This past Earth Day Vice President Biden announced $300 million of the Recovery Funds Act to be applied to the Clean Cities Program - a program that brings sustainable vehicles and their infrastructure to cities across the country. “…We’re going put Recovery Act dollars to work deploying cleaner, greener vehicles in cities and towns across the nation that will cut costs, reduce pollution and create the jobs that will drive our economic recovery,” said Vice President Biden.

These programs are expected to bolster the country’s infrastructure, reduce our dependence on oil - foreign and domestic - and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are a great cause of global warming.

In addition, these new programs will help boost the economy and bring job growth in local economies and the country as a whole.

Maryland governor, Martin O’Malley, projects job growth of an estimated 17,000 jobs and hopes to a 40% transition of state vehicles to run on alternative fuel or be hybrid by 2010.

Clean Cities is part of the U.S. Department Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Program, and was founded as a sort of grass-roots program to support and advance U.S.economic and energy growth by working at the local level of government fleet vehicles.

Multiple projects are eligible for funding in the Clean Cities Program including hybrid, plug-in electric hybrid, hydraulic hybrid, electric, fuel cell, and natural gas for both light and heavy-duty vehicles for local governments.

Infrastructure to support this shift, public awareness campaigns and training programs are all also eligible programs for this funding.

Clean Cities also has a network of around 90 localized volunteer coalitions that develop and promote education, training and interest in alternative vehicles and fuels.

Coalitions can be formed at the community level by following the criteria spelled out by the Clean Cities program and are usually found in major metropolitan cities and areas.

Surprisingly, Clean Cities was founded in 1993 and has replaced over 2 billion gallons of fossil fuel and represents 229 million U.S. citizens through the work of the volunteer coalition.

Clean Cities has stated the following three goals to be its primary mission:

• Replacement: Replacing petroleum used in the transportation sector with alternative fuels and low-level blends of non-petroleum replacement fuels.
• Reduction: Reducing petroleum use by promoting energy efficiency in vehicles through advanced technology and efficient vehicles.
• Elimination: Eliminating petroleum or other fuel use by promoting advanced technologies and greater use of mass transit systems, trip elimination measures, and other congestion mitigation approaches.

Now with $300 million in funding from the federal government, coupled with new awareness brought about by the green movement, major cities in the U.S. will finally be running cleaner and more efficiently.

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