Issues
Critics Say ‘Clunkers’ Program Isn’t Very Green
All Things Considered
By Christopher Joyce
Aug. 3, 2009
Mr. DAN BECKER (Safe Climate Campaign): The problem is the auto industry hijacked this law, so it doesn’t get the better ones on the road. All it does is replace old clunkers with new clunkers.
Hear it here…
Is Obama Out of Bounds on Climate Change?
BNET.com
May 22, 2009
By Jim Motavalli
According to Becker, “The EPA and the Department of Transportation are working up standards to achieve the 35.5-mpg goal. It’s a goal. And the President also instructed the EPA to determine whether carbon dioxide [CO2, the major global warming gas] is a threat to health and welfare. That opened the door to allow regulation, and empowers the agency to reduce carbon emissions.”
Posture, Clout of Slimmer GM, Automakers: Outlook on Capitol Hill Cloudy, but Change Likely
The Yale Forum on Climate Change and the Media
By Julie Halpert
July 21, 2009
“The auto industry already had lost a lot of its clout before they drove themselves into bankruptcy,” Becker says. He sees automakers desperately lobbying now to get more money and more bailouts, and adds “It’s hard for the auto companies to wield the bludgeon against the environment with one hand while they’re shaking a tin cup in the other.”
Critics Blast ‘Cash for Clunkers’ $2 Billion Lifeline
Washington Independent
By Mike Lillis
July 31, 2009
EPA Tailpipe Reg.’s “German Provision” Angers Environmentalists, David Cole
The Truth About Cars (www.thetruthaboutcars.com)
By Robert Farago
July 28, 2009
Daniel Becker, director of the Washington-based Safe Climate Campaign, which advocates tougher regulation of automotive fuel economy and greenhouse-gas emissions, said BMW and Mercedes “should be required to meet the same standards as General Motors and Ford.”