric 4-wheelers and electric farm utility vehicles,” said Baum. “We were especially excited about the 4-wheelers because they’re used on farms all over the state and the gas vehicles are very noisy and air polluting.”

“I had a bunch of farmers lined up to testify, but the bill didn’t come up this year,” Baum continued. “I’m still trying to keep farmers excited about it.” 

“In Oregon, legislation dies if it doesn’t make it through in a particular session,” Barnhart explained. “But there’s a good chance this bill will eventually be passed. It saves the farmers from buying diesel fuel and breathing  diesel fumes. Once the benefits are understood, it will get support.”

Resiliency in advocacy

When the pandemic started and EVEVA in-person events were curtailed, “I was concerned about how we would keep our community outreach advocacy going,” Baum remarked. “Using Burma-Shave signs seemed like an idea that would work for us.”

Going back to 1925, Burma-Shave was an American brand of brushless shaving cream that was famous for advertising products on sequential road signs posted along highways. 

“Everyone was in their cars during the pandemic,” Baum said. “Everyone was looking for human contact. With these signs, we could provide some contact and spread the word.” 

The Electric Transportation Action Group, (E-TAG) part of 350 Eugene, agreed  to fund production of the signs, and EVEVA Vice-President Al LePage volunteered to write the jingles to be placed on both sides of the poster board.

“We never just left the signs out there on the road,” Baum said. “We knew it would be more effective if we were holding them or standing next to them. And we felt we could be safe… that we could spread our message without spreading the virus.”

One day I took…

An electric for a ride…

That’s all it took for me..

To finally decide.

First or second car…

New or used…

Time to buy electric...

So the planet is not abused.

“We started in mid-September last year,” Baum said. “We’d set up at intersections with the heaviest traffic, but where cars weren’t traveling at more than 30 miles per hour. We didn’t want to cause any accidents.”

“Our goal was to become kind of ubiquitous,” she continued. “We moved around from one place to another, so people would start talking about where they saw us. We got a lot of cheers and friendly honks, but we also had the occasional truck driver who blew exhaust at us on purpose.”

“I think it worked,” remarked Barnhart. “Folks were talking about it. ‘Did you see them at that corner?’ ‘Did you see them at this corner?’”

Tesla on display 

Of course, Barnhart has done a lot of EV outreach himself over the years. This has been especially true since he took delivery on his first Tesla in 2012.

“I drove my Model S from Eugene to Salem every session day in 2013 to show it could be done,” he said. “I parked it in the Capitol garage where the other legislators would see it.”

In addition to persuading his colleagues to vote in favor of EV-friendly legislation, Barnhart also convinced several to drive EVs, as well as other clean transportation vehicles.  

“My neighbor is now the President Pro Tempore,” Barnhart said. “He’s a carpenter and was a big leader in the union before he ran for the legislature. He drives a gigantic pick-up truck but he fuels it now with 95% biodiesel.”

Barnhart was responsible a range of clean energy legislation, including including statutes granting apartment renters and condominium owners the right to install electric charging stations in parking areas so long as they paid for the equipment and installation.

“That legislation led to conversations between the landlords and the tenants, or the owners and the associations,” he explained. “The end result was usually even better than what the law requires.”

Now Barnhart, with most of his political connections in Salem still intact, is the perfect clean energy lobbyist. In addition to giving testimony at hearings where “pretty much everyone who shows up is from our chapter,” he explained, he also has advised groups like Citizens’ Climate Lobby on how to advocate for carbon pricing in the legislature.

“Just knowing how to do it is very valuable to those who know the topic but not how to navigate the process,” Phil said. 

The EVEVA: Climate change and Al Gore’s influence

Chapter Vice-President Al LePage, the executive director of an Oregon nonprofit trail organization, was jolted awake  to the threat of climate change with the release of the UN's IPCC Climate Report  in 2018. He decided to take personal action by joining Al Gore’s Climate Reality Leadership Corps.

Traveling to Atlanta to complete the training in early 2019, he met up with 2000 like-minded people from all over the world.

“The mission we all accepted was to return to our home areas, take action, and especially in the U.S., to make a push for resolutions toward developing climate action plans at the county level,” LePage explained.

He did just that, introducing the idea during a group brainstorming session at a very engaged Climate Town Hall in Eugene. He initiated and facilitated the group focused on creating a plan to advocate for action, and this eventually led to the county moving forward on developing a plan.

Along the way, events were held and organizations were formed. LePage signed up to join E-TAG, meeting monthly to advance their agenda. It was Barhhart, also a group member, who proposed the formation of a local chapter of the EAA.

“We had our first pre-chapter meeting at Phil’s house,” LePage explained. “There were around 10 of us around his dining room table... some from E-TAG, and others who had EVs.”

“It became apparent that we needed to affiliate with a larger organization,” Barnhart said. “What attracted me to the EAA is that it provides such a great model when it comes to getting out into the community to expose people to electric vehicles. There’s no agenda for a particular model car.  It’s a strategy that just works.”

The first actual chapter meeting was scheduled to be held in a local supermarket’s community room with a 25-person capacity. Announcements were disseminated and over 50 EV enthusiasts showed-up.

Just a few weeks later, “We held our first event in partnership with a local recycling group,” Barnhart said. “The weather was terrible, and we thought it would be a bust, but it was a great success anyway. The local electric utility, and FORTH also showed up. Between, us we educated several dozen people and provided several test drives— in the pouring rain.”

Revving it up

One of EVEVA’s most recent  outreach efforts is rEV UP Oregon!, a free, 75-minute online workshop offered by chapter member Charlie Loeb that covers the basics of owning an EV.

A former state transportation coordinator in Alaska, Loeb launched ‘rEV UP!’ with the support of the University of Oregon and the Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB).  

“EWEB gave us a $5000 grant to advertise this project,” LePage explained. “Charlie is just phenomenal. He just has a way of reaching an audience. It’s been a huge success.”

“Charlie is very articulate,” Barnhart agreed. “He should do this nationally. He’s definitely responsible for a lot of EV adoption.”

“Education is so important to moving the EV agenda forward.  We have to look at all possible ways to reach the public, Burma-Shave signs included. For EVEVA, the key has been to support our many talented members in doing what they do best.”