But for those who are still unconvinced by the ‘he-said-she-said,’there is an even better way to get the real picture of what’s going on in the manufacturing heartland: just follow the money.

Building the Jeep Grand Cherokee at Chrysler’s Jefferson North Assembly plant in Detroit. In addition to adding 1100 jobs at its Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio, Chrysler has added over 1000 jobs at the Detroit facility. Photo: DrivingGrowth.com

So what’s in question isn’t just the (at best) politically expedient use of an oddly worded Bloomberg news story about how a resurgent Chrysler was seeking to add production in China for the Chinese market. It’s the implicit rejection of a huge, successful, clean-technology investment, innovation, and manufacturing commitment by American companies and workers, and yes, by states and federal government.  Not only did this policy, investment, and hard work by thousands of Americans prove to be economically successful (the auto industry has added nearly a quarter of a million jobs since the collapse in 2009), but it is demonstrating right now that America can lead again globally on advanced technology and the environment. Its not just a fact check…it’s a reality check.

Judge for yourself: here’s where Chrysler is putting its money, investment and jobs (emphasis added):

 “Toledo, Ohio , Nov 16, 2011 – Chrysler Group LLC announced today that it will invest $1.7 billion to support the development and production of the next generation Jeep® SUV in 2013, including $500 million at the Toledo Assembly Complex (Ohio). As a result, the Company will add a second shift of production or about 1,100 jobs, bringing total employment at the complex to over 2,800.

…. With today’s announcement, Chrysler Group is planning to invest more than $4.5 billion in the U.S. and has made significant progress toward building a successful enterprise since June 2009, including:

• reporting net income of $212 million in the third quarter of 2011;
• reporting the 19th-consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains in October;
• planning to invest $165 million to add a new one million square-foot body shop to its Sterling Heights (Mich.) Assembly Plant;
• announcing a $72 million investment in the Toledo (Ohio) Machining Plant;
• confirming a $114 million investment to repurpose about one-fifth or nearly 400,000-square feet of the Trenton North Engine Plant for the production of core components for the Pentastar engine produced at Trenton South;
• investing nearly $1.3 billion into the Company’s existing transmission manufacturing facilities in Kokomo, Ind., to accommodate production of a new advanced front-wheel drive automatic transmission; increase capacity and support production of the World Engine and improve processes for the 62TE transmission program; and accommodate future production of a new highly fuel-efficient eight-speed automatic transmission;
• announcing a $600 million investment in its Belvidere Assembly Plant;
• confirming an investment of $850 million in its Sterling Heights Assembly Plant and surrounding stamping facilities;
• planning an investment of $150 million in its GEMA (Dundee, Mich.) facility;
• announcing in December 2009 that it will invest $179 million to launch production of the 1.4-liter, 16-valve Fully Integrated Robotized Engine (FIRE) at the company’s Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance (GEMA) plant in Dundee, Mich., creating more than 150 new Chrysler jobs;
• adding a second shift of production – or nearly 1,100 jobs – at its Jefferson North Assembly Plant in May 2010;
• adding nearly 900 jobs on a second shift at its Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in February 2011;
• launching the all-new 2011 Jeep® Grand Cherokee in May 2010;
• beginning production of the all-new Fiat 500, Dodge Durango, Chrysler 200 and Dodge Avenger in December 2010;
• starting production of the 2011 Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger in January.”

In a statement today, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne updated these numbers to a total of 11,200 Chrysler jobs added in the U.S. since 2009, and said: “I feel obliged to unambiguously restate our position: Jeep production will not be moved from the United States to China.”

As is true across the industry, the new cars, trucks, engines and transmissions Chrysler is building will also be much more fuel efficient. These new fuel-efficient cars and trucks are on track to deliver huge oil savings, deep carbon-pollution reductions, and tens of billions of dollars a year in net savings for consumers. New fuel economy standards working together with investments in manufacturing clean energy technology in America—like those made by Chrysler—are delivering greater innovation, improved global competitiveness, and even more jobs than via economic recovery alone.

VIDEO: See first hand what workers who build the Jeep Grand Cherokee at Chrysler’s Jefferson North Assembly plant that have to say, here.

Photo: DrivingGrowth.org

The list above are just Chrysler’s investments and accomplishments. They don’t include the other automakers—domestic and foreign—or the hundreds of suppliers who see new orders and new investment as Chrysler retools and increases production. Chrysler’s profits have also continued to rebound since the time of this release in Nov 2011.

The reality check? Investments in rebuilding a clean competitive auto industry are working for America. This is good news for families and communities all across America, and that’s a reality that needs to continue. 

People of the Granite State are not immune from the impacts. They barely got out a snow shovel last winter. The extent of snow cover across the Northern Hemisphere has decreased by approximately three to nine percent since 1978, says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), trends that are likely to continue. And NOAA scientists project that by the end of the century, parts of the Northeast will lose as many as half of their snow-covered days each year.

