Hooray, sort of, for Illinois’ new ranking in the “Greenest State” contest from Forbes Magazine. We’re 27th best (or the 23rd worst if you're a glass half-full sort of person) which doesn’t sound so hot, but it could be worse. We could be Indiana.
Researchers for the mag ranked the states based on six equally weighted categories: carbon footprint, air quality, water quality, hazardous waste management, policy initiatives and energy consumption.
As you might expect, the usual suspects are at the top: Vermont, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii.
But the surprises are, well, surprises. For example, New Jersey is 20 spots ahead of Illinois.
But the stunning loser is Indiana, which ranks 49th, behind every state in the Old South except West Virginia.
According to our friends across the post at the Post-Tribune in Northwest Indiana.
“Indiana releases the sixth-highest amount of carbon dioxide emissions per capita of any state.
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All four metro areas are listed by the American Lung Association as having bad smog problems.
“Lake County. Ind., has an ozone pollution problem. And water quality is worse than in only four other states.
At No. 49, the only state doing worse than Indiana is West Virginia. Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama round out the bottom five.
"All suffer from a mix of toxic waste, lots of pollution and consumption, and no clear plans to do anything about it. Expect them to remain that way," Forbes stated when it released the ranking.
So, while being No. 27 is not much to be proud of, it’s always nice to know your neighbors have worse enviro habits.
We would have been No. 1 in thre land if they'd somehow managed to move Chicago across the border to Gary.
The listings from Forbes:
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RANK STATE SCORE
1 Vermont 43.6
2 Oregon 43.6
3 Washington 43.4
4 Hawaii 41.3
5 Maryland 40.4
6 Connecticut 39.8
7 New Jersey 39.5
8 Rhode Island 38.7
9 New York 38.1
10 Arizona 37.9
11 Massachusetts 37.8
12 Idaho 37.2
13 Colorado 37.2
14 California 37.1
15 Minnesota 36.3
16 Wisconsin 35.7
17 Nevada 35.1
18 New Mexico 34.7
19 New Hampshire 33.7
20 Florida 32.9
21 South Dakota 32.6
22 Montana 31.5
23 Virginia 30.5
24 Michigan 30.3
25 Maine 29.9
26 North Carolina 29.5
27 Illinois 28.6
28 Utah 28.5
29 Georgia 28.2
30 Delaware 28
31 Kansas 27.7
32 Pennsylvania 27.5
33 Nebraska 27.5
34 Texas 26.5
35 Iowa 26.4
36 South Carolina 25.3
37 Wyoming 24.8
38 Oklahoma 24.2
39 Ohio 23.4
40 Alaska 22.7
41 Missouri 22.6
42 North Dakota 22.2
43 Tennessee 22.2
44 Arkansas 20.8
45 Kentucky 20.4
46 Mississippi 17.6
47 Louisiana 17
48 Alabama 15.8
49 Indiana 15.3
50 West Virginia 14.2
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