Who would have thought New York City to be the greenest place in America?
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Who would have thought that ethanol production would cause a world food crisis or that solar energy farms are a burden to our water supply? Owen pointed out, we “tend to think tend to think of dense cities as despoilers of the natural landscape.” The numbers, however, offer incontrovertible proof.Īs we progress further into a green economy, many of our assumptions will be challenged and debunked. Who would have thought? In a few years, when a billion more people will be added to the world’s current population, the only option that makes perfect sense in housing such huge population while protecting the environment is in building compact and energy-efficient mega-urban centers.įor many, including myself, the notion of large cities being our best bet in protecting the planet is simply outrageous. By virtue of their compactness, inherent efficiency, and separation from the natural ecosystems in the wildlands, cities are more environmentally-friendly than remote, sparsely-populated towns. If you watched the 8th World Wilderness Congress video on my previous post, one of the most important milestones in environmental conservation that was mentioned was when the world’s urban population surpassed our rural population.
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“Population density also lowers energy and water use in all categories, constrains family size, limits the consumption of all kinds of goods, reduces ownership of wasteful appliances, decreases the generation of solid waste, and forces most residents to live in some of the world’s most inherently energy-efficient residential structures: apartment buildings.” Moving people and their daily destinations close together reduces their need for automobiles, makes efficient public transit possible, and restores walking as a viable form of transportation. “The key to New York City’s relative environmental benignity is the very thing that, to most Americans, makes it appear to be an ecological nightmare: its extreme compactness. Owen observe, have lower per capita carbon footprint and lower per capita consumption of energy, fuel, and water compared to inhabitants of Vermont and most major urban centers anywhere in the US.
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Residents of NYC, especially Manhattanites, Mr. Owen pointed out, “ludicrous to most Americans,” but the greenest place in America is not Vermont (Forbes Magazine’s 2007 greenest state pick) but New York City.ĭensely-populated New York City wins handily over Vermont in all categories that really matter. It might seem counter-intuitive and as Mr. I was reminded of the need to always question our old assumptions about low-impact living while reading a recent article by David Owen over at the Environment360 blog. Far from the bustling metropolis and in close communion with nature, nothing could be greener, or so I thought. New York city greenest place in America.īack in college, a few years ago, my model for the perfect environment-friendly lifestyle was the Walden Pond of Henry David Thoreau. New York City has the lowest per capita carbon footprint and energy, fuel, water consumption compared to Vermont.