Sierra Club Showcases Hybrid Vehicles Coast to Coast

On Memorial Day, the Sierra Club kicked off its new Hybrid Evolution Campaign which encourages Americans to demand clean cars and clean energy at a time when gas prices are hitting record highs, U.S. oil dependence is increasing, and global warming is heating up.

Driving hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles campaigners are touring the country, stopping in communities to hold rallies. The hybrid vehicles will travel three routes – along the East Coast from Key West, Florida to Portland, Maine; across the Midwest from Chicago to Los Angeles; down the West Coast from Seattle, Washington to San Diego, California.

The rallies are intended to give Americans a chance to test drive hybrid vehicles, and learn about renewable energy.

There is a political component to the tours as well – Sierra Club workers will speak about "how Bush administration policies threaten the local environment." The will criticize the Bush administration's "backward energy policy that increases America's dependence on oil and other polluting sources of energy."

"The Sierra Club is playing Paul Revere," said Dan Becker, Washington director of the Sierra Club's Global Warming program. "We're driving hybrids from town to town to tell people that hybrid cars and renewable energy are a reality. We'll invite people to get behind the wheel, kick the tires, and demand action from the Bush administration."

In addition to the hybrid road tours, the Sierra Club will be placing a series of new print ads targeting trendsetting audiences. These ads feature young people standing confidently in the foreground while wearing Hybrid Evolution tee shirts. The ads highlight clean cars and clean energy and encourage viewers to ask whether the Bush administration is for or against evolution. "The Bush administration prescription is gas guzzlers and polluting power plants," said Brendan Bell, associate Washington representative for the Sierra Club's Global Warming program. "So we're taking clean cars and clean energy up the East Coast, down the West Coast, and across the Midwest to demand a 40 mile per gallon fleet average, 20 percent renewable energy by 2020, and energy efficiency."

The campaign website links the campaign activities around the country. The website will feature regular updates and photos from the road tours, ad images, tour dates, and facts on evolved energy solutions and how they contrast with the Bush administration's energy policies.