Berkeley, the future green city

Last month, Berkeley's city council adopted Berkeley’s bold Climate Action Plan. This plan calls for systemic action, by all Berkeley residents and agencies to reduce city’s greenhouse gas (GHG) consumption by 80% below 2000 levels by the year 2050, and the investment in electric vehicle infrastructure will be a key method for achieving these larger goals.

In partnership with City CarShare and Berkeley-based 3Prong Power, city council recently unveiled the nation’s first converted plug-in hybrid electric municipal fleet vehicle (PHEV). The Berkeley partnership is unique, because cars reserved for city fleet use during business hours, including the new converted plug-in hybrid, are shared by other City CarShare members on weekends and evenings.

The city expect to expand the number of CarShare PHEV nodes in neighborhoods throughout Berkeley in the coming years. The city's hope is that after having experienced the benefits of electric vehicles, the citizens will be motivated to invest in this eco-friendly technology for their private use when considering new automobile purchases.

It is clear that in order for the "Race for Electric Vehicles" to be successful, people must approach this plan from a regional level. The City of Berkeley is proud to be partnering with other governmental groups throughout the Bay Area as they work to create a corridor of infrastructure that encourages electric vehicle usage, and is committed to every effort in creating a sustainable Berkeley.

Source : gas2.0, by Tom Bates, July 20th, 2009