Laurie
David, the extraordinary Hollywood activist and organizer working to stop global warming, confronted Bill Ford Jr. this week on her Huffington Post blog. Laurie is joining the growing chorus of citizens who wonder how is it that Ford can make most of its business out of SUVs and gas guzzlers, lobbying and suing against regulations it doesn’t like, and then expect the public to believe an ad that says "But really, we’re environmentalists! We really care!"

It’s time for Ford to put its money where its mouth is, and that means going beyond a hybrid SUV and a couple of green buildings. Throughout the 90’s, Ford complacently grew its business model on gas guzzlers and SUVs, ignoring the experts who warned that gas prices are far from stable and America needs to be less dependent on oil. Today an oil war rages in the Middle East with no end in sight, rising gas prices are hitting every American’s pocketbook, and Hurricane Katrina created millions of ‘climate change’ refugees. And Ford is in a bind: its sales are dropping, its stocks are in the tank and its bonds are rated ‘junk’ status; Ford is shutting plants and laying off workers; and rather than reverse course, Ford is trying to advertise its way out of its problems.

Don’t get me wrong, I would rather have a company marketing a green image than business-as-usual. It does send a positive signal in the marketplace, and Ford’s advertising budget is a lot bigger than any environmental group’s. But Ford builds 7 million cars each year; wouldn’t it be so much better if Ford had a plan for all of those cars to meet its advertising image?

By the way, Laurie is leading the the Stop Global Warming Virtual March (which
I encourage every person reading this blog should join)