Some cities in the U.S. are taking big moves to make moving around greener.

In LA County California, MyGo Pasadena is giving $500 rebates on electric bikes. For those of you in flat areas, bicycling may not be a big problem - but I'm sure you know about San Francisco. Need I say more?

Electric bikes were actually first introduced to the United States in 1909, but like most forms of alternative transportation, they lost out to the automobile. The e-bikes that we provide a rebate towards are the Giant Suede-E and the Tres Terra Europa. They can be described as "human electric hybrids" because they provide "pedal activated power assist" meaning that add electric power as you pedal the bike, so you can go faster. [note: I learned how effective this "power assist" is when I saw Whitney cruise up a hill past a bunch of hardcore riders during a Pasadena bike ride last month!] - source: article at WorldChanging.

New York city is looking at a different approach - charging people on the roads during traffic peaks. In light of the last idea, this just sounds so pessimistic... but I guess that's New York for you.

This strategy --first conceived of by Nobel Prize-winning economist and New Yorker William Vickrey -- aims to reduce automobile use during peak periods of traffic congestion in a city's most auto-ridden areas. The special fees encourage commuters to seek alternative forms of transportation, particularly walking, bicycling, or utilizing mass transit. - source: article at WorldChanging.

The article says 100% would go toward transportation investments, and notes an example in England where it worked very well. I suppose the difference between California and New York is a matter of revenue - New York can't offer alternatives and incentives until they have the money for it.

Now as dank and dirty as you may think New York is, they're actually very green. On the SustainLane ranking of major cities' sustainability, New York is #7 out of 50. Oops, excuse me, New York is #6 - Boston is #7. That came as a big shock to me. I've been to both cities, and let me tell you, Boston is definitely prettier, but pretty isn't always green.