‘Independence from oil’ declared

American NGOs Rainforest Action Network and Global Exchange continued their campaign against Ford last weekend, with the symbolic signing of a ‘Declaration of Independence from Oil’, at an event in San Francisco. The protest followed a 4th July campaign against the company’s ‘Greening the Blue Oval’ initiative.

The groups, part of the ‘Jumpstart Ford’ coalition, are calling for a increase in Ford’s fuel economy to 50 mpg by 2010 and the elimination of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

Statistics from the US Environmental Protection Agency rate Ford’s American fleet as the poorest of the six leading manufacturers, with an average mpg of 18.8.

"Americans are paying the ultimate price for the oil on Ford's hands, and today's protest marks a tipping point in the grassroots movement for an automotive energy revolution," said Jennifer Krill, director of the Zero Emissions Campaign at Rainforest Action Network. "Energy savvy Americans can clearly see that Ford's production of a few thousand token hybrid SUVs is an attempt to 'escape' its insufferable environmental record. At 24 mpg, the original Model-T was more fuel-efficient than Ford's fleet of cars and trucks is today.”