Re: [Biofuel] An Auto Industry Ad Leaves Critics Choking
My goodness - you don't believe them??? How unkind! LOL! I'm wondering how it fits with this (featuring dear old Dan Becker, knee-jerk hater of diesels - never mind) - emissions? What emissions? http://www.commondreams.org/news2005/0405-04.htm Sierra Club FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE APRIL 5, 2005 8:48 AM CONTACT: Sierra Club Brian O'Malley, 202-675-6279 Canada, Automakers Announce Breakthrough Global Warming Agreement Automakers To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions By Million of Tons Beginning 2007 Best Keith I'll accept this statement when the CEOs of the automakers backing the advertisements each agree to the following. They, their spouses, children and grand children all agree to spend 24 hours in a confined space with the vehicle of my choice from their product line running for the entire period. Extended fuelling will be provided as necessary. Provided they all leave in good health, I will accept that their vehicle is "virtually emission- free." Darryl McMahon Keith Addison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> posted: > http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/03/21/news/auto.html > An Auto Industry Ad Leaves Critics Choking > By Danny Hakim > The New York Times > > Tuesday 22 March 2005 > > Detroit - Toyota, Ford, BMW and several other automakers are > financing an advertising campaign aimed at politicians that asserts > that automobiles are "virtually emission-free." > > The campaign is part of an effort by a broad coalition of > automakers to present their vehicles as environmentally benign at a > time when the coalition is suing California to block a new regulation > to curb global warming emissions and continuing to lobby in > Washington against tougher fuel-economy regulations. > > A print version of the ad has appeared in journals aimed at > legislators like Roll Call, Congress Daily and Congressional > Quarterly, as well as in the industry trade publication Automotive > News, according to the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the > lobbying group behind the campaign. > > The ads have sparked a campaign by the Union of Concerned > Scientists, an environmentalist group that says its efforts have > generated 20,000 complaints asking the Federal Trade Commission to > investigate whether the industry is making misleading claims. > > While regulations have indeed forced automakers to greatly > improve emissions of smog-forming pollutants, the ads essentially > ignore greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide as an automotive > emission. The ads appear to contradict some automakers' own > statements about rising levels of greenhouse gas emissions from cars > and trucks. Smog-forming emissions remain a public health issue, > according to environmental and consumer groups, as the number of > vehicles continues to increase. > > "Our advertising practices division and our enforcement division > are both aware of the ad and the campaign by UCS," Mitch Katz, a > spokesman for the trade commission, said, referring to the Union of > Concerned Scientists. "We are evaluating the complaints we've > received right now." > > He declined to say how many complaints the commission had received. > > The alliance includes most major automakers: Toyota, General > Motors, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Mazda, BMW, Mitsubishi, Porsche and > Volkswagen. > > The ad shows a picture of a toddler in a car eating a Popsicle. > > "Your car may never be spotless, but it's 99 percent cleaner than > you think," the ad says. "Autos manufactured today are virtually > emission-free. And that's a dramatic improvement over models from > just 30 years ago." > > Gloria Bergquist, a spokeswoman for the alliance, said that the > ad's use of the term "virtually emission-free" should be understood > to refer only to emissions classified as pollutants by the > Environmental Protection Agency. > > Whether to consider greenhouse gases as pollutants is a > politically charged issue. The Clinton administration determined > carbon dioxide to be a pollutant, but the Bush administration > reversed the decision. Several states and environment groups are > suing to force the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate carbon > dioxide emissions as pollutants. > > But David Friedman, research director of the Union of Concerned > Scientists' clean vehicles program, said the advertisement itself > made no such distinction - it simply called vehicles "virtually > emission-free." > > "It reminds you of the cigarette makers," he said. "They're > trying to hide the harmful emissions coming from their vehicles." > > Though some cars on the road today are considered to be emitting > roughly 99 percent fewer smog-forming particles than cars did in the > pre-regulatory 1960s, Bergquist said the statement could not be > broadly applied to all new cars and trucks until regulations of such > emissions take effect by 2010. > > Automotive emissions of greenhouse gases, however, have been > rising for two rea
