BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Hybrid cars have been the buzz for the last year or two, but a different kind of green driving has garnered some interest, Bakersfield television news station KERO reported.

Compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles have been around for several years, but earlier this summer when gas prices were breaching $4 a gallon, Texas billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens suggested CNG as a way to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil.

Images: A Look At CNG | Interactive: All About Gas

"I'm T. Boone Pickens, and I've been an oilman my whole life. This is one problem we can't drill our way out of, but I have a plan," Pickens said in one of his first television commercials, which can be viewed on his Web site PickensPlan.com.

In short, Pickens' plan is to use solar and wind energy to replace natural gas, which currently accounts for 22 percent of the electricity production in the United States. Pickens then wants to use natural gas to replace foreign oil in cars.

There are more than 250 million vehicles on the roads in the U.S. According to Natural Gas Vehicles for America, there are currently 5 million CNG vehicles in the world, but only about 150,000 in the states.

There are about 1,500 CNG refueling sites in the country, many in California due to an executive signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that established the world's first low carbon standard for transportation fuels.

Over the summer, high gas prices helped boost CNG as an attractive, economical and environmentally friendly option for mass transit and consumers alike.

"Actually, its been a little bit astounding because what we're seeing is as much activity on the public side as there is on our side," said Paul Linder, director of transportation for the Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office. "There are a lot of people that are coming through here getting CNG."

Half of the schools' 92 buses run on CNG, which is pumped into tanks beneath the bus. Every year, seven to eight more CNG busses arrive at the yard.

The Golden Empire Transit District (GET) -- which provides public transporation in Bakersfield -- started using CNG 13 years ago as a part of a state goal to reduce air pollution. Now, all 81 GET and GET Lift busses are CNG powered.

The Pacific Gas and Electric Company -- one of the largest combination natural gas and electric utilities companies in the United States -- is also working to reduce pollution by using flex fuel vehicles which have tanks for both diesel and natural gas.

Consumers looking to buy a CNG vehicle can look to the Honda's Civic GX, recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as the cleanest-internal combustion vehicle on Earth.

The Honda Civic GX starts at $25,090, according to Honda's website, but goes up from there with additional features.

In gallon equivalent, the Civic GX averages 24 miles-per-gallon on the street and 36 on the highway.

Older cars can be converted to run on CNG too, something the Utah Gov. Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. did recently to his state owned car.

Buyers can check CGNMotors.com, a Web site that sells cars that have been converted to run on CNG. Prices vary based on vehicle model and the modification.

As for the price of CNG fuel itself, it varies, but prices can be checked at CNGPrices.com.

The current prices in Bakersfield range somewhere between $2.00 and $2.30, but California's CNG prices are usually a bit higher than average. Still, CNG offered consumers a price that was nearly $2 less than gasoline over the summer.