Calculating the green factor of America's major metropolises is no easy feat. That's why I didn't try to do it; instead, I turned to Popular Science and their recent article, "America's 50 Greenest Cities." Not only did they have the time and energy to gather and decipher raw data from the U.S. Census Bureau, they compiled it all into an easy-to-understand rating system that takes a gander at electricity use, transportation, green living ease and recycling programs.
Who came out on top? You may be surprised to find that the greenest cities in the red, white and blue are:
1) Portland, Oregon [http://www.travelportland.com/] pictured above
2) San Francisco, California [http://www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com/]
3) Boston, Massachusetts [http://www.bostonusa.com/]
4) Oakland, California [http://www.oaklandcvb.com/]
5) Eugene, Oregon [http://www.visitlanecounty.org/]
6) Cambridge, Massachusetts [http://www.cambridge-usa.org/]
7) Oakley, California [http://www.ci.oakley.ca.us/]
8) Seattle, Washington [http://www.visitseattle.org/]
9) Chicago, Illinois [http://www.choosechicago.com/]
10) Austin, Texas (yep, you read right) [http://www.austintexas.org/]
When traveling to these cities, keep in mind the fact that they're proven to offer eco-friendly mass transit and often, feature loads of green space to wander. Most of the tourism sites listed above have dedicated green travel pages, too, with info devoted to environmentally kind visits.
And if current winner Portland doesn't fit your personal eco scale, you can click here to read how Cambridge is trying to become America's greenest city.
Who came out on top? You may be surprised to find that the greenest cities in the red, white and blue are:
1) Portland, Oregon [http://www.travelportland.com/] pictured above
2) San Francisco, California [http://www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com/]
3) Boston, Massachusetts [http://www.bostonusa.com/]
4) Oakland, California [http://www.oaklandcvb.com/]
5) Eugene, Oregon [http://www.visitlanecounty.org/]
6) Cambridge, Massachusetts [http://www.cambridge-usa.org/]
7) Oakley, California [http://www.ci.oakley.ca.us/]
8) Seattle, Washington [http://www.visitseattle.org/]
9) Chicago, Illinois [http://www.choosechicago.com/]
10) Austin, Texas (yep, you read right) [http://www.austintexas.org/]
When traveling to these cities, keep in mind the fact that they're proven to offer eco-friendly mass transit and often, feature loads of green space to wander. Most of the tourism sites listed above have dedicated green travel pages, too, with info devoted to environmentally kind visits.
And if current winner Portland doesn't fit your personal eco scale, you can click here to read how Cambridge is trying to become America's greenest city.
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