I was on treehugger.com today (if you haven't been, do visit the site it's great) and they had a post about the top ten greenest cities in America. I am proud to announce that Minneapolis was one of them. In fact, The Earth Day Network voted it 2nd among the greenest midsize cities. Minnesota is one of the first states to implement renewable energy standards, requiring that a minimum of 25% of the state's electricity come from renewable sources. There are buildings popping up all over the city that are being constructed and maintained in accordance with LEED certification standards, including many of the new condos that seem to be taking over the city. It's good to know that the city in which I live is striving toward a greener and more sustainable existence. However, there was one thing in the post that I do not necessarily agree with and that would be a positive comment made about our light rail system. I think it is a good idea in theory, but in order for a transit system to be effective it must actually take people somewhere. Running between a giant mall and Downtown is hardly convenient for the majority of the population. It does stop at the Metrodome though (where the Twins play--that's baseball for you non-sports fans), which is convenient for people in Downtown who are too lazy to endure the whopping 15 minute walk to the game (I've seen people do it, really). I do understand that for financial reasons in particular that the limited travel area was just a starting off point, as there are talks of expansion. I don't want to come off as completely negative about the light rail, I am a huge advocate of mass transit, I am merely pointing out what is already old news around here regarding the current shortcomings of the system.