Vol. 13, No. 2 - June 2009
Clean Cities Now is the official publication of Clean Cities, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy's Vehicle Technologies Program, designed to reduce petroleum consumption in the transportation sector by advancing the use of alternative fuel vehicles, idle reduction technologies, hybrid electric vehicles, fuel blends, and fuel economy.
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From the mouths of children comes the clean air message in San Antonio. A creative new program crafted by the Alamo Area Clean Cities (AACC) coalition gives kids a chance to make a difference by joining the Green Patrol and encouraging their parents to reduce idling near schools. "Idling is big here because so many parents wait in their air-conditioned cars," says Andrew Hudgins, former AACC coordinator. "Getting them to consider the effects of their actions and changing habits was a big project." The coalition approached one area elementary school with a proposal addressed to both school officials and the parent-teacher organization. "We provided a letter to be sent home from the principal, as well as a fact sheet about the dangers of unnecessary idling on children's health," Hudgins says. More
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Diversity on campus has a new meaning in Chicago. The University of Illinois-Chicago's (UIC) transportation system for innercampus and commuter transport includes a variety of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs). The fleet includes 12 light-duty hybrids, 37 flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs), 26 vehicles that operate on B20, two compressed natural gas (CNG) cargo vans, and a CNG Crown Victoria. In addition, nine CNG Blue Bird buses transport an average of 2,000 people daily around the campus. All in all, AFVs represent 36% of their fleet. With the help of two Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) grants received through the efforts of the Chicago Area Clean Cities coalition, the university installed CNG infrastructure. "We now have two slow-fill dispensing units and we have added two quick-fill CNG units," says Pablo Acevedo, associate director of facilities management at UIC. The university's program extends its reach even farther by allowing vehicles owned by the City of Chicago to fill up at the UIC facility. More
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TransAtlas, an interactive map introduced by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, uses a Google Maps interface to display alternative fueling stations and production facilities, roads and political boundaries, and light-duty vehicle density. Users can customize the map, print, and query the underlying data. Access TransAtlas on the Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center Web site. More
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