For [all the complaints](http://prospect.org/csnc/blogs/tapped_archive?month=06&year=2011&base_name=light_bulbs_and_lastditch_clim) about more efficient light bulbs, government leaders on a municipal level see them as a key way to decrease cities' energy use and carbon emissions. Also top on their list: low-energy building technology and solar systems. That's according to [a new report](http://usmayors.org/cleanenergy/) from The Conference of Mayors on clean energy solutions. One interesting tidbit from the report is that the technologies that mayors find most promising are also the ones they have the most experience with -- energy-efficient lighting and low-energy buildings are the top two technologies cities are already using. (Solar is a bit further down, in fifth place, after energy-efficient appliances and hybrid vehicles.) To me, this says that these technologies are working. Cities have tried them; they like them; they want more. Like the Obama administration, mayors also realize that clean energy investments create jobs: "the economic benefits of clean energy" are one reason they're investing in green projects, even though budgets are tight.