The warming climate is taking its toll in New Hampshire:

• The Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University reported in August that in the Northeast, January through July 2012 was the warmest seven-month period since 1895, the year systematic record keeping began.
• For the first time in recorded history, Great Bay, a large tidal inlet between New Hampshire and Maine popular with winter smelt anglers, did not freeze over.
• Researchers studying moose mortality in NH say that it used to be typical for a moose to carry some 30,000 ticks, but the population of ticks has been magnified by climate change and warmer winter temperatures. Researchers have found that as many as 150,000 of the parasites can plague a moose at once. The blood-feeding winter tick causes 41 percent of all moose deaths in New Hampshire. With the populations of moose in decline, the associated reduction in annual hunting permits, and climate change impacts such as increased ticks, are threatening both a species and a cherished pastime for many hunters in New Hampshire.
• Climate change-induced sea level rise will inundate coastal marshes that serve as nurseries for fish, including the striped bass that live in the ocean and migrate up coastal rivers to spawn in the spring.
• As lakes heat up, some fish cannot thrive in the warmer waters.

A few weeks ago, support for action came from America’s hunters and anglers when a poll of that community, people of every political persuasion, found that a majority (59 percent) agrees that global warming is happening now and is causing extreme weather such as America’s hottest July on record. And they expect elected officials to act.

While candidates across the country debate issues like the future of Medicare, Afghanistan and the federal deficit, there’s rarely mention of our warming planet, much less a solution offered. Stemming climate change will take courageous steps. The presidential debates were not exactly a profile in climate change courage, so it falls to voters to demand more.

What was completely lost in the discussion is that increasing oil drilling in the United States will not bring down prices at the pump, and, since oil prices are set on the world market, more drilling here at home will do little to reduce gas prices.  In fact, an Associated Press analysis of 36 years of Energy Information Administration data shows “no statistical correlation” between domestic oil production and gas prices.  In short, we just can’t drill our way to cheaper gasoline.  Increasing vehicle efficiency is a far better solution to decrease our dependency on oil and gas.

I catch a breather near Gunsight Pass in Glacier National Park

Also missing from all the finger-pointing over gas prices was any recognition of the fact that the explosion of drilling in this country over recent decades has had a profound impact on water resources, air quality, and fish and wildlife habitat.  These vital resources suffer because of the direct cumulative impacts of the drilling process but also because burning fossil fuels is warming our planet and causing global climate change, which carry devastating consequences for decades to come.

We have yet to see enough detail in the debates, from either candidate, as to how they plan to protect wildlife, wild landscapes and recreational opportunities even as oil and gas permitting increases.  Governor Romney’s energy plan proposes opening new, sensitive offshore areas for drilling, fast-tracking the Keystone XL pipeline, undermining environmental review, and turning over control of federal public lands to states for the purposes of energy development.  However, nowhere in Governor Romney’s plan does it even mention the importance of the conservation of  fish and wildlife, and we have yet to hear a commitment from the campaign to protect the water we drink and their air we breathe from more drilling.

In fact, in the post-debate coverage the moderator, Candy Crowley said “I had that question for all of you climate change people,” but that she wanted go “go with the economy” –completely missing the point that shifting to renewable energy and building energy efficient technology is critical to creating jobs and revitalizing our economy. At the same time, the impacts of climate change are causing widespread damages in the U.S. and globally.

The avoidance of climate change by the media and the candidates must end before voters go to the polls on Election Day.

Urgent Threat to Polar Bears

New satellite data just revealed that polar bears’ Arctic ice melted to a new record low this summer–retreating from areas at the edge of the Arctic Ocean where polar bears most need the ice to hunt for seals–and leaving many of the bears desperate for food.

Every summer, a portion of Arctic ice melts and then forms again in the fall, but the ice is melting earlier and melting more now than any other time on record. In fact, the area of Arctic ice that melted this summer was an incredible 49% above the average from 1979 to 2000. The additional ice that melted is an area nearly double the size of Alaska.

In the face of the urgent threat polar bears, we must ensure that voters hear whether candidates running for Congress or the Presidency support using more clean energy and setting strong limits on carbon pollution to address climate.

Presidential Candidates Must Address Climate Change

In 2009–when strong legislation to fight climate change passed the U.S. House and had the backing of President Obama–the only thing stopping us were a few pro-Big Polluter members of the U.S. Senate. Making climate change a part of this year’s election issues is critical to being able to address global warming.

Polls are showing that undecided voters–who the candidates want to sway–care deeply about climate change.  Make sure climate change is once again in the national spotlight, so that voters can find out which candidates plan to fight climate change before they cast their ballot.

We have an opportunity in these next few weeks to get climate change back in the national spotlight before Election Day by urging Bob Schieffer, the moderator of the final presidential debate, to ask the candidates their positions on addressing climate change.

Be a voice for polar bears–shine the spotlight on climate change before Election Day.