Driving to death?
Driving can be dangerous, we all know that. Now comes Men's Health magazine suggesting that cars are bad for our long-term personal health as well as the planet's.
In its Metrogrades feature, the self-styled "guide to men's health, fitness, weight loss, nutrition, sex, style and guy wisdom" has ranked America's cities by which has the "greenest drivers," aka the most environmentally conscious motorists.
It breaks the grading down by categories, with ratings of which cities' denizens drive the most fuel-guzzling vehicles, which ride transit the most and so on. Baltimore makes only one of the top 10 listings, with our residents driving the 10th fewest miles per capita of any city in the country. Overall, B'more ranks 42nd, two spots behind Washington.
The five greenest cities in the magazine's estimation, are: