While some Americans may strive to be greener for the planet, it can come at a cost — one that is not equally distributed across the nation.
“It’s much easier being green in some states than others,” Chip Lupo, an analyst with WalletHub, said in a news release. “For example, if a state doesn’t have a great infrastructure for alternative-fuel vehicles, it becomes much harder for residents to adopt that technology.”
Ahead of Earth Day on Wednesday, April 22, WalletHub ranked the 50 states based on their eco-friendliness.
“Eco-friendliness and personal finance are related. Our environmental and financial needs are the same in many areas: providing ourselves with sustainable, clean drinking water and food, for example,” according to WalletHub. “We also spend money through our own taxes in support of environmental security. “
To determine the most environmentally friendly states, WalletHub compared all states across 28 metrics. Here’s WalletHub’s methodology, along with what the report found for California and the rest of the U.S.
WalletHub’s methodology
WalletHub said to determine the nation’s greenest states, it compared the 50 states across three dimensions: environmental quality, eco-friendly behaviors, and climate change contributions. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with 100 indicating the highest level of eco-friendliness.
To derive overall scores and rankings for the states, WalletHub said it took the weighted averages of those scores.
Factors in a state’s environmental quality include air quality, water quality, soil quality, and energy-efficiency score.
For eco-friendly behaviors, WalletHub graded states on a range of factors, including green buildings per capita, share of renewable energy consumption, gasoline consumption per capita, and total installed solar PV capacity per household.
WalletHub determined a state’s climate change contributions by considering factors such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated greenhouse gas emissions per capita.
WalletHub’s greenest states rankings
Based on WalletHub’s assessment, here are the nation’s 10 greenest states, along with their overall rank and score.
How California ranks in WalletHub’s analysis
With “some of the lowest overall energy consumption and the fifth-lowest gasoline consumption per capita,” California takes the third spot on WalletHub’s rankings of greenest states.
“One of the reasons for the low gas consumption is the fact that nearly 33% of California’s population uses green transportation (public transportation, carpools, biking, or walking) to get to and from work, the ninth-highest percentage in the country,” WalletHub said.
California also ranks among the top states for reducing emissions, with some of the lowest per-capita emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, according to WalletHub.
The Golden State is also an environmental leader in its energy efficiency, with the highest energy efficiency score in the nation.
“This strong performance helps reduce overall energy consumption, lower utility costs for residents, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions, further strengthening the state’s commitment to sustainability,” WalletHub said.
Nation’s least green states, according to WalletHub
Based on WalletHub’s assessment, here are the nation’s 10 least green states, along with their overall rank and score.
Blue states versus red states
Overall, blue states are more eco-friendly than red states, according to WalletHub’s analysis, with blue states having an average overall rating of 33.9 and red states with 11.79.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: WalletHub releases greenest states rankings. See where California falls
Reporting by Daniella Segura, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
