SUV’s emit as much CO2 as 55 coal-fired plants! And the U.S. is the worst offender…

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Via the Guardian, the Environmental Defence watchdog group has a new report out showing that…

  • Americans represent 5 percent of the world’s population but drive almost a third of its cars
  • Americans’ cars account for nearly half the carbon dioxide pumped out of exhaust pipes into the atmosphere each year
  • U.S. cars play a disproportionate role in global warming because they’re less fuel efficient than passenger vehicles used elsewhere in the world; they emit 15 percent more carbon dioxide because they’re less fuel-efficient and are driven across America’s wide open spaces (see “sprawl,” “exurbs”…)
  • The average U.S. passenger vehicle has a fuel economy of less than 20mpg
  • Overall U.S. fuel consumption will continue to rise in the next few years
  • More SUVs are still sold in the U.S. than any other type of car. (This has been true since 2002.)
  • SUVs “soon will be the main source of automotive CO2 emissions”, emitting the equivalent of 55 large coal-fired power plants.

Ethanol, anyone? Read the full report here.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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