Activists from Global Exchange plan to project 30-foot "light banners" on various publicly visible surfaces in Los Angeles this evening to highlight the dismal fuel economy in Ford's 2006 fleet. Honestly, this came as a surprise to me, because I thought Bill Ford, who prides himself on his enviro-cred, had recently had an epiphany -- hybridize or die -- which he announced at a meeting in September. Now I realize I was inclined to be more optimistic because of an interview with Niel Golightly on Grist in which Ford's "director of sustainable business strategies" announced Ford's plans to tread lightly on the planet in the future. "There's no going back," he said.
You're right to say that there have been highs and lows since we publicly touched the third rail called global warming six years ago, but even when our progress wasn't as visible as some wanted, we were beavering away at new technologies (like hybrids and hydrogen) and new product segments (like cross-over vehicles that blend SUV and car attributes).
"Beavering away"? Okay, well, here's what Global Exchange has to say about it:
"Ford is spending millions of dollars on TV advertisements and PR stunts to try to project an image of itself as an environmental company, so the least we can do is project some truth onto the walls of Ford dealerships," said Michael Hudema, Jumpstart Ford campaigner with Global Exchange. "No amount of TV commercials and sustainability reports can undo the fact that Ford has been ranked last place in fuel economy by the EPA for the last five years straight."
Light banners are also going up in Detroit, and tomorrow has been declared an international "Day of Action" against Ford (headquartered in Los Angeles at Galpin Ford in North Hills -- a pretty long drive for me.) Check out the campaign to keep the pressure on Ford at Jump Start Ford. I really like the picture of the handsome guy with the megaphone holding a cute baby.
Projections in Los Angeles tonight:
5:30 PM near the Airport Marina Ford, 5880 W. Centinela Blvd.
7 PM Buerge Ford, 11800 Santa Monica Blvd, West LA
--------
Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
Trackbacks
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://mt.laweekly.com/mt-tb.cgi/35510
Comments