GM Giving Up 2 of 5 Private Jets Amid Criticism

C-SPAN isn’t exactly known for being the channel to watch when you want a good laugh. But, during the congressional hearings last week with the heads of GM, Chrysler and Ford, viewers were treated to some unexpected and bittersweet hilarity when the Big Three executives got skewered for arriving in Washington D.C. on a private jet. Their expressions during the barrage of questions belied the fact that they didn’t even consider how bad the luxury trips looked in light of the purpose of the hearings.

It’s bad enough that all three head honchos showed absolutely zero humility while begging Congress for a multi-billion dollar bailout. But then, Wagoner simply smirked when the three executives were asked if they planned to sell their private jets and fly back to Detroit via commercial airline. The response the public got from the auto companies afterward was simply that it’s “company policy” for the CEOs to travel on private jets, and that it was a “private matter”.

It was only after getting a verbal whipping from members of Congress that GM announced they’d be giving up their private jets.

From CNN Money:

GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson said the auto maker, which leases the planes, had decided to get rid of two of its five remaining jets before this week’s hearings as part of deep cost cutting under way at the company. The company sold two planes in September.

“We understand the symbolic issue of people showing up in Washington in corporate jets,” Wilkinson said. “We’re very sensitive to that.”

All travel at the company is getting cut dramatically as GM, which burned through $6.9 billion in cash in the third quarter, struggled to stay afloat. GM has eliminated half the workers who staff its Detroit-based hangar and planes, Wilkinson said.

“There’s a delicious irony in seeing private luxury jets flying into Washington, D.C., and people coming off them with tin cups in their hands,” Rep. Gary L. Ackerman (D.-N.Y.) said. “It’s almost like seeing a guy show up at the soup kitchen in high-hat and tuxedo.”

It’s pretty sickening to hear that the company considers it a “symbolic issue”. Continuing to revel in such unnecessary excess while asking for a handout isn’t going to garner much sympathy from the taxpaying public.

Link [CNN Money] + [YouTube]

Dipping into the EarthFirst.com Archives for Green Sex Toys, Wind Powered Win, Miniguns, and Stupid Americans

Happy Sunday!

EarthFirst.com has been officially live since mid-May when we finally shook the ugly off and put up our current design, but I was writing daily for months before that. We didn’t have many readers at the time and used the space to work on our editorial voice.

I’ll be pulling out the old files from time to time to share a few good posts. This week we’ll be revisiting the archives for green sex toys, badass chain gun tree saws, idiot manchild CEOs, stupid Americans, and a whole lotta f-bombs.

Take a stroll down EF.com memory lane with us…

• 2,250 Minigun bullets to cut down a tree

• The hippies had it right- stop washing your hair!

• What’s better than a good wine buzz? A green wine buzz!

• Fsck Planet Earth. Fsck fsck fsck fsck fsck. But, you know, spelled with a u.

• Garbage, especially plastic, is choking the planet.

• This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone paying attention, but 18% of Americans are very, very stupid.

• How’s that GM stock doing Bob Lutz? Couldn’t have happened to a better guy.

• Break out the glass dildo and get your sexy green groove on chemical free! Yes, organic sex toys.

• OMFGFSMBBQ, do I want one of these all terrain transformer like badass super truck. Yeah, so it’d rip shit up, but damn, take a look at this thing!

EarthFirst Blog Week in Review: March 10th - 14th

It was another busy last week here at the EarthFirst blog. We covered samurai swords, expensive green washed handbags, big business green hijinks by GM and Wal-Mart, expensive gas, the green Pope, “clean coal” crap, and toilet paper. We’ve nailed down the design for the new template which we’ll be rolling out in a few weeks. It looks great and we’re really excited to show it to our readers. Happy reading!

Have you subscribed to our RSS Feed? Why the hell not!?! Get on it already.

• Grocery Bills Soar as Retail Food Prices Spiral Up
• The War on Iraq is Costing $4,000 a Second, or About $120,000 in the Time It Took to Write This Headline
• Global Warming Doesn’t Necessarily Mean It Gets Warmer Everywhere All The Time
• Rant: Shut the F*&% Up About High Gas Prices
• Animals vs. Humans: Humanity Gets Pwned
• The Vatican Declares that Polluting the Earth is Now a Sin
• The Three Ingredient Vegan Junk Food You’ve Probably Been Eating for Years
• EcoGeek Kills “Clean Coal” Ad and Calls Them Out for the Greenwash
• Florida Senator Pushing Bill to Require Restaurants to Have “Enough” Toilet Paper on Roll
• GM CEO Rick Wagoner: Vice Chairman Bob Lutz Doesn’t Speak for GM on Global Warming
• Doggie Style Commute: Ride the Bitch Cruiser to Not-Safe-for-Work
• Coal- Cheap. Abundant. Cheap.
• What is RSS and How Can It Make My Life Better?
• Want to Create Jobs? Invest in Education and Mass Transit
• A $360 Cardboard Bag Coated with Water-Resistant Spray with a Leather Handle is NOT Green
• The Friday Video Round Up: Will Ferrell, Big Angry Fat Guys, Al Gore, and the Hummer Hybrid
• Wal-Mart CEO is a Master of the Obvious: Our Company is Not Green
• Japan Steel Works- Builds 600 Ton Parts for Nuclear Power Plants and Samurai Swords
• Eco-Fail! HGTV’s Green Home Giveaway and The Yukon Hybrid

GM CEO Rick Wagoner: Vice Chairman Bob Lutz Doesn’t Speak for GM on Global Warming

We wrote about GM’s Vice Chairman Bob Lutz a last month when he made the brilliant comment that Global Warming was a “total crock of shit”. GM is getting their asses handed to them by Toyota and Honda who have been much smarter about deploying hybrid technology in their fleet.

GM’s CEO Rick Wagoner wants us all to know that Bob wasn’t speaking for General Motors- they believe that Global Warming is real and that they are working on how to best address the issue.

Fuck them. GM has been dragging their feet on improving efficiency for as long as cars have had four wheels. They’re hooked on building big ass cars that get single ass digit gas mileage. Mr. Wagoner can sputter all he wants about how GM loves the Earth and is doing their bestest to save it from their products, but we’re not being fooled. Bob Lutz made it very clear- GM is lead by asshat dinosaurs who will be buried in the tar pit that is a Globally Warmed future.

Link [Pure Green Cars]

Idiot Manchild & GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz Thinks Global Warming is a “Total Crock of Shit.”

And as a followup to the “Coal is Great!” video, Green Daily has news that douche nozzle and GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz was heard to declare global warming a “total crock of shit.”

It warms my heart that GM is getting their asses handed to them by Honda and Toyota. Bob Lutz needs a push off the GM plane right onto his golden parachute to make room for someone who understands that the world is round and global warming is a reality that needs to be faced. GM’s position in the market will only get worse until they have people at the top who really understand the challenges of global warming and how to best position their car company to meet them.

Link [Autoblog Green] via Green Daily