COLUMBIA, SC – Columbia, S.C., Mayor Bob Coble will begin driving the first hybrid car the city has ever purchased — a 2007 Ford Escape, according to Web site www.thestate.com. The city has allotted $26,423 for the purchase. The Escape will be his third city car since he took office in 1990. For the past eight years, he has driven a Chevy Suburban.

Late last year, members of council signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement — a nonbinding pledge that hundreds of cities around the country have signed, promising to cut their greenhouse gas emissions like carbon dioxide and methane by seven percent by 2012.

A citizens’ committee, called the Climate Protection Action Committee, was formed and has met twice. They have recommended retrofitting city buildings with energy efficient lighting and appliances and converting the city’s diesel vehicles to biodiesel and buying hybrid vehicles.