Newark goes green

Mayor Cory Booker gave up his gas-guzzling sports utility vehicle today to test drive one of 10 electric Mini Coopers on loan to the city in a pilot program that aims to save on fuel costs.

Although he's 6-foot-3, Booker was impressed by the tiny two-seater.

"I didn't feel in any way squeezed. It was roomy," he said, after taking it out for a spin on Broad Street.

The mayor and city council members Donald M. Payne Jr., Anibal Ramos Jr. and Carlos M. Gonzalez unveiled the cars outside City Hall. Each of the silver vehicles has the city's seal, and a logo that says, "Go green with us."

Park Ridge, Morristown, Ramsey, Mahwah, Ringwood, Oradell, Ridgewood, Westwood, Emerson and Haledon are also participating in the program launched by MINI USA, a business unit of BMW. The trial has 450 electric MINI Coopers in service nationwide, to determine their viability, according to the car maker.

Newark officials said the electric vehicles, dubbed the Mini E, will be used by employees who regularly use cars on the job. A driver who averages 30 miles a day would reduce gas consumption by about 750 gallons of fuel per year, city officials said.

The electric cars promise 90% cleaner emissions, and have a range of 100 miles per charge. The trial fits with Newark's "Climate Prosperity Initiative" and a goal to reduce the city's carbon footprint.

While the vehicles are green, each has a 150-kilowatt electric engine, with enough pep to go from 0 to 60 mph in just over eight seconds. "I have to tell you that car had unbelievable pick-up," Booker said.

The mayor normally uses a Chevrolet Suburban, which subs as a police vehicle, and provides the room he needs to transport officials and dignitaries who visit Newark. He said the Suburban wasn't his first choice for energy efficiency, but that he was forced to keep it, for now, because of the high cost of breaking its lease. Police Director Garry McCarthy and other officials also use similar sports utility vehicles.

Eventually, the mayor said, he wants the city to switch over to flex-fuel SUVs that use biofuel, or hybrids. Newark already has environmental conservation built into its master plan, design guidelines and economic development strategies. The city provides incentives for green building, has helped distribute more than 9,000 energy-saving light bulbs, and created the first Newark Environmental Commission in March.

While the city's roads are congested with gas guzzlers, Kim Gaddy, the environmental commission's chairwoman, said in a prepared statement that the electric MINI Cooper trial, "has the power to educate, inspire and engage minds and actions of the urban consumer."

Newark Sustainability Officer Chelsea Albucher said in the same statement that electric vehicles could prove critical in Newark, which has disproportionately high rates of asthma among children.

Source : nj.com, by Ralph Ortega, July 14th, 2009