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So how’s that $4.5 billion in stimulus funds working to make federal government buildings more energy efficient? Pretty well, as long as you only look at building energy use.

The amount of energy the U.S. government uses per square foot has declined by 30 percent since 1985, according to a . Commercial buildings in the U.S., by contrast, have increased their per-square-foot energy use by 13 percent between 1992 and 2003, according to the Energy Information Administration.

But despite major improvements under way at the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building and other federal buildings around the county, the U.S. government’s defense, safety and science activities require so much energy that its actual energy per square foot is still 30 percent higher than the private sector, according to the article. Energy efficiency improvements mandated by the federal government are also already falling short of goals. While the Bush Administration ordered a 3 percent improvement in the government’s energy use in 2008, only a 1.2 percent improvement was achieved.

The article also said that 60 percent of federal energy use is from transportation activities – and a lot of jet fuel. The U.S. Department of Defense has a goal to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 34 percent by 2020 by using fewer fossil fuels and switching to alternative fuels. With such lofty goals, I hope they have an electric fighter jet in the works.