By Timothy Unruh, FEMP program manager America is a world leader when it comes to tackling the energy challenges of tomorrow. As such, the federal government must set an example for the rest of the country to follow as we move toward cleaner, more efficient forms of energy. Every year, the Energy Department's Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) honors leaders in the federal government who have developed unique ways to conserve energy and improve water and vehicle fleet efficiency, which ultimately saves taxpayers money. This year's Federal Energy and Water Management Award winners saved a total of 1.9 trillion British thermal units (Btu) of energy in fiscal year 2012. That's equivalent to removing more than 27,000 cars from the road and slashing the average energy use of more than 20,000 households annually. In addition, these projects reduced water use by 399 million gallons and conserved 2.1 million gallons of fuel. The combined efforts resulted in an impressive $43 million in savings. For the complete story, see the EERE Energy Blog.