Seems to me that “CNG” as an alternative fuel makes the national news quite a bit. But does the man/woman on the street really know what CNG (compressed natural gas) even stands for and why they should care?  I wanted to know so I did the best thing – I asked a local expert, Colleen Crowninshield, from the Clean Cities Coaltion  at Pima Association of Governments  what all the green hoopla is about & why Colleen is helping to get fleets in Pima County to convert their vehicles to CNG! Hopefully, this short blog about the benefits of CNG will give you some insight as to why the buzz!

But first – here is the Queen of Clean Cities herself!

“The Queen of Clean Cities”

Here’s the list:

– CNG is approx 98% cleaner than gasoline (great, right?)

– It is a North American sourced fuel

– We have vast supplies in the US

– It can be made renewably ( Clean Cities is working on an amazing project with Pima County Biogas & Waste Water Management)

– CNG is approximately 40% less expensive than gasoline (Yes – 40%. Think of cost savings for entire fleets PLUS cleaner burning)

– There are multiple OEM (original equipment manufacturers) who offer vehicles in light, medium and heavy duty vehicles so big companies have many options to find the right size vehicles for their fleets. Once again, this benefits them and this planet of ours

And because I always try to make the point about green living can be fun AND benefit the planet – just had to add this great little “did you know.”   Tucson, Arizona is host to one the world’s largest and most successful Gem & Mineral Shows. This year, Colleen helped to create a strategic and GREEN partnership to utilize  natural gas for the gem show shuttle service, the Green Line Shuttle.  With multiple partners, Arizona  Stagecoach,  Southwest Gas  and Clean Energy, they provided the vehicles to the city with minimal cost. The only cost to the city was paying the drivers’ salaries . Clean Energy  provided the fuel at $1.99 / gallon; normally $2.69 / gallon, and Southwest Gas  paid for the fuel. Talk about a  fabulous government public/private partnership being put together by leadership from Tucson Clean Cities.

You can listen to a download of Colleen Crowninshield’s Down to Earth show by clicking on this link!  Small steps, big impact, more sustainable planet.