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How do you define a city as eco-friendly? Or even your own lifestyle? It’s interesting to see how our idea of “green” living varies from person to person and has changed over time as well. We are starting to see higher standards for LEED buildings, more companies being called out for “green washing”, and people trying to make sense of organic labels at the grocery store. Kids are learning more and more about recycling and what’s good or bad for the environment. They’re the ones teaching their parents what to do at home! But it’s also interesting to see how cities and larger entities, corporations or our own government, handle today’s environmental problems. Hopefully we will see more and more of these individuals and organizations starting to make significant changes. While you hear of different environmental projects in development around the country, it’s harder to hold a whole city accountable for it’s environmental impact and determine who is really making a difference. That is why I was so excited when I came across an article that not only listed the “America’s 50 Greenest Cities”, but clearly explained how they came to their conclusions and highlighted city projects.

How Cities Were Ranked:

Data was pulled from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Geographic Society’s Green Guide, which collected survey data and government statistics for cities with a population of atleast 100,000 and in more than 30 categories, including air quality, electricity use and transportation. The statistics were then divided into four general categories, each scored out of either 5 or 10 possible points. Then the sum of these scores determines a city’s ranking.

What caught my attention was that there were two Michigan cities in the ranking. Livonia at #26 and Ann Arbor at #24. Who would have guessed Livonia? The other cities were of course mainly on the west coast. I was curious about the steps cities took to earn them this type of recognition. It’s not something that is easily accomplished and requires a significant amount of coordination within a city. Think about trying to create a more eco-friendly home, then try to implement that process city wide! Turns out there are a lot of cities who are doing some pretty cool things!

The Categories:

Electricity (E; 10 points): Cities that draw their energy from renewable sources such as wind, solar, biomass and hydroelectric power, as well as for offering incentives for residents to invest in their own power sources, such as solar panels.
Transportation (T; 10 points): Greater percentage of commuters take public transportation or carpool. Air quality included in ranking.
Green living (G; 5 points): Number of buildings certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, as well as areas devoted to green space, such as public parks and nature preserves.
Recycling and green perspective (R; 5 points): How comprehensive a city’s recycling program is and how important its citizens consider environmental issues.

Examples:

San Francisco turns wasted roof space into power by adding photovoltaic cells to it’s Moscone Convention Center. It’s a 60,000 sq.ft. expansion of solar panels supplies the convention center and more than 180 homes!

Or how about Santa Rosa that is tapping geysers for watts. Steam from the geysers is tabbed using geothermal technology and it’s actually the world’s largest such geothermal installation.
Then New York City is turning the tides into electricity. The city hopes to generate enough power for 8,000 homes with underwater turbines. A fleet of submerged turbines would be installed near Roosevelt Island, and would will transform the river into a valuable power source.

Chicago actually produces twice the energy with a third the carbon. How is this? Well a typical fuel-burning power plant is wasteful not only because it produces harmful emissions but it also wastes two thirds of the energy it generates. The reason being is that heat, the natural by-product of fuel combustion, dissipates into the atmosphere unused. To produce twice the energy with a third the carbon, the city has invested in cogeneration, the simultaneous production of heat and electricity, which is twice as efficient as conventional fuel-burning power production.

Reference: America’s 50 Greenest Cities

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-Danielle-