The government of the United States has vibrant and competitive political parties, a tested system of checks and balances, and a “living” constitution that retains its original intent and ideals while evolving to fit the times. These characteristics have served the United States well. Look at the general mess of dithering representatives unable to take action on a national level to address our energy challenges, however, and it is easy to get frustrated. Isn’t there any progress on these issues? Well, the United States constantly takes advantage of what I see as another positive aspect of our government: federalism. For while national direction, policy, and leadership would do much to bring forth the second green revolution, states and local governments around the country are not waiting around for Congress. Here are just a few examples from Grist:

• Miami Beach added a bike-sharing program to let residents and tourists get around without burning oil. The idea is that people can leave their car at home, take mass transit into the city, and pick up a bike at a station when they need to zip around. The private DecoBike program puts the city in the company of bike-sharing cities Denver, Minneapolis, Paris, Montreal, and Mexico City, to be accompanied soon by Boston.

• St Louis’s aldermen unanimously passed Complete Streets legislation, requiring that future road projects be designed for a full range of users — walkers, cyclists, buses, wheelchair users, children — and not just autos. St. Louis County voters also recently voted to raise their sales tax to defend their transit system.

• The U.S. Conference of Mayors backed a “green” construction code at its annual convention in Oklahoma City this week. The plan, put forth by several building industry groups, would create benchmarks for energy, water, air quality, and safety. Greenwire has more. It’s not exactly mind-blowing news, and the details will determine what the code’s really worth. But it’s yet more evidence that local leaders are light-years ahead of Senators on this stuff.

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