Re: [Biofuel] An Auto Industry Ad Leaves Critics Choking
I'll accept this statement when the CEOs of the automakers backing the advertisements each agree to the following. They, their spouses, children and grand children all agree to spend 24 hours in a confined space with the vehicle of my choice from their product line running for the entire period. Extended fuelling will be provided as necessary. Provided they all leave in good health, I will accept that their vehicle is "virtually emission- free." Darryl McMahon Keith Addison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> posted: > http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/03/21/news/auto.html > An Auto Industry Ad Leaves Critics Choking > By Danny Hakim > The New York Times > > Tuesday 22 March 2005 > > Detroit - Toyota, Ford, BMW and several other automakers are > financing an advertising campaign aimed at politicians that asserts > that automobiles are "virtually emission-free." > > The campaign is part of an effort by a broad coalition of > automakers to present their vehicles as environmentally benign at a > time when the coalition is suing California to block a new regulation > to curb global warming emissions and continuing to lobby in > Washington against tougher fuel-economy regulations. > > A print version of the ad has appeared in journals aimed at > legislators like Roll Call, Congress Daily and Congressional > Quarterly, as well as in the industry trade publication Automotive > News, according to the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the > lobbying group behind the campaign. > > The ads have sparked a campaign by the Union of Concerned > Scientists, an environmentalist group that says its efforts have > generated 20,000 complaints asking the Federal Trade Commission to > investigate whether the industry is making misleading claims. > > While regulations have indeed forced automakers to greatly > improve emissions of smog-forming pollutants, the ads essentially > ignore greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide as an automotive > emission. The ads appear to contradict some automakers' own > statements about rising levels of greenhouse gas emissions from cars > and trucks. Smog-forming emissions remain a public health issue, > according to environmental and consumer groups, as the number of > vehicles continues to increase. > > "Our advertising practices division and our enforcement division > are both aware of the ad and the campaign by UCS," Mitch Katz, a > spokesman for the trade commission, said, referring to the Union of > Concerned Scientists. "We are evaluating the complaints we've > received right now." > > He declined to say how many complaints the commission had received. > > The alliance includes most major automakers: Toyota, General > Motors, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Mazda, BMW, Mitsubishi, Porsche and > Volkswagen. > > The ad shows a picture of a toddler in a car eating a Popsicle. > > "Your car may never be spotless, but it's 99 percent cleaner than > you think," the ad says. "Autos manufactured today are virtually > emission-free. And that's a dramatic improvement over models from > just 30 years ago." > > Gloria Bergquist, a spokeswoman for the alliance, said that the > ad's use of the term "virtually emission-free" should be understood > to refer only to emissions classified as pollutants by the > Environmental Protection Agency. > > Whether to consider greenhouse gases as pollutants is a > politically charged issue. The Clinton administration determined > carbon dioxide to be a pollutant, but the Bush administration > reversed the decision. Several states and environment groups are > suing to force the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate carbon > dioxide emissions as pollutants. > > But David Friedman, research director of the Union of Concerned > Scientists' clean vehicles program, said the advertisement itself > made no such distinction - it simply called vehicles "virtually > emission-free." > > "It reminds you of the cigarette makers," he said. "They're > trying to hide the harmful emissions coming from their vehicles." > > Though some cars on the road today are considered to be emitting > roughly 99 percent fewer smog-forming particles than cars did in the > pre-regulatory 1960s, Bergquist said the statement could not be > broadly applied to all new cars and trucks until regulations of such > emissions take effect by 2010. > > Automotive emissions of greenhouse gases, however, have been > rising for two reasons: The number of vehicles is increasing and > average fuel economy has declined since the late 1980s because of > surging sales of sport utility vehicles and big pickups. > > Many scientists have raised potentially serious health concerns > related to global warming, though there are dissenters. Most major > automakers have said that they do take the issue of reducing global > warming emissions quite seriously. In DaimlerChrysler's 2004
