Rush hour OIL PROTEST at San Francisco FORD DEALER

Jumpstart Ford Coalition Signs Declaration of Independence From Oil Demanding Zero Emission Cars From Ford
o Bay Area makes history as the birthplace of freedom from oil.
o America's flagship automaker sinks straight to the bottom of EPA fuel efficiency rankings for fifth consecutive year.
o New hybrid SUV is only 6/10's of 1% of Ford's fleet.

San Francisco - Today in San Francisco, human rights and environmental activists representing millions of concerned U.S. citizens will be the first to sign on to a Declaration of Independence from Oil ending America's longstanding loyalty to its flagship automaker, Ford Motor Company.

Jumpstart Ford coalition members and American citizens will protest Ford's addiction to oil by signing a bigger-than-life Declaration of Independence from Oil at S&C Ford on Market Street in San Francisco at 4:00 p.m. during rush hour. On hand will be a LIVE Lady Liberty struggling to "breathe free" through a military-grade gas mask.

This historic act of peaceful protest follows a national July 4th advertising campaign demanding that Ford chart a new course to improve its fleet-wide fuel efficiency to 50 mpg by 2010 and eliminate tailpipe emissions by 2020. Americans can sign on to the declaration at http://www.FreedomFromOil.com.

“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. This Declaration of Independence from Oil means that Ford Motor Company's tyranny of oil over the American people is coming to an end.”

“Ford's release of a few thousand hybrid SUVs gives tokenism a bad name,” said Jason Mark, Clean Car Campaigner at the human rights group Global Exchange. “If Ford were truly determined to break America's oil addiction, it wouldn't be at the bottom of EPA fuel economy rankings. We're left wondering: If Ford can build a 'no compromise' hybrid, why would it build anything else?”

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average fuel efficiency of Ford cars and trucks today is 18.8 mpg, dead last among the top six automakers for the fifth consecutive year. The United States is the world's largest oil consumer. With less than 5 percent of the world's population, the United States consumes a quarter of the world's oil. According to statistics from the Energy Information Administration and the United States Census Bureau, Americans use more oil per person than any other developed nation.

Rainforest Action Network (http://www.ran.org) and Global Exchange (http://www.globalexchange.org) are part of a coalition of 80 public interest groups campaigning for zero emissions cars.

To request a PDF color copy of The Declaration of Independence from Oil or the July 4th ad campaign, please email media [at] ran.org.

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