Sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE), the Clean Cities program advances the nation’s economic, environmental, and energy security by supporting local decisions to reduce petroleum consumption. The Greater Long Island Clean Cities Coalition is one of 90 local coalitions that develops public/private partnerships to promote alternative fuels and vehicles, fuel blends, fuel economy, hybrid vehicles and idle reduction awareness.

Five Main Technology Areas We Focus On:

• Alternative Fuels & Vehicles: Congress passed the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) in 1992 to reduce our nation's dependence on imported petroleum.  The Act requires certain fleets to acquire alternative vehicles, which are capable of operating on nonpetroleum fuels. The alternative fuels defined by EPAct are natural gas, biodiesel, ethanol, hydrogen, electricity, propane, and methanol.  These fuels can be found domestically and they burn cleaner, thus contributing to oil independence, cleaner air quality, and combatting climate change.
• Fuel Blends: Blending alternative fuels with conventional fuels allows unmodified vehicles to reduce petroleum consumption and emissions.
• Fuel Economy: Fuel economy refers to the amount of fuel needed to move a vehicle a given distance.  Better fuel economy can save money, reduce emissions that advance global warming, reduce oil dependence, and increase energy sustainability.
• Hybrid Electric Vehicles: HEVs combine the electrical benefits of high fuel economy and low emissions with the power, range, and convenience of conventional vehicles, while generally emitting fewer pollutants and greenhouse gases.
• Idle Reduction: Idling vehicles wastes several billion gallons of fuels and emits large amouns of air pollution and greenhouse gases each year.  Thirty seconds of idling can use more fuel than turning off and restarting the engine, so if you are stopping for more than thirty seconds, turn off the engine.