PRESS RELEASE
December 12, 2018
MEDIA CONTACT: Christina Heartquist, (408) 661-2666
FAITH TO FORD: CLERGY CALLS ON LOCAL DEALER TO SUPPORT CLEAN CAR STANDARDS
Delivered petition signed by thousands to put pressure on Ford Motor Company to drop plans to rollback money, life-saving rules
Click here to view an image of the delivery
State College, Penn. – Last week, local faith and community leaders visited the State College Ford dealership and delivered a petition that calls on the Ford Motor Company to publicly stand by national clean car standards, without compliance loopholes, which could erode its strongest benefits for those who are impacted most by climate change and air pollution.
“Pollution from cars disproportionately harms the most vulnerable among us: children, the elderly, the sick and the poor,” said Greg Williams, board president, PA Interfaith Power & Light. “We are called to serve those less fortunate. Clean car standards protect health and improve human life. That is why we came here today.”
Along with Williams, five other individuals delivered a 12-foot scroll of 1,000 signatures from faith leaders and almost 4,000 laypeople to John Morris, owner of State College Ford. An additional 100+ signatures from other local leaders and residents were also delivered.
“We were well received by Morris and his team,” said Williams. “It’s our hope that he will share our message with his peers and Ford’s leadership so we can keep the conversation going. We need strong vehicle emission standards to maintain our state’s progress on fighting harmful tailpipe pollution.”
Williams was joined at the dealership by George Dempsie, board member the Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light, Ron Porter, PhD and retired faculty member of Penn State, Reverend Jeanne Jacobson, rector of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Pastor Ben Wideman, Mennonite Campus minister at Penn State and Frans Padt from Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Centre County.
The current federal clean car standards save approximately 540 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions and reduce oil use by 1.2 billion barrels nationally by 2025, helping to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and air pollution. Pennsylvanians have already saved $1.2 billion at the pump thanks to the strong standards. By 2030, each Pennsylvania household is expected to save an additional $1,650 if the standards are protected.
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Pennsylvania Interfaith Power and Light is a network of congregations, religious organizations, and individuals across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with large chapters in Pittsburgh, State College, Harrisburg, and Philadelphia. Their goal is to lift a faith voice for action against the climate change threatening God’s creation and the most vulnerable individuals who feel the effects first. We pray, teach, advocate, green our congregations and care for the habitats impacted by climate change.
