Jumpstart Ford Activists
“Adopt A Dealer” On Fossil Fools Day
April 01, 2005 — By Rainforest Action Network
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — On April 1, the Jumpstart Ford coalition will rally in
support of the 2nd annual Fossil Fools Day with its largest day of action since
the grassroots campaign was born in 2002. Clean car crusaders will launch an
"Adopt-a-Dealer" program with actions at over 100 North American Ford
dealers in seven Canadian provinces and 43 states. Consumer activists are
highlighting Ford’s bottom-of-the-barrel EPA fuel efficiency ranking and
off-the-chart greenhouse gas emissions. Joined by longtime activist Woody
Harrelson in Santa Fe, concerned citizens will enlist Ford dealers to demand
that the automaker act socially responsible by immediately implementing existing
fuel saving technology as a first step toward building only zero emission cars
and trucks.
'While the polar ice caps are melting, Ford is doing little more than studying
how much the company’s vehicles are contributing to disastrous climate
change,” said Jason Mark, Clean Car Campaigner at the human right group Global
Exchange. “The verdict is already in: Ford is a major contributor to global
warming, with its cars ranked the worst in greenhouse gas emissions, according
to the Union of Concerned Scientists. Ford’s study is helpful, but not nearly
enough. It’s like Nero fiddling while Rome burns."
"People across North America are demanding energy independence and freedom
from oil," said Jennifer Krill, director of the Zero Emissions Campaign at
Rainforest Action Network. "Every make and model of EV and
gasoline-electric hybrids have long waiting lists while Ford dealers are
continue to doll out huge cash rebates to push the automakers oil dependent SUVs.
Crude oil is now over $55 a barrel and rising, gas prices have spiked to over $3
a gallon. The Arctic tundra and ancient glaciers on Mt. Kilimanjaro are melting
fast. The Greater Barrier Reef is dying. Primordial and pristine rainforests are
in danger of extinction. How can Ford Motor Company justify having the worst
fuel efficiency and highest greenhouse gas emissions of any automaker in
America?"
Ford Fights Progress
Ford is fighting federal and state efforts to improve emissions standards and
implement fuel efficiency market incentives like California's progressive new
law allowing carpool lane access to hybrids that achieve at least 45 miles per
gallon, a standard that not one Ford model meets. Ford is supporting the filing
of a federal lawsuit to overturn California's popular new vehicle emissions
standards, the nation's first-ever laws of any kinds to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions linked to global warming and the most advanced automotive GHG
reduction targets in the world.
Addicted to Oil
"Automaker Rankings 2004," a recent report from the Union of Concerned
Scientists, ranks Ford as having "the absolute worst heat-trapping gas
emissions performance of all the Big Six automakers." According to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, the overall average fuel efficiency of Ford's
fleet today is 18.8 mpg, dead last among the major automakers for the fifth
consecutive year. Since the oil crisis of the 1970s, Ford has ranked worst in
overall fuel efficiency of all major automakers for 20 out of the last 30 years.
From subcompacts to SUVs, Ford's current car and truck fleet gets fewer miles
per gallon on average today than its Model-T did 80 years ago. Ford's widely
touted 'eco-friendly' Rouge River plant features a water-preserving green roof,
yet manufactures 280,000 gas-guzzling F-150s a year, each truck generating up to
100 tons of atmospheric carbon over its lifetime. Marketed as "the first
American hybrid," Ford's so-called 'no compromise' Escape represents less
than one half of one percent of its fleet and will have virtually no impact on
its last place fuel efficiency ranking. On September 2, 2004, Niel Golightly,
director of environmental strategies for Ford Motor Company, told USA Today,
"Clearly, the entire industry could build nothing but zero emissions cars
today if it wanted to."
Fossil Fools Day
Fossil Fools Day is a new grassroots holiday created by the environmental and
human rights movements to raise awareness about dirty energy and sustainable
alternatives. Clean energy crusaders will host hundreds of events at college
campuses, cafes, car dealers and capitals throughout Canada, England and the
United States. Creative actions will confront powerful educators, lawmakers and
business leaders who are ignoring a growing popular movement concerned about oil
addiction, air pollution, and global warming.
Supporting Facts
- Nearly half of Americans live in areas with unhealthy air. US
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
- The United States consumes more oil and emits more greenhouse gases than
any other nation on Earth. With less than 5 percent of the world’s
population, the United States consumes more than a quarter of the world’s
oil. US DEPT OF THE INTERIOR, USGS
- The majority of Americans believe it is “patriotic” to buy a
fuel-efficient vehicle to help wean their country off Middle Eastern oil. REUTERS
POLL
- The United States emits _ of the world’s gases that cause global
warming. US ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION
- Global warming in the 20th century is greater than any time in the last
400-600 years. The artic ice pack has lost about 40% of its thickness over
the past four decades and global sea level is rising three times faster than
it has in the last 3,000 years. UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS
- Global warming is expected to double the number of cities that currently
exceed air quality standards. WORLD RESOURCES INSITUTE
For More Information, Contact:
Paul West, Rainforest Action Network, (415) 398-4404 x319, media@ran.org
Andrea Buffa, Global Exchange, (415) 575-5552, andrea@globalexchange.org