[Biofuel] An Auto Industry Ad Leaves Critics Choking
An Auto Industry Ad Leaves Critics Choking By Danny Hakim The New York Times Tuesday 22 March 2005 Detroit - Toyota, Ford, BMW and several other automakers are financing an advertising campaign aimed at politicians that asserts that automobiles are "virtually emission-free." The campaign is part of an effort by a broad coalition of automakers to present their vehicles as environmentally benign at a time when the coalition is suing California to block a new regulation to curb global warming emissions and continuing to lobby in Washington against tougher fuel-economy regulations. A print version of the ad has appeared in journals aimed at legislators like Roll Call, Congress Daily and Congressional Quarterly, as well as in the industry trade publication Automotive News, according to the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the lobbying group behind the campaign. The ads have sparked a campaign by the Union of Concerned Scientists, an environmentalist group that says its efforts have generated 20,000 complaints asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether the industry is making misleading claims. While regulations have indeed forced automakers to greatly improve emissions of smog-forming pollutants, the ads essentially ignore greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide as an automotive emission. The ads appear to contradict some automakers' own statements about rising levels of greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. Smog-forming emissions remain a public health issue, according to environmental and consumer groups, as the number of vehicles continues to increase. "Our advertising practices division and our enforcement division are both aware of the ad and the campaign by UCS," Mitch Katz, a spokesman for the trade commission, said, referring to the Union of Concerned Scientists. "We are evaluating the complaints we've received right now." He declined to say how many complaints the commission had received. The alliance includes most major automakers: Toyota, General Motors, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Mazda, BMW, Mitsubishi, Porsche and Volkswagen. The ad shows a picture of a toddler in a car eating a Popsicle. "Your car may never be spotless, but it's 99 percent cleaner than you think," the ad says. "Autos manufactured today are virtually emission-free. And that's a dramatic improvement over models from just 30 years ago." Gloria Bergquist, a spokeswoman for the alliance, said that the ad's use of the term "virtually emission-free" should be understood to refer only to emissions classified as pollutants by the Environmental Protection Agency. Whether to consider greenhouse gases as pollutants is a politically charged issue. The Clinton administration determined carbon dioxide to be a pollutant, but the Bush administration reversed the decision. Several states and environment groups are suing to force the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate carbon dioxide emissions as pollutants. But David Friedman, research director of the Union of Concerned Scientists' clean vehicles program, said the advertisement itself made no such distinction - it simply called vehicles "virtually emission-free." "It reminds you of the cigarette makers," he said. "They're trying to hide the harmful emissions coming from their vehicles." Though some cars on the road today are considered to be emitting roughly 99 percent fewer smog-forming particles than cars did in the pre-regulatory 1960s, Bergquist said the statement could not be broadly applied to all new cars and trucks until regulations of such emissions take effect by 2010. Automotive emissions of greenhouse gases, however, have been rising for two reasons: The number of vehicles is increasing and average fuel economy has declined since the late 1980s because of surging sales of sport utility vehicles and big pickups. Many scientists have raised potentially serious health concerns related to global warming, though there are dissenters. Most major automakers have said that they do take the issue of reducing global warming emissions quite seriously. In DaimlerChrysler's 2004 environmental report, for instance, the company's chief executive, Jrgen Schrempp, said in an opening statement that reducing "CO emissions is the central topic as we strive for sustainable mobility." But Dennis Fitzgibbons, a spokesman for the company in Washington, said that the ad referred to emissions "that have health-based effects that are defined under the Clean Air Act." Not all automakers appeared to agree with the alliance's blanket assessment that cars are now "virtually emission-free." Honda, which is not an alliance member, said, "Today's vehicles in many cases are virtually emissions-free with regards to smog-forming" gases. "However, CO emissions remain a significant contributor to global warming trends."
