Thandie Newton trades in her gas-guzzler for a hybrid

BAFTA winning actress Thandie Newton has sold her BMW 4x4 and replaced it with a hybrid car. The star of "Crash" has also written to dozens of other celebrities suggesting they think about doing the same.

The star of this year's Best Picture at the Oscars found a Greenpeace leaflet stuck to the windscreen of her family's SUV last year. Soon afterwards she traded in the gas guzzler for a fuel efficient Toyota Prius - a hybrid with an engine that switches from petrol to electric power to get better mileage. (Pictures available of Thandie in Prius).

For several months Greenpeace volunteers have been clamping 4x4s with cardboard clamps, putting leaflets under window wipers and fixing fake tax discs to windscreens that call for extra road tax for high emitting vehicles. Now Thandie has written to celebrity 4x4 owners on both sides of the Atlantic. In the letter she says:

"I'm very excited to write you this letter. I've been fretting over how to phrase it without provoking guilt or insult, when in fact I'm contacting you because of my respect for your success and influence& I sold my family's SUV - a BMW X5 - and replaced it with a Toyota Prius... As you know, extreme weather events are on the increase... This climate change, which is largely brought on by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, seriously threatens generations to come... The hazards I thought I was preventing by driving an SUV are nothing compared to the hazards our children and grandchildren will face if more is not done now... I saw in the press that you own an SUV. If you don't, or you've already sold it, sorry for writing to you... I didn't know everything, and once I did, I had to make a change, and was delighted to do so. I hope you'll think about doing the same." (Full copy of letter in notes)

Thandie has sent the letter to celebrities including Jamie Oliver, Chris Martin, Michael Jackson, Mel Gibson, Charlize Theron, Madonna, David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and her Mission Impossible II co-star Tom Cruise. She has also sent them a copy of a new report published by Greenpeace. The report, entitled "OFF ROAD CAR - ON ROAD MENACE" was written by Dr Peter Wells of Cardiff University's world renowned automotive research centre. It reveals that 4x4s:

consume around 300% more fuel than an efficient family car

pump out 300% more climate changing gasses and other pollutants

are three times more likely to kill a pedestrian than an ordinary passenger car

An in-depth study of the Range Rover and Land Rover Discovery models shows how the basic design of these so-called Sports Utility Vehicles results in "weight-gain spiral" that leads to excessive pollution and makes them much more dangerous for pedestrians and drivers of other vehicles. The report cites US studies which found that death rates are up to nine times higher for car occupants hit by an SUV compared with occupants of the SUV itself.

The report finds that the excessive pollution from SUVs is the result of trying to match off road performance with levels of comfort and convenience expected by those that are going to drive the vehicles in urban areas. It shows how SUV manufacturers spend millions on advertising off road features that are functionally useless in normal urban driving but make the vehicles much more dangerous and polluting that an ordinary car.

The Toyota Prius does 55 miles to the gallon in the city - nearly three times more than a BMW X5. Over a distance of 12,000 miles (the average a car is driven in a year) the BMW 4x4 will emit as much as six metric tonnes of CO₂.

Thandie Newton said: "My concerns for the environment had been growing for a long time but I had not connected them with the car I drove. When I saw the sticker it just connected all the dots up."

Cat Dorey, the Greenpeace activist who stickered Thandie's car, said:

"We didn't know it was Thandie Newton's car when we did it. To us it would have been just another massive 4x4. There are loads of these polluting vehicles round there - it's one of the best areas for our teams to go leafleting and clamping their monster wheels with our cardboard clamps. We've talked to a lot of 4x4 owners through our campaign, and most do understand our view - they have just never thought about how much CO₂ their cars are pumping out. The saddest thing I hear is that people buy these huge cars to keep their kids safe, as if climate change is going to be good news for anyone's kids!"

"I think it's fantastic that Thandie sold her 4x4 to buy a Prius. Some of these 4x4s pump out two or three times their own body weight in CO₂ every year, but hybrids have a much better fuel efficiency. Hopefully some of the other famous people she's written to will do the same. Celebrities have such a big influence on public fashions and they have to realise that when they are pictured in Hello magazine clambering out of these climate wreckers it sends out a really bad message. I hope more celebrities can be as responsible as Thandie."


