‘Dirty Ford’ Transports More Than a Quarter Million Petitions to Ford’s World Headquarters
May 8, 2018
Sierra Club * Greenpeace USA * Public Citizen
‘Dirty Ford’ Transports More Than a Quarter Million Petitions to Ford’s World Headquarters
Americans Call on the Automaker to Quit Working to Roll Back Clean Car Standards
DETROIT – A 2006 Ford Focus – dubbed the “Dirty Ford” and stuffed with banker boxes carrying more than a quarter million petition signatures – is heading to Ford Motor Company today with a message: Stop working to roll back the clean car standards.
Ford and other automakers have worked behind the scenes to persuade President Donald Trump, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to roll back the clean car standards.
Consumer and environmental groups – including Public Citizen, Sierra Club, Greenpeace USA, Environment America, CREDO, Care2 and SumOfUs – collected the signatures over the past five months. They designed the “Dirty Ford” to feature a black cloud of pollution suspended on the car’s roof, a tailpipe fog machine and money spewing from the gas tank, illustrating what’s at risk if the standards are rolled back.
The car departed from Ford’s government relations office in Washington, D.C., on Monday and went through Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio to reach Michigan. The organizations documented the trip online with the hashtag #DirtyFord.
The petition delivery journey came amid rumors that the EPA and NHTSA will submit a proposed rulemaking to the White House for review in the near future, and reports that Ford and other automakers are heading to the White House to discuss the standards at the end of this week. Reports indicate that this rule would cut the standards and with them the substantial pollution and consumer savings of the current fuel economy rules.
Today’s events began at Ford’s Historical Marker in downtown Detroit, where advocates and activists called out Ford for its dangerous efforts and educated the public about the important standards. The “Dirty Ford” is to remain at Hart Plaza through the lunch hour.
Next on the Dirty Ford’s tour: Stops at iconic Ford locations including the Team Edison offices in Corktown, the historic Ford Piquette Avenue Plant and The Henry Ford Museum – for additional public education and opportunities for citizens to take action. The tour is scheduled to end this afternoon at Ford’s headquarters in Dearborn, where advocates will deliver the petitions.
“From climate change to higher gas bills, this Dirty Ford illustrates just some of the harms that Ford, Trump and Polluting Pruitt’s deregulation would impose on Americans,” said Madeline Page, campaign coordinator from Public Citizen. “Our vehicle may be humorous, but the rollback it represents is deadly serious. I’m proud to be able to deliver messages from hundreds of thousands of Americans who are standing up to Ford.”
“The American people have and continue to speak in one voice for their desire to protect the clean car standards,” said Andrew Linhardt, Sierra Club’s deputy legislative director for transportation. “Ford should listen to the people and work to put these standards in the fast lane rather than operating in secrecy with Donald Trump and Scott Pruitt to force families to pay more at the pump for increased pollution in their communities.”
“Each petition signature we deliver to Ford today represents a person who is in favor of keeping greenhouse gases out of our air and pollution out of our lungs,” said Natalie Nava, project leader at Greenpeace USA. “Dirty cars are bad for all of us, but especially the most vulnerable populations, including the poor and people of color who disproportionately live near freeways and extraction sites. We are here today to demand that Ford and other automakers stop putting profits ahead of people and the planet.”
“Ford is putting profits ahead of protecting public health and the environment by undermining the very rules it once hailed,” CREDO Action Co-Director Josh Nelson said. “Ford must honor its previous commitments to the clean car standards and stop working with the Trump regime to weaken these critical safeguards.”
Follow the delivery tour on Twitter: @Public_Citizen, @SierraClub @GreenpeaceUSA.