40th Anniversary of Earth Day Recognized in Various Automotive Circles this Week around Washington/B]
As certainly as the first men to walk on the moon staked out their turf on the lunar landscape in 1969, so too did the environmental movement stake out its turf in the consciousness of people everywhere when the first Earth Day was proclaimed forty years ago this week, April 22, 1970. The day each year set aside to focus on preserving the natural beauty and resources of Spaceship Earth was marked locally last week in Gaithersburg, MD, by WANADA dealer member Jack Fitzgerald who hosted a Wednesday morning ribbon-cutting on his new dealership facilities, which have been certified as
LEED compliant by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building has been designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. LEED provides building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions, which in Fitzgeralds case resulted in a near zero-emission facility. Joining Fitzgerald for the occasion was Montgomery County Executive Isaiah Leggett and Sen. Jennie Forehand from the Maryland General Assembly.
Later in the day at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, Mike Stanton, the president of the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers (AIAM) explained to reporters and members of the Washington Automotive Press Association how the auto industry will nearly reach near zero tailpipe emissions as it complies with federal standards in 2015 set at 35.5 miles per gallon on a fleet wide basis. AIAM is a stakeholder of The Washington Auto Show whose OEM member companies regularly showcase cutting edge fuel economy, emissions and safety advances in new cars and trucks.
Meanwhile over on Capitol Hill, the Electric Drive Transport Association (EDTA) conducted a half day seminar with members of Congress and staff on how electric drive was changing transportation as we know it. EDTA, also a partner with The Washington Auto Show, featured two panel discussions at the event held in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The first panel, entitled, Electric Drive Today, was a symposium discussion on what the market can expect in the next year in terms of investment in electric vehicle production, vehicle deployment and charging grid preparation. The second panel focused on what is likely to happen in the field over the next decade. Speakers at the event included Sen. Byron Dorgan (R-ND), Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Ut.) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR).
Rounding out the weeks events on The Mall in Washington, Ford hosted a ride-and-drive event for members of Congress, senior hill staff and the media featuring its battery electric (BEV), hybrid (HEV)and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV). Ford also rolled out its advanced, fuel-efficient technologies like its Eco-Tech drive products. On the Senate side of the Capitol, in a closed-to-traffic street next to the Dirksen Office Building, other OEMs to include General Motors, BMW and Volkswagen, showcased various hybrid and total electric technologies, some of which, like the Chevrolet Volt, will be on the street in Washington next fall.
All in all, it was an impressive showing by an industry targeted 40 years ago as part of the problem for Spaceship Earth.
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