For more information and pictures call Greenpeace on 0207 865 8255 / 07801 212967

Download the new 4x4 report.

The letter Thandie wrote went as follows:


Dear ()

I'm very excited to write you this letter. I've been fretting over how to phrase it without provoking guilt or insult, when in fact I'm contacting you because of my respect for your success and influence. But this year I made what I believe is a life-changing choice; for myself and my family, and also, in a small way, for the planet, and I wanted to share that with you, and tell you why.

Six months ago I sold my family's SUV - a BMW X5 - and replaced it with a Toyota Prius. I loved my X5, loved driving it, and what's more believed it was safer for my kids, until I discovered the truth about its impact on the environment.

As you know, extreme weather events are on the increase. The Greenland ice sheet is melting, and sea levels are rising. This climate change, which is largely brought on by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, seriously threatens generations to come. The hazards I thought I was preventing by driving an SUV are nothing compared to the hazards our children and grandchildren will face if more is not done now.

Vehicles designed for off-road terrain (and let's face it, how many times has your SUV been off the road?) can consume three times the amount of fuel, emit three times the amount of pollution than an ordinary passenger car. And incidentally, are three times more likely to kill a pedestrian. If you take a look at the report I've enclosed, you'll see the impact they are having. That's why I dumped our SUV and bought a hybrid. The Prius has a motor that switches from petrol to electric to get great fuel efficiency. Initially I thought I'd be compromising on space, comfort and speed, but you know what? I love my Prius. It's a cool car. And of course there are plenty of other hybrid models available in varying sizes and more to come so there is no need to compromise.

I saw in the press that you own an SUV. If you don't, or you've already sold it, sorry for writing to you. You may know all these facts anyway, in which case thanks for taking the time to read this. But I didn't know everything, and once I did, I had to make a change, and was delighted to do so. I hope you'll think about doing the same.

With respect and thanks,

Thandie


She wrote to: Jamie Oliver, Chris Martin, Kevin Costner, Sly Stallone, Ben Affleck, Adam Sandler, Michael Jackson, Bill Murray, Robin Williams, Tom Cruise, Meg Ryan, Don Johnson, Mel Gibson, Jack Nicholson, Barry Manilow, Anna Kournikova, Charlize Theron, Guy Richie and Madonna, Sean Connery, Ozzy Osbourne, Justin Timberlake, David Beckham, Jermaine Defoe, Jamie Carragher, Sol Campbell, John Terry, Michael Owen, Kieron Dyer and Wayne Rooney.

 

 

 

Greenpeace day of action aginst Land Rover

Land Rover forecourts across the country branded 'climate crime scenes' with Greenpeace volunteers handcuffed to worst offending cars

Teams of Greenpeace volunteers in seven major cities across the UK this morning have taken action to disrupt sales of some of the most gas guzzling 4x4s on sale at Land Rover dealerships. The activity is part of the UK's first national day of action against 4x4's.

Small teams of Greenpeace volunteers entered Land Rover dealerships in London, Leeds, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Southampton and handcuffed themselves to Range Rovers and Land Rover Discovery 4x4's. Wheel clamps have been put on some cars and the forecourts have been branded 'climate crime scenes' with climate crime scene tape surrounding the gas-guzzling 4x4's. Outside Greenpeace volunteers are toting placard boards with the message 'Land Rover - climate criminal'.

The cars involved are some of the least fuel efficient available and activists hope to disrupt sales of them in a bid to stop them wrecking the climate.

At a further 30 UK towns Greenpeace protests with volunteers outside Land Rover dealerships are being held.

Speaking from the Kensington based HR Owen Land Rover forecourt in London, Greenpeace's Executive Director Stephen Tindale stated:

"We've taken direct action today across the country to stop Land Rover selling these climate wrecking cars. A petrol Range Rover Sport does a measly 12mpg in town, that's less miles per gallon than a model T Ford did 80 years ago. In a world where 150,000 people are dying each year because of climate change selling cars like this for urban use is indefensible."

