Earth Day is around the corner and many local economies still recovering from natural disasters including hurricanes on the East Coast, wildfires on the West Coast and flooding in the Midwest, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2019’s Greenest States as well as accompanying videos.
In order to showcase the states doing right by Mother Earth, WalletHub compared the 50 states in terms of 27 key metrics that speak to the current health of the environment and residents’ environmental-friendliness. The data set ranges from total municipal solid waste per capita to energy-efficiency score to carbon-dioxide emissions per capita.
| Greenest States | Least Green States | |||
| 1 | Vermont | 41 | Texas | |
| 2 | New York | 42 | Oklahoma | |
| 3 | Oregon | 43 | Mississippi | |
| 4 | Connecticut | 44 | Arkansas | |
| 5 | Minnesota | 45 | Alabama | |
| 6 | Massachusetts | 46 | North Dakota | |
| 7 | California | 47 | Wyoming | |
| 8 | Rhode Island | 48 | Kentucky | |
| 9 | South Dakota | 49 | West Virginia | |
| 10 | New Hampshire | 50 | Louisiana | |
Key Stats
- Blue States are greener, with an average rank of 12.85, compared with Red States, which have an average rank of 33.93. (Rank 1=Greenest)
- Maine has the highest share of recycled municipal solid waste, 48 percent, which is 48 times higher than in Louisiana, the state with the lowest at 1 percent.
- Oregon has the highest share of energy consumption from renewable sources, 47.69 percent, which is 17.2 times higher than in Delaware, the state with the lowest at 2.78 percent.
- New York has the highest share of people who do not drive to work, 45.90 percent, which is 3.5 times higher than in Alabama and Mississippi, the states with the lowest at 13.30 percent.
To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/
Most of us are already aware that these problems need to be addressed and that our cities need to start acting greener, but how much do you know about the cities that have already made a start? For instance, do you what city has earned the nickname “Emerald City?” How about where 50% of the city’s residents travel by bicycle? Or where children are rewarded with chocolate and toys for helping to recycle waste?
- See more at: http://eslsolutions.co.uk/latest-news/30-of-the-greenest-cities-on-the-planet-earth-day/#sthash.P2EeHk50.dpuf
Please note the infographic is from 2014. However the places are the same.
