Nation's Capital Gets Greener

Bicycling past the Lincoln Memorial on a sunny day in the nation's capital.

I've been writing for the past few years about how my hometown of Washington, D.C. is leading the way in America's transition to a sustainable economy. The wildly successful Capital Bikeshare program that recently celebrated its two millionth ride, will soon be the second largest bike sharing system in North America when later this summer New York launches Citi Bike.

But bikes aren't the only mode of transportation being shared in The District these days. Car sharing service Zipcar now has some competition in D.C. with the recent launch of Car2Go. The subsidiary of Daimler AG features Smart Fortwo microcars that easily fit into the smallest parking spaces and are great for zipping around the city. Plus, unlike Zipcar you can pick up and drop off the Car2Go vehicle at any metered parking space in most places throughout The District city limits. While in D.C. and other cities the Car2Go vehicles are gas-powered, in San Diego and Amsterdam the company launched electric vehicle service with a fleet of Smart Fortwo ED (electric drive) vehicles.

What the End of Gasoline Looks Like: Green Cars in America

The 2012 Ford Focus Electric Vehicle on display at the Washington Auto Show.

There is a green revolution taking place in the American automobile industry—cars are getting smaller, more fuel efficient, more electric and more capable of carrying cleaner burning alternative fuels like ethanol and biodiesel. This long overdue shift to low and zero emission vehicles is largely thanks to the Obama Administration's increased fuel efficiency standards. The fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions rule adopted in 2010 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) took effect in 2011 and will increase miles per gallon requirements every year until 2025, when the window sticker rating must be 54.5 MPG. That means less trips to the gas station, more money savings, more energy security with less reliance on foreign oil, cleaner air to breathe and combating climate change by reducing CO2 emissions.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and EPA's website www.fueleconomy.gov provides consumers with fuel saving tips, information on the new fuel economy and environment label designs for the new generation of vehicles that will begin model year 2013, and helps car buyers choose the most fuel efficient vehicles on the market.