http://madison.indymedia.org/newswire/display_any/22531
The following article has been sent to you by [EMAIL PROTECTED] The sender writes: The Union of Concerned Scientists is placing ads, starting with the very places Auto Alliance advertised, that expose their deceptive campaign. They are asking for contributions. http://www.ucsusa.org Mike Neuman ------------------------------------------------------------ U.S. Auto Industry Launches Deceptive Ad Campaign ------------------------------------------------------------ Friday, 11 March 2005 by Michael T. Neuman Summary: The Auto Alliance, the lobbyist group representing most of the major U.S. automakers, has launched a deceptive new ad campaign which claims U.S. autos manufactured today are "virtually emission-free". But what the ad doesn't tell you is that the automobiles manufactured today still emit fine particulate matter which pass into delicate lung, artery and human heart tissue, which can result in injury, illness and even death. The Auto Alliance also doesn't tell you that the heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions emitted from their vehicles in the U.S. this year will total more than 1,300 million tons, which is more than most whole countries emit from all their sources combined. Automakers have been known to “stretch the truth” in their decades-long effort to obstruct needed federal and state environmental and safety regulations, says the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (Auto Alliance), which is the legal and lobbying group for BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, GM, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Toyota, and Volkswagen, has taken this practice to a new level with a highly misleading advertising campaign, UCS states. "The Auto Alliances is using factual omissions to hide its pollution emissions", asserts the UCS, saying the Alliance's advertizing claim is "false and dangerous". The ad from the Auto Alliance comes on the heels of a study report released by the Sierra Club last year which documented many of the known health hazards for people who live near heavily traveled highways. The study reports on numerous scientific study in published medical journals that disclose substantial evidence linking heavy motor vehicle traffic with a wide range of human health ailments, especially in children and adults more sensitive to air pollutants. The evidence includes higher hospitalization rates for asthmatics living near busy roads, an increased prevalence of childhood leukemia and other forms of cancer, and a higher incidence of heart attacks and strokes in populations that live near heavily traveled roads. http://www.sierraclub.org/hhh/HHHFinalReport6-28-04.pdf Air pollution is especially threatening to young people because a child is more active and with greater activity there's more air intake and more exposure. The highest incidence of asthma cases is found among low-income and African-American toddlers, according to a recent report by the Harvard Medical School: "Inside the Greenhouse: The Impacts of CO2 and Climate Change on Public Health in the Inner City". The Harvard Medical School study confirms that serious public health risks are created when children and adults are exposed to even moderate levels of urban air pollution, especially when that exposure takes place during warm temperatures, a condition likely to occur with increasing frequency as global warming continues. http://www.resultsforamerica.org/calendar/files/042904childhoodasthmaGWreleaseFINAL.pdf "African Americans are the most vulnerable and also suffer the most from climate change", concludes a recently published study: "African Americans and Climate Change: An Unequal Burden" (Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc., July 21, 2004). http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=24763 Furthermore, a recent study by New York's Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health concludes that babies in the womb are more sensitive than their mothers to pollutants from motor vehicle tailpipes, power plant smokestacks, second-hand smoke and other combustion sources, underscoring the importance of reducing those pollution sources in the environment. Published in the scientific journal "Environmental Health Perspectives" (V. 110, 10), the study examined the effect of prenatal exposure to combustion residual pollutants called "polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons" (PAHs). PAHs, such as benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), are widespread air contaminants released by transportation vehicles, power generation, and other combustion sources. The study found that, despite the protection provided the fetus by the placenta during fetal development, DNA damage in newborns (from PAHs) was still as high as the level of DNA damage in the mothers. http://www.ccceh.org/news-events/CCCEH%20PRESS%20RELEASE%20(Jun23).htm Regarding aggregate amounts of greenhouse gases emitted by automobiles, the California Air Resources Board has taken on transportation emissions in California by ordering the automakers to reduce their global-warming emissions by 30 percent, starting in 2009, and culminating in 2016. The rule will supercede federal laws by mandating an unprecedented increase in fuel efficiency for all vehicles sold in California and the six other states that follow California's air-emissions regulations. Almost immediately after the Air Resources Board promulgated the rule, the automakers filed a suit seeking to overturn the rule. A decision on the legality of the rule is pending action by court action. The UCS is advising people who visit their web site to contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and request the FTC immediately open a false advertising investigation on the Auto Alliance for deceptive advertising. "Beyond the well-known dangers of smog-forming pollutants and toxic emissions, global warming emissions are projected to lead to worsening smog, an increase in asthma-triggering pollen and molds, and a substantial rise in heat-related illness and death", predicts the UCS. The misleading ad in question can be viewed by accessing the UCS's web site: THE MISLEADING ADD: http://www.ucsusa.org/general/special_features/page.cfm?pageID=1662 The Union of Concerned Scientists is advising its members and others concerned about the automobile industry's false and misleading ad to write to the Bureau of Consumer Protection of the Federal Trade Commission and request FTC's immediate investigation into the Auto Alliance's claims. Letters can be send directly from the UCS web site containing the ad (above). Madison IMC: http://madison.indymedia.org/ _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
