Executive Order 13514 requires that by the year 2015 all vehicles purchased for government use must be alternative fuel vehicles. The Order also mandates that the US fleet of vehicles reduce their petroleum use 30% by the year 2020. To help reach these goals the General Services Administration, which manages the federal government's vehicle fleet of over 600,00 vehicles has initiated a pilot program for alternative fuel vehicles.

This pilot program will lease 116 plug in electric vehicles to approximately 20 Federal agencies including the Department of Energy and the United States Navy. The pilot program will have vehicles in Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington D.C., and San Diego. The program includes plans by the General Services Administration to install charging stations in Federal buildings in these five cities.

An electric vehicle advocacy group, the Electrification Coalition has estimated that if by the year 2040 75 percent of all miles driven are powered by electric vehicles we would drop our oil consumption by seven million barrels of oil per day! In order for this to happen the electric vehicle must become more accessible to the American consumer. To help Americans purchase electric vehicles there is a $7,500 tax credit available on your income tax return. There is a plan being considered that would turn this tax credit into a point of sale rebate so that you wouldn't have to wait until tax time to get your money back.

The current budget crisis in the United States government is threatening the research and development funding for electric vehicle batteries and infrastructure. Some senators think that these are programs that can be cut with no consequences, but they are wrong. Electric and alternative fuel vehicles are going to be the future transportation of the world one way or another. The Federal government can not and should not shoulder the financial burden of these projects alone, but offering incentive programs some of which are already in place will go a long way in pushing these projects forward in the public and private sector.

In order for the United States to become less dependent on oil we must develop more and better alternative fuel vehicles, such as the electric car. We must also develop an infrastructure that will support the use of these vehicles. This is important not just from an environmental stand point, but also from a technological one. The United States is still clawing its way out of a deep recession and the development of these technologies will provide many jobs that are needed by our citizens. If the United States fails to take the reins and forge ahead you can bet another country will.