The Ruckus Society is honored to be part of the Jumpstart FORD Campaign. By partnering with Rainforest Action Network and Global Exchange we have reunited three key organizations that played a critical role in rocking the WTO to it’s very knees during the nonviolent actions in Seattle 1999.
The Problem
America has a deadly addiction to oil. We now devour twenty five percent of the world’s oil. Forty percent of that oil is consumed by the cars and trucks we drive. Our dependence spawns resource wars that breed hatred across our planet. It wreaks chaos with our climate, creating Super-Storms that take thousands of lives and destroy communities. It threatens front line indigenous communities that live in oil rich regions. Yet, the technology exists now to dramatically raise the fuel efficiency of our fleet. Outrageously U.S. automakers continue to build bigger and more wasteful vehicles. Not one company has risen to the challenge of helping America beat its dependence on oil.
Ford claims to be a leader in the auto industry both in terms of environmental consciousness and technological innovation. Yet their cars and trucks have had the worst average fuel economy of the “Big Three” for six years running. The Ruckus Society has joined forces with Rainforest Action Network and Global Exchange on the Jumpstart Ford Campaign. We are demanding that Ford increase the average fuel efficiency of its fleet to 50 mpg by 2010 and that they reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2020. We cannot afford to wait any longer.
Ruckus will leverage the talents of our volunteer network of action trainers and coordinators to bring new voices and perspectives into the most important direct action campaign now taking place in the North America. We will provide opportunities for emerging leaders from Indigenous Nations in the United States and Canada to bring their unique perspectives to this struggle while taking hard skills back to their communities. Until we break the lock step juggernaut that is "Big Auto" we will never build the political power to bring "Big Oil" to heal. We believe that by driving FORD towards reinventing itself we can transform US transportation and break our addiction to oil.