On environment, AAA gets F

—By

| Fri Jan. 26, 2001 1:00 AM PST

The next time you call AAA for a jump start, don't tell the dispatcher: "My car's the one with the Nader 2000 sticker."

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According to the Natural Resource Defense Council's AMICUS JOURNAL, the century-old group has a political agenda, and it's anything but green. Over the years, AAA has lobbied for more roads, more cars, and more gasoline use. The group has opposed everything from the Clean Air Act to public transportation -- in effect, anything that might discourage Americans from driving.

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What's worse is that AAA does most of its anti-environment lobbying without the knowledge or approval of its 43 million members. "People don't join AAA for ideological reasons," says John Kaehny, executive director of Transportation Alternatives. "My parents are AAA members, and when I tell them what the AAA national office does, they go, 'Oh my God, is that true?'"

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