Road Trip: Consumer and Environmental Advocates to Deliver More Than a Quarter Million Petitions to Ford’s World Headquarters
May 2, 2018
Road Trip: Consumer and Environmental Advocates to Deliver More Than a Quarter Million Petitions to Ford’s World Headquarters
Americans Call on Ford to Put the Brakes on Efforts to Roll Back Clean Car Standards
WHAT: Consumer and environmental groups will drive from Washington, D.C., to Detroit to deliver more than 250,000 petition signatures to Ford Motor Company World Headquarters, calling on the company to quit working with the Trump administration to roll back fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards, known as the clean car standards.
The groups will deliver the petitions in a “Dirty Ford,” a 2006 Focus that has been redesigned to feature a black cloud of pollution suspended on the car’s roof, a tailpipe fog machine and money spewing from the gas tank. From climate change to higher gas bills, these represent just some of the consequences of Ford’s effort to roll back clean car standards.
Launching the road trip on Monday, May 7, from Ford’s government relations office in Washington, D.C., advocates and activists will hold a press conference on Tuesday, May 8, at Ford’s Historical Marker in downtown Detroit. That will be followed by stops at the site of Ford’s planned Team Edison offices in Corktown, the historic Ford Piquette Avenue Plant, The Henry Ford Museum and Ford’s headquarters in Dearborn, Mich.
The event is being organized by Public Citizen, Sierra Club, Greenpeace USA, CREDO and Care2.
Advocates leave Washington, D.C., at 6 a.m. EDT Monday, May 7, from 801 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The drivers will document the trip and post to Public Citizen’s Twitter account (@Public_Citizen). All Michigan events will be held Tuesday, May 8.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS ON TUESDAY, MAY 8 (ALL TIMES ARE EASTERN):
Press conference: 10 a.m., Ford Historical Marker in Hart Plaza, 1 Hart Plaza, Detroit.
After the press conference, the “Dirty Ford” will remain at Hart Plaza, where activists will distribute educational fliers and provide the public with opportunities to take action. Advocates then will head to key Ford sites and deliver the petitions at Ford’s headquarters.
1:45 p.m.–2:10 p.m. Press availability at the planned new location for Team Edison
1907 Michigan Ave., Detroit
2:20 p.m. – 2:40 p.m. Press availability at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant
461 Piquette St., Detroit
3:10 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Press availability at The Henry Ford Museum
20900 Oakwood Blvd., Dearborn
3:45 p.m. Petition delivery and press availability at Ford World Headquarters
1 American Rd., Dearborn
Background: Despite helping craft the greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy standards, automakers have reversed course and lobbied the Trump administration to roll them back. Ford and other automakers have attacked the standards at every turn – recently using their trade association to publish regulatory comments to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that cast doubt on commonly accepted climate science and the link between air pollution and adverse health impacts. Ford has claimed to be good on the climate even while executives have met with administration officials about weakening the standards.
At the behest of Ford and other automakers, without any change in the facts, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt in April announced plans to roll back the clean car standards, ignoring the thousands of pages of research and analysis that support keeping the standards.
If the standards remain strong, consumers will save billions at the pump, and more than 6 billion metric tons of dangerous climate pollution will be avoided.
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