A few weeks ago, General Motors vice chairman Bob Lutz told reporters that he thinks global warming is a "total crock of shit." But he attested that he's "a skeptic, not a denier," and that his opinion "doesn’t matter" when it comes to what goes down at GM. After the blogosphere lashed out against Lutz's statements, he took to GM's own blog to defend his remarks:
What they should be doing, in earnest, is forming opinions not about me but about GM, and what this company is doing that is -- and will continue to be -- hugely beneficial to the very causes they so enthusiastically claim to support.
The Wall Street Journal weighed in on the issue earlier this week and concluded that the company's actions are more important than Lutz's opinions. Which is, of course, the real crock, considering how much GM has done to thwart action on climate change and greenwash their own image. They've been one of the big forces in ensuring that the country invests heavily in corn-based ethanol, and they've been a leading opponent of any increases to fuel efficiency standards. They've worked against states like California and now Minnesota and Arizona who are trying to set tougher emissions standards for automobiles. They might be working on a neat plug-in hybrid electric car, but they've been using it to lobby against higher CAFE standards. So yes, actions do speak louder than words – especially when those actions defy all that greenwashing GM has been trying to do.
--Kate Sheppard
