Ben & Jerry's Inaugural Ad Urges Americans to Put Aside Red and Blue Differences and Think Green.

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Continuing a tradition of social advocacy, Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc., the Vermont-based ice cream manufacturer, will feature a full page ad in Thursday's Washington Post to highlight global warming and urge unity in taking immediate action to reduce its effect.

The color ad features the Earth in green and blue with the headline "Put red and blue aside. Think green." The ad is timed to the 55th US Presidential Inauguration.

"The election is over, but our country has not been this divided in our lifetime," maintains Walt Freese, chief euphoria officer of Ben & Jerry's. "We're in a unique position to use our resources to build awareness of global warming and to urge Americans and Congress to get together and take the necessary measures to address the very real issue of global warming."

The ad copy suggests "...there are a million issues about which we could disagree. But, as we move into the next four years, let us ponder one inarguable fact: when you remove the red and blue from our map, what you're left with is one shared environment." It also encourages readers to find out what they can do by visiting www.lickglobalwarming.org.

In 2002, Ben & Jerry's teamed up with the Dave Matthews Band and SaveOurEnvironment.org, a coalition of the nation's most influential advocacy groups, to help fight global warming by encouraging people to take simple, easy actions to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions and share those commitments in political messages to Congress.

How bad is the problem?

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an international body of the world's leading climate experts, average temperatures will likely increase 2.5 degrees to 10.4 degrees F by 2100 if heat-trapping emissions are not significantly reduced, and notes that 1998 was the warmest year, of the warmest decade, of the last 1,000 years.

Warmer temperatures are only part of the problem. Another highly likely consequence of global warming is rising sea level. Scientists predict sea level will rise 1 to nearly 3 feet over the next 100 years, putting low-lying areas and millions of people at risk. Coastal areas will be increasingly vulnerable to hurricanes and floods and the planet will experience extreme weather, including intense rainfall and drought.

Scientists agree that if we wait 10, 20 or 50 years, the problem will be much more difficult to address and the consequences for us will be that much more serious.

About Ben & Jerry's

Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc., the Vermont-based manufacturer of ice cream, frozen yogurt and sorbet, was founded in 1978 in a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont, by childhood friends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. The company currently distributes ice cream, low fat ice cream, frozen yogurt and sorbet products in all 50 states and has over 235 franchised scoop shops in 27 states. Ben & Jerry's international operations include licensees in Israel and Canada, and distribution in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain, Singapore, Lebanon and Iceland.

Ben & Jerry's is dedicated to the creation and demonstration of a new corporate concept of linked prosperity. Their social mission is to operate the company in a way that actively recognizes the central role that business plays in the structure of society by initiating innovative ways to improve the quality of life of a broad community - local, national and international.