Dive Summary:
- Does your city mandate energy efficient building designs, fund electric vehicle charging stations or support organized bike sharing? If so, your city probably ranked high on a recent study by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE), which compared the energy efficiency of 34 major American cities.
- ACEEE analyzed each city's building codes, local energy initiatives, transportation policies, energy-reducing programs and efforts to curtail energy use in government buildings. Cities could earn a possible total of 100 points.
- Click here to view ACEEE's interactive infographic.
The five most energy efficient cities are:
1. Boston, Mass. (76.75)
2. Portland, Ore. (70)
3. New York, N.Y. (69.75 - tied)
3. San Francisco, Calif. (69.75 - tied)
5. Seattle, Wash. (65.25)
The five least energy efficient cities are:
30. Tampa, Fla. (26.75)
31. Charlotte, N.C. (23.75)
32. Memphis, Tenn. (23.5)
33. Detroit, Mich. (19)
34. Jacksonville, Fla. (17.25)
From the article:
"[ACEEE official] Mackres pointed to several factors that led cities to score poorly, including a lack of support from some state governments and a lack of knowledge about the issue on the part of city policymakers. "A number of cities at the bottom [have] taken a variety of actions, but in a lot of cases they've been piecemeal and not tied into a broader strategy," he added."
