Austin ranked in top 10 list of nation's green cities

Austin ranked in top 10 list of nation's green cities

Thursday, 16 July 2009

The City of Austin was recently named as one of the nation’s 10 greenest cities by the Mother Nature Network, an environmental news and information site founded by Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell.

Austin ranked number 10 on the list, with Portland ranking No. 1. Other cities on the list include: San Francisco, Boston, Berkeley and Seattle.

In the ranking, the network cited Austin’s Climate Protection Program, a plan to go carbon-neutral by 2020; and the city’s electric utility Austin Energy, the nation’s largest provider of renewable energy, among its reasons for naming Austin a Top 10 Green City.

"Austin is a green city because of our engaged community, and we hope our residents will continue to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions," Ester Matthews, director of the Austin Climate Protection Program, said in a statement.

Matthews further encouraged Austin residents to explore Austin Energy’s efficiency programs and Austin Water Utility’s water conservation programs.

While the Environmental Protection Agency does not have established criteria for ranking how green a city is, the network said it used several key measurements to rank cities for the 2009 list.

They include: air and water quality, efficient recycling and management of waste, percentage of LEED-certified buildings, acres of land devoted to greenspace, use of renewable energy sources and easy access to products and services that make green lifestyle choices (organic products, buying local, clean transportation methods) easy.

To see the network’s full list, go to the Mother Nature Network.