Land Rover is aggressively marketing these gas-guzzlers for use in cities. Once associated with hard-wearing vehicles for farming and other commercial uses Land Rover now markets their 4x4's or SUVs (Sports utility vehicles) as glamorous products for urban dwellers with £3.2million a year spent on advertising in London alone. Publicity material for the new Range Rover Sport boasts: "On-road it is astounding. There has never been a Land Rover so focused on precise handling, agility and awesome tarmac performance."

The petrol Range Rover Sport is the least efficient of the top selling 4x4's in the UK, clocking in at only 12mpg for urban use. Other cars in the Land Rover range don't fare much better with some Discoveries only getting 12.3 miles per gallon. In stark contrast is the European car of the year, the Toyota Prius which does 55 miles to the gallon in the city - four times more than a V8 Range Rover Vogue or Sport.

A recently conducted Greenpeace survey in the UK showed massive support for increased road tax on gas-guzzlers. Of those surveyed on average between 97 and 99% wanted higher taxes for cars that spew out high amounts of climate damaging Co2.

The public of the UK are today being given the chance to show their rejection of gas-guzzlers as local volunteers distribute 100s of postcards calling on Land Rover to stop producing the climate wrecking cars, signed postcards will then be handed to local Land Rover managers at the end of the day.

Greenpeace's Stephen Tindale said:

"Land Rover bosses are climate criminals, they continue to build and sell some of the most polluting and climate damaging cars around today. Land Rover and Ford have the know-how and expertise to develop far more fuel efficient vehicles but are choosing not to. Considering the climate crisis the world is entering that is nothing short of criminal. We're taking action across the UK to give them a message that they need to clean up their act."

He continued: "We're also calling on Tony Blair to increase road tax on gas-guzzlers to clear them off our city roads. Most of them don't tackle anything more challenging than a speed hump yet they do four times as much damage to the climate as most fuel efficient family cars. Even Tony Blair's Chief Scientific Advisor Sir David King recently said he "didn't think it was defensible to drive round in SUVs in cities."(1)

Today's events are part of a summer of action against gas-guzzling 4x4's involving a 1000 Greenpeace volunteers across the UK who will be using 20,000 road signs that say 'NO 4x4s', 50,000 cards to be filled in by the public and given to MP's, 25,000 4x4 'product recall notices' to be placed in car magazines, 1000 'incident boards' - notices that look like pleas for information at a crime scene and 50,000 car window stickers for use on urban 4x4s.

In the UK transport accounts for about a quarter of all emissions that cause climate change, transport is also the fastest rising sector of UK Co2 emissions. Motor manufacturers such as Ford (Land Rovers parent company) could choose to play a leading role in the search for solutions to the current climate change crisis. In contrast Ford, both in UK and in the US, have actively tried to block efforts to tackle climate change. In the UK, Ford tried to block measures to introduce Co2 labeling on cars, similar to the energy efficiency ratings found on fridges (2) which could help the public choose lower emission cars.

For more information please call Greenpeace Press Office on 0207 865 8255
Photo and video available

NOTES
(1)Sir David King speaking of BBC radio 4's Desert island discs (27th may 2005)
(2) The Independent 1 Feb 2004: Greenpeace is asking the prime minister to alter VED (vehicle excise duty) on cars to reflect their impact on the climate.

 

 

Greenpeace volunteers shut down Range Rover assembly line

Thirty-five Greenpeace volunteers have shut down the assembly line making gas-guzzling Range Rovers, because urban 4x4s made at the site are wrecking the climate.

The volunteers entered the Solihull factory at 7am, closing off power and chaining themselves to robots and unfinished vehicles along the 150m-long Range Rover assembly line. They have branded the site a 'climate crime scene' and say they will halt production for as long as they can. It's the first time anywhere in the world that protesters have shut down a factory making so-called Sports Utility Vehicles.

Greenpeace executive director Stephen Tindale - a former New Labour environment advisor - is one of the protesters who closed down the facility before the day shift was due to begin at 7.30am. Now chained to a half-built Range Rover chassis, he said:

"Making cars like this for urban use is crazy. 150,000 people a year are dying because of climate change yet Range Rovers do less miles to the gallon than the Model T Ford, built 80 years ago. Most of these climate-wrecking 4x4s tackle nothing steeper than a speed bump, but the greenhouse gas they spew out is killing people and wrecking the planet."

The Range Rover is the least fuel-efficient of Britain's top 10 selling 4x4s, doing just 12 miles to the gallon in urban areas. Ford, the American owners of Land Rover, aggressively markets its range of urban 4x4s - cars like the Discovery and Range Rover - to residents of towns and cities. It spends £ million a year on advertising in London alone. Publicity material for the new Range Rover Sport boasts: "On-road it is astounding. There has never been a Land Rover so focused on awesome tarmac performance."

The Greenpeace volunteers used safety shut-down buttons to cut off power to the assembly line before handcuffing and chaining themselves to half-built Range Rovers. They have wrapped "climate crime scene" tape around the vehicles. Greenpeace has not shut down production of the Land Rover Defender, most of which are used for legitimate agricultural and industrial purposes.

Stephen Tindale added: "Land Rover used to have a reputation for making working vehicles, but now they market themselves as the car company for people who love the wilderness while simultaneously producing cars that threaten our environment with catastrophic climate change. Range Rover's parent company, Ford, is losing money and shedding jobs in America because sales of their gas-guzzling models are falling, whereas Asian companies are thriving by making fuel efficient vehicles. With a climate crisis developing and oil at over $50 a barrel, car-makers who want to save jobs have to stop making gas guzzlers."

The European Car of the Year, the Toyota Prius, does 55 miles to the gallon in the city - four times more than a V8 Range Rover Vogue or Sport.

In the UK, where road transport accounts for about a quarter of the emissions that cause climate change, Ford led an attempt to block regulation to introduce CO2 labelling. Although the company claims to be the champion of "green motoring" it has tried to block efforts to tackle climate change on both sides of the Atlantic. Greenpeace today publishes a 'climate crime file' detailing how Land Rover and Ford are contributing to climate change.

In the US, where overall vehicle sales are up, Ford's are falling. In April 2005 Ford announced a 38% slide in its first quarter profits. One of the main reasons cited for this drop in sales is high oil prices discouraging consumers from purchasing gas-guzzling SUVs, which form the cornerstone of Ford's fleet. Conversely, sales of Asian manufacturers' vehicles, renowned for higher fuel efficiency, have soared (USA Today - 3rd March). Earlier this year Ford issued an advertisement in the U.S. that claimed their cars are "virtually emission-free". The claim was based on the company's belief that carbon dioxide is not a pollutant (New York Times - 21st March).

Further information
For more information contact Greenpeace on 07801 212967 / 0207 865 8255.

- The Range Rover has an urban mpg of 12.2 and emits 389g CO2/km.

- Earlier this year Greenpeace polled 5,000 Londoners, asking them if they supported a measure to make owners of gas-guzzlers like 4x4s pay a £0 congestion charge. 85% agreed.

- The World Health Organisation says climate change is already killing 150,000 people a year

- For more about the Greenpeace climate campaign see www.greenpeace.org.uk/climate

 

exhaust pipe

Greenpeace volunteers confronted Chelsea residents opposing the congestion charge with the message 'Save the climate - Congestion charging works'.

The message was unfurled in West London, just off Kensington High Street, on a seven metre long banner as a convoy of cars from one of London's richest areas started their protest to call for a halt to the planned extension of the congestion charging zone.

Greenpeace volunteers handed out leaflets containing a congestion charge quiz to the fleet and public.

Since the introduction of the congestion charge in February 2003:

• Greenhouse gas emissions in the zone have been reduced by almost 20%
  
• Pollutants that adversely affect Londoners' air quality and health have fallen by 12%
  
• Congestion in the charging zone has fallen by 30%
  
• Over 300,000 people have died as a result of climate change

Mark Strutt, Greenpeace climate campaigner, said: "Congestion charging in London is working. Dangerous global warming emissions in the zone have been cut by almost 20% in the last two years.

"Not only should the charging zone be extended in London, it should also be adopted nationally. Congestion charging makes London a better place to live and work.

"There's no time for selfish arguments from car drivers while 150,000 people are dying from climate change every year."

Transport for London is currently planning to increase the charge from £ to £ and to extend the charging zone further west.

Greenpeace supports both measures and is also calling for a £20 charge for gas-guzzling cars like 4X4s, to help combat climate change.

For more information, contact the Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255 or 07717 704 577.