The Greenest Cities: Greentown, USA

Popsci.com has ranked the United States’ 50 greenest cities, (but since I watched too much David Letterman in college) here’s the Top Ten List of the Greenest Cities in the U.S.:

10. Austin, Texas, 21.0 points

9. Chicago, Illinois, 21.3

• Chicago was the leader in the Green Space category.  Chicago has devoted 12,000 acres to public parks and waterfront space.

8. Seattle, Washington, 22.1

7. Berkeley, California, 22.2

6. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 22.2

5. Eugene, Oregon, 22.4

• Eugene was the leader in the Electricity Category because it draws 9% of its municipal electricity from wind farms.  Also, the city buys back excess power from residents who install solar panels.

4. Oakland, California, 22.5

3. Boston, Mass. 22.7 

• Grass Power: Boston has plans for a plant that would convert 50,000 tons of leaves and grass into power and fertilizer.

2. San Francisco, California, 23.0

1. Portland, Oregon, 23.1  (Portland barely beat San Fran, look how close it was; it reminds me of the Olympics)

“America’s top green city (Portland) has it all: Half its power comes from renewable sources, a quarter of the workforce commutes by bike, carpool or public transportation, and it has 35 buildings certified by the U.S. Green Building Council,” according to PopSci.com.  Popsci ranked each city based on four categories of green: electricity, transportation, green living, and recycling.

Check out the whole list of 50 cities and the PopSci.com study in more detail.

~Melissa