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General Motors Continues To Tackle Climate Change After Signing Climate Declaration

Last year, General Motors signed the Climate Declaration, an annunciation voicing American companies support for policies which serve to reduce emissions and promote investments in clean technology. It currently has more than 750 signatories, of which GM is the only automaker.

Since they signed the declaration a year ago, GM says they continue to prove there is economic opportunity in tackling climate change.

“The world is changing and we are making bold moves to ensure we remain relevant to customers and conserve the resources our industry relies on,” Mike Robinson, GM vice president of Sustainability and Global Regulatory Affairs said in a statement. “We are restructuring our entire portfolio to maximize vehicle efficiencies with the intent of setting a new standard in fuel economy and reducing carbon emissions around the globe while we meet a variety of customer needs.”

Along with their fuel-efficient and electric vehicle lineup, GM has also demonstrated an environmental commitment through responsible manufacturing, from using renewable energy to increasing energy efficiency. This was exemplified when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency bestowed GM with a 2014 Energy Star Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence Award for their carbon reduction efforts at numerous production facilities around the world.

Since signing the declaration, GM has met the Energy Star Challenge for Industry at nine more of its plants for an industry-leading total of 63 facilities worldwide. This reduces energy use by 23 percent on average, saving the company $162 million in energy costs. They have also converted municipal waste from Metro Detroit to process steam in order to heat and cool portions of Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, completed Ohio’s largest rooftop solar array at the Toledo transmission plant, and earned ISO 50001 certification for energy management at two facilities in Argentina and Mexico, for a company total of nine worldwide.

Sam loves to write and has a passion for auto racing, karting and performance driving of all types.

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Comments

  1. Free Doggy Tacos

    Climate change? The only real climate change is in the change of seasons that happens every year. GM should have just done a #2 on that bs declaration and just continue improving their vehicles, they don’t have to sign anything.

    Reply
  2. impy2ltz2014

    Seafoaming your DI engine is so environmentally safe!!

    Reply
  3. mememine69

    Remaining “believers”;

    “Belief” is faith and reason is knowledge and wisdom says you don’t even know what the consensus is you are “believing” in otherwise you wouldn’t be telling us to “believe” the scientists who have NEVER in 32 years been 100% certain their own comet hit of a climate crisis is as real and “inevitable” as they love to say comet hits are. But YOU “believe” in a climate crisis that science only says is a 32 year old probability?

    Since science is only 95% certain the end is near meaning you can’t “believe” more than science does.. Don’t be so eager to “believe” in other people’s misery and can you at least love the planet instead of fearing for it?
    What century is this?

    Reply
    1. Grawdaddy

      32 years? Ice core samples and dendric samples can go back much, much, much further than a mere 32 years.

      Comets, for the most part, DON”T hit planets or any major celestial bodies. You’ve probably meant to say ‘asteroid’ as asteroids have had a historic role in one of the 5 or 6 mass extinctions Earth has experienced.

      Being able to predict asteroids non-issue and is in no way comparable to climate change science. There is no statistical basis upon which any scientist worth their weight will ever quantifiable say that “An asteroid is due in 20XX, June 16 at 3:43 PM.” because the mathematics behind asteroid prediction are simply unknown. That’s the difference between faith and science; science is willing to say that there is an unknown variable whereas faith can’t ever be caught saying ‘we don’t know”.

      That “95%” is still a damn sight better to know that there exists a margin for error, contrary to faith that asserts 100% certainty without safeguards or backup plans when it is proven wrong. A prime example is Giordano Bruno who ‘dared’ to suggest that the Catholic Church was wrong about the Sun going around the Earth and was executed for his ‘crime’. The Church still doesn’t admit any wrongdoing even in the face of evidence that says the Earth orbits the Sun.

      ‘The End’ will come from humans and their indecisiveness to think and act long-term; not from a God who’s had enough of our shit or an asteroid that’s on a collision course.

      Reply
  4. scott

    This is how I look at it.

    We have major records only going back about 120 years on weather. Before that we have written accounts and ships logs to track weather. In the time going back a few hundred years we have shown fluctuation in the weather with warm and cold cycles.

    Then you look at just who many of those who claim Global Warming is real. Sorry they now call it Climate Change since it has not been warming as much the last 18 years. Most are science people who make a living on funding provided to study the climate change. If they prove there is no climate change then there would be no funding. So I am not saying that they are bias but if you have a lot of gray area with little proof of anything concrete what would you say? I think you would lean to the one where your funding comes from.

    Then you look at the politicians and other who support climate change and many like Mr. Gore are deeply invested in industries that are being funded by the government green energy programs. Even Mr. Obama has deep ties to the Carbon Exchange in Chicago. It is not like they have a lot at stake if this is proven false.

    Finally anyone who has not studied him should. Read up on Maurice Strong the man who coined the phrase and created the whole Global Warming idea. He is now living as a Billionaire in where else one of the most polluting nations in the world China. Living their helps keep the press away from the Canadian and that way he has little to answer for.

    I can remover back in the 70’s when I was a kid they kept telling us we were going into a Ice age then. I guess they were right that time too. Some of the greatest minds told us it was coming and I guess they were as right as the folks we have now, Some may even be the same folks.

    I find it interesting that the we can not predict the weather with a majority of accuracy more than 3 day ahead but these same people want to say they know we will be toast in a 10 years?

    God is great beer is good and people are crazy.

    Just note we are one good volcano blast away from a cooling trend that could last 10-20 years at any time. While many people thing man will destroy the earth greatly under estimate earth. I have seen many things they said would never recover in my life time fully come back and thrive. Just look at the St Helens area. They missed that one too.

    If man was a 10th smart as we think we are we would be lucky.

    Reply

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