Spring 2005 Newsletter

 

Dear Friend of Don’t Be Fueled!

 

Lots of spring cleaning has been going on at Don’t Be Fueled! Mothers for Clean and Safe Vehicles,  and we’d like your feedback on what we can do more of, less of, and better !  Please join us, and write us with your comments,  fuel-saving testimonials and suggestions at dontbefueled@yahoo.com.    

 

We’re lucky to have other like-minded folks working on these same issues.  Check this out and you’ll see that Mothers Are Always Right! (DBF  Mothers, that is ;-)  http://www.sierraclub.org/globalwarming/SUVreport.

 

Take Action! Help DBF Mothers defend California’s Global Warming Law
We’re not letting the automakers take away the promise of cleaner air !
We’re sending letters to Gov. Schwarzenegger,  and the auto manufacturers, care of our friends at Union of Concerned Scientists, Environmental Defense and Bluewater Network. You can too !  See the letters on their websites,  and send them in.  It’s important to let the Governor know that we need him to stand up for our rights, and let Detroit know that it does not have the right to force us to breathe bad air.  Go to these websites,  and send in the letters:
actionnetwork.org/campaign/car_company_lawsuit  AND
www.ucsaction.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=23415  AND
bluewaternetwork.org/alert_gw_thankgov.shtml

We mothers thank-you for doing your part!

For more info on the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers‘ lawsuit threatening our cleaner air, go to bluewaternetwork.org.

 

BIG NEWS !  Canada, carmakers sign tough emissions pact

Deal could force adoption of similar stringent rules for vehicles sold in U.S.

     Faced with the threat that Canada would adopt tough, California- style

rules on auto emissions, major automakers agreed Tuesday to voluntarily

reduce the global-warming emissions of cars and light trucks sold north of

the border.  For more information, go to : 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/04/06/MNGSCC3SCA1.DTL

Robert Collier, Chronicle Staff Writer.  Wednesday, April 6, 2005 (SF Chronicle)

SUV Hybrid now on the Market!
Check out the new Ford Escape Hybrid SUV :   (www.fordvehicles.com/escapehybrid) 31-36 MPG with 4-wheel drive! We’re getting there, Moms!

Good News !   Unlikely Bedfellows Lobby Against US Gas-Guzzlers WASHINGTON - 3/25/05.  A group of former national security officials Monday took up the cause of weaning US drivers from their oil addiction -- normally the realm of environmental groups -- and asked the Bush administration to spend $1 billion on lighter, more fuel-efficient automobiles. By Chris Baltimore. Reuters News Service.  Check out the full story at: http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=30092

More Good News!

Newsweek:  Imagine: 500 Miles Per Gallon!

There have been many calls for programs to fund research. Beneath the din lies a little-noticed reality—the solution is already with us.

     The most  important  statement  made  last week came  not from Vladimir Putin or George W. Bush but from Ali Naimi, Saudi Arabia's shrewd oil minister. Naimi predicted that crude prices would stay between $40 and $50 throughout 2005. For the last two years OPEC's official target price has been $25. Naimi's statement signals that Saudi Arabia now believes that current high prices are not a momentary thing. An Asian oil-industry executive told me that he expects oil to hit $75 this decade.

     We are actually very close to a solution to the petroleum problem. Tomorrow, President Bush could make the following speech: "... It is now possible to build cars that are powered by a combination of electricity and alcohol-based fuels, with petroleum as only one element among  many.  My administration is going to put in place a series of policies that will ensure that in four years, the average new American car will get 300 miles per gallon of petroleum. And I fully expect in this period to see cars in the U. S. that get 500 miles per gallon. This revolution in energy use will reduce dramatically our dependence  on foreign oil and achieve path breaking reductions in carbon-dioxide emissions, far below the targets mentioned in the Kyoto accords.    For more, go to: www.fareedzakaria.com/articles/newsweek/030705.html.

By Fareed Zakaria, U.S. Edition Newsweek, March 7, 2005.

DBF Co-Sponsors Speakers Ross Gelbspan and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
In December and March, Don’t Be Fueled! proudly co-sponsored two fabulous evenings of speakers: Ross Gelbspan, author of Boiling Point; and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., author of Crimes against Nature.  Additional speakers were Paul Fenn, Local Power; Randall Hayes, Sustainability Director of the City of Oakland; and Larry Fahn, President of The Sierra Club.  

Don’t Be Fueled! Mothers featured in film,  “Oil on Ice.”
Do pick up a copy of the new DVD, Oil on Ice and have a viewing party!  See DBF Mothers speak out on film!  You can find this fabulous film that tells it like it is at www.oilonice.org.  A Dale Djerassi and Bo Boudart production.

 

DBF Needs Donations To Stay Gassed-Up! 

If you appreciate the work we’re doing & would like to help us do more in 2005, click below to make a tax deductible donation to Don’t Be Fueled! Mothers For Clean and Safe Vehicles : https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=2125&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Edontbefueled%2Eorg%2Findex%2Eshtml

 

Don’t forget to refer all your friends to our beautiful website for news, humor, cartoons, car-buying advice and fuel-saving tips: www.dontbefueled.org.  

Remember,  having your vehicle go from Zero to $40.00 in under a minute is not a family value !! Don’t forget to sign our petition if you haven’t already at www.dontbefueled.org/petition.shtml.

Also, if you have any friends who would like to receive our infrequent but information-packed e-newsletter, please send us their e-mail addresses.  As always, if you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, point your browser to www.dontbefueled.org/newsletters to unsubscribe.

 

THANKS & DRIVE  SAFELY !

 

Betsy Rosenberg • Lynn Fuller • Lauren Klein Hayes • Eva Karlen • Janie Friend