1/09/2004

Activism makes me smile

From LA Indymedia:

This morning human rights and environmental activists with Global Exchange and Rainforest Action Network daringly repelled down a 32-story skyscraper near the Los Angeles Auto Show and unfurled a giant banner reading, "Ford: Holding America Hostage to Oil."

Spokespeople are available at the intersection of Grand Avenue and 12th Street in Downtown LA to discuss the dramatic protest and explain how Ford Motor Company is fueling American oil addiction.

The unfurling of the banner occurred as people entered the LA Auto Show just blocks away. The banner was designed to raise public awareness about how Ford Motor Company and other auto manufacturers are needlessly keeping the US dependent on oil by refusing to increase the fuel economy of their vehicles.

The 40-foot by 60-foot banner featured an arm of a corporate executive holding a gas nozzle to the head of the Statue of Liberty as if ready to shoot the icon of freedom. Above the graphic were the words, "Ford: Holding America Hostage to Oil." Auto show attendees looked on in shock as activists unfurled the banner.

"A typical Ford vehicle on the road today gets fewer miles per gallon than the Model-T did 80 years ago," said Jason Mark, Clean Car Campaigner with the human rights group Global Exchange. "Ford is driving in reverse. It's a disgrace to Ford Motor Company's tradition of ingenuity. Proven technology exists to double the fuel efficiency of our cars and trucks. Yet Ford is turning its back on these solutions. Bill Ford says he wants to create an "environmental car company," but there's a huge gap between his rhetoric and reality. "

jumpstartford.com