It may be hard to believe – with 260,000 cars and trucks crowding into Manhattan every weekday – but New York is the second-greenest city in America, an environmental advocacy group said yesterday.
Only Chicago beat out the Big Apple on the “Top 10 Green Cities in the US” list, released by the EarthLab Foundation.
EarthLab’s goal is to save the environment by getting people to take personal responsibility – and their current tactic is convincing folks to use something called the Carbon & Lifestyle Calculator.
The three-minute test at earthlab.com evaluates a person’s energy use in such categories as personal transportation.
It also takes into consideration commuting habits, work schedules, recycling habits and lifestyle.
Not all categories are evenly weighted.
For instance, EarthLab said it’s not necessarily which city’s taxis burn the blackest fumes, but which has the best mass transit – which is why New York or Chicago can clean Seattle’s clock any day of the week.
Keeping things simple is half the ecological battle, said EarthLab executive director Anna Rising.
“Taking easy practical steps like unplugging the cellphone charger – that can save $9 a month,” said Rising, who also advocates unplugging other electronics chargers and small appliances, such as blenders and toasters, when not in use.