WASHINGTON - July 7 - The Sierra Club is launching a new ad campaign to excite young Americans about clean cars and clean energy. Sierra Club's "Hybrid Evolution" ad campaign is reaching out to America's youth with a message that the Bush administration and Detroit doesn't want them to hear - that clean energy and clean car solutions to protect their future against pollution and global warming are available today. These solutions stand in stark contrast to the Bush administration's polluting energy policy that increases America's dependence on oil, coal and nuclear energy.

The first full-page ad appears in the July 8-22, 2004 edition of Rolling Stone magazine, a double issue featuring a cover story on the death of music legend Ray Charles.

The Hybrid Evolution Campaign is part of the Sierra Club's efforts to hold the government and polluting corporations accountable. At a time when the Bush administration and Congress have failed to require automakers and utilities to 'evolve' with cleaner technology, the Sierra Club is going straight to the public to demonstrate that the technology exists today to take the country into a safer, cleaner, and cheaper energy future. As a key demographic that sets cultural trends, young Americans can help bring clean cars and clean energy into the cultural mainstream - and place new pressure on polluting corporations and the Bush administration.

"The Sierra Club is playing Paul Revere," said Dan Becker, Washington Director for the Sierra Club's Global Warming Program. "We're telling people that we already have the technology to clean up our air and curb global warming. But the Bush administration has fought efforts to put these solutions to work and instead pushes policies that increase America's dependence on oil and other polluting energy sources."

These new ads are part of a combined strategy of paid advertising, internet outreach, and grassroots events to reach young Americans. The ads direct viewers to the website, www.iwillevolve.org, which links visitors to Hybrid Evolution events in their communities. These events are part of three hybrid road tours taking place throughout this summer: Key West, FL to Portland, ME; Chicago, IL to Los Angeles, CA; and Seattle, WA to San Diego, CA.

"Hybrid Evolution is about better technology and a better future," said Brendan Bell, Associate Washington Representative for the Sierra Club's Global Warming Program. "We think young Americans will respond when they're provided with the facts about the Bush administration's record."

The ads were produced in collaboration with The Change, a Raleigh, NC-based ad agency, which provided its services pro bono. The ads initially will run in national publications including Rolling Stone, Marie Claire, Blender, Clamor and Time Out New York. The advertising images for the Hybrid Evolution Campaign are available for viewing at http://www.iwillevolve.org/look.asp. Higher resolution images are available upon request.

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