Babylon Town Supervisor Steve Bellone tries out one of the six Smart Carts it purchased as part of its ongoing efforts to have a greener town. The Town of Babylon will be unveiling 6 Smart Carts recently purchased as part of it passenger fleet of vehicles. " In this time of economic crisis, all levels of government need to do what is fiscally responsible and what is in the best interest of the tax payer," said Supervisor Bellone. "By using the Smart Cars as part of the Town of Babylon's Public Safety patrol ,the Town will save approximately $72,000 in the purchase cost of cars and thousands per year in fuel costs."

All Pure Smart Car models are equipped with new, three-cylinder (71 hp) engines, and new five-speed transmissions. The Pure Smart Car is green, lean, and mean - and 80 percent of all the materials that go into it are recyclable. The Pure will get roughly 40 miles per gallon which is 15 miles more per gallon than the current public safety car.

The purchase of these vehicles is part of the Town of Babylon's Climate Protection Plan where the Town has pledged to reduce its emissions 12% by the year 2012. In 2005, the Town was designated as a "Cool City" by the Sierra Club for the town's commitment to environmental issues. By entering into an agreement with the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Plan, the Town received the designation as a "Cool City" and pledged to reduce CO2 emissions by 7% by the year 2012. The town has taken on a more aggressive stance and has pledged to reduce its emissions by an additional 5% than what is required.

"The Town of Babylon's purchase of Smart Cars for Town business is another example of Steve Bellone's commitment to the environment", said Frank Morris Chair of the Sierra Club of Long Island. "Steve Bellone was Long Island's first signer to Sierra Club's Cool Cities/Cool Neighborhood's program, and he backed up his signature with an innovative Town-based funding mechanism to help residents reduce their carbon footprint. Steve Bellone will be Long Island Sierra Club's environmentalist of the year for 2008, and we can think of no other elected official that deserves this honor."

To date, the Town has conducted a town-wide inventory to identify the greatest opportunity for reductions in emissions and provide a baseline for the Town's progress. The inventories to be taken on the municipal level include: buildings, streetlights, water & sewage, vehicle fleet, and water. The inventories to be taken on a community level include: residential, commercial, industrial, transportation, and waste.