Green power investment and energy efficiency – the top 22 US cities named in survey – part 2.

In order to evaluate the cities’ efforts to limit the overall demand of municipal energy and supply clean energy, Smarter Cities surveyed various municipal governments in accordance with several factors. These included: the city’s top three fuel sources, its energy conservation programs (with their goals for reduced consumption), the city’s aggregate consumption of kilowatt per hour, its methods of measuring energy conservation, and whether the city completed a greenhouse gas inventory. The Smarter Cities team looked for consultations from experts in the NRDC, as well as outside it, in order to develop its plan. The Smarter Cities advisor and an NRDC Air and Energy program attorney, Brandi Colander, said that it was crucial to create a reasonable and clear factor description. The team could use this to compare the performance of the cities involved. This description had to be researchable, which means that the data collected had to be pertinent, comprehensive, and reliable.

Transportation was deliberately left out from the analysis, although this sector comprises a significant percentage of the use of fossil fuels. McRandle noted that because it is so large, transportation is a sustainability factor that should be treated on its own. The team plans to examine transportation next, hoping to have a complete evaluation at some point in autumn of 2010.

For more information, go to:
smartercities.nrdc.org,
en.wikipedia.org

The information supplied in this article is not to be considered as medical advice and is for educational purposes only.