President Barrack Obama has made it clear that he considers the environment a priority of his administration. He started back when he was a mere presidential hopeful in August of 2008 when he called for a million plug-in hybrids by 2015. He even traded in his V-8 Chrysler for a hybrid while on the campaign trail.

Now, in office his economic stimulus package provides about $80 billion for renewable energy, increasing energy efficiency, improving and expanding mass transit, updating the electrical grid and research.

This Thursday, President Obama will continue to emphasize the role that hybrids and other clean vehicles play in America’s future by visiting the Southern California Edison Electric Vehicle Technical Center in Pomona to check the progress being made by SCE and Ford on their clean vehicles like the Escape hybrid.

Arizona became one of the states following California’s lead on enforcing cleaner cars when governor Janet Napolitano (D) ordered that the state adopt stricter rules for automobile fuel efficiency standards to 44 mpg by 2016. Napolitano has since been appointed as Secretary of Homeland Security by President Barrack Obama. Napolitano’s replacement, Jan Brewer (R) is now considering rescinding that order.

The clean car regulations for decreasing greenhouse gases hasn’t even taken effect yet, but according to gubernatorial press aide Paul Senseman, Brewer is “reviewing” the rules.

Even if Brewer doesn’t step in to stop the clean car rules from going into effect, it is also looking likely that state lawmakers will force the issue anyway as they have introduced a measure to bar the State Department of Environment Quality from enforcing the new rules.

President Obama looks to be making good another of his election pledges by signing a presidential memorandum that asks the Environmental Protection Agency to grant 14 states the power to impose stricter standards for automobile emissions and fuel efficiency.

It’s a promise that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had asked President Obama to make good on in a letter he sent the president the day after his inauguration.

The move hopes to overrule the decision of the EPA in 2007 which denied 14 states, including California, the right set their own, stricter automobile standards.

President Barack Obama wasn’t done there though. He also signed a memorandum that directs the Department of Transportation to come up with fuel-efficiency standards for the automotive industry for 2011 model vehicles.

In 2007 U.S. Congress approved the Energy Independence Act which was supposed reduce American dependence on foreign oil and make a push to develop more of an infrastructure for clean energy like electric vehicles and wind power. But as you probably know the Bush Administration wasn’t big on following through with the act and preferred the philosophy of “Drill, baby, drill.”

In reference to that President Obama stated today, “For the sake of our security, our economy and our planet, we must have the courage and commitment to change. We need more than the same old empty promises.”

Considering the recent study showing clean air provides longer life, these memorandums might have just extended the lives of millions of people.

California Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger is not wasting any time in approaching the President Obama with his concerns over state-level rights to implement strict car emission standards. He sent him a letter yesterday, the day after Obama’s inauguration, which asked him for the power to impose such restrictions.

Schwarzenegger wrote to Obama that his administration “has a unique opportunity to both support the pioneering leadership of these states and move America toward global leadership on addressing climate change.”

The issue that Schwarzenegger is referring to is the 2007 Bush administration’s ruling that states can not impose greenhouse gas emission standards on new cars, trucks or SUVs. It happens to be a decision that Obama has sated he would re-examine.

Plug In America, an organization that promotes the use of electric vehicles, held an electric car parade today to celebrate President Obama’s inauguration speech.

Over 70 electric vehicles came together for the celebratory parade in promotion of a plug-in vehicle focus for the Obama administration. The message of the parade was actually quite specific in that they are calling to see one million electric vehicles in Ameerica by 2010 and 10 million by 2016.

The two-mile parade ran through downtown Santa Monica and included 40 Toyota RAV4 Evs, four Tesla Roadsters, an all electric 50-ton truck and a PHEV school bus.