SEATTLE – King County is teaming up with local and national policymakers and industry innovators for the first-ever Clean Vehicles Now! Conference, held on Sept. 19 at Qwest Field in Seattle from 7 a.m.–5 p.m. The national conference, hosted by King County and the non-profit group WestStart, will include a policy-setting agenda and an alternative-vehicle display and “Ride and Drive” test drive.

Joining King County Executive Ron Sims for the daylong clean vehicle and climate action conference will be former California Environmental Protection Agency Director Terry Tamminen. The author of the book, Lives per Gallon, Tamminen has served as environmental advisor to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and helped craft some of America’s most progressive energy independence plans.

Participants, ranging from government and clean-vehicle industry leaders to advocates of green transportation alternatives, will have an opportunity to shape policies that will guide the future of clean vehicle technology and help maintain the region’s role as a leader in promoting environmental sustainability and combating global warming.

In addition to exploring the technologies and clean vehicles that exist today and the innovations just around the corner, conference participants will discuss concrete actions to enhance clean-vehicle investment and use.

They will also get a firsthand look at the technology that drives products, such as the alternative vehicles Tango, Kurrant, Zenn, E-Ride, and Viking. The event will offer participants the opportunity to test drive one of several alternative vehicles available as part of a special “Ride-and-Drive.”

There’s still time to register online at http://www.metrokc.gov/exec/cleanvehiclesnow/. For more information about the Clean Vehicles Now! Conference, visit the Web site or call (206) 296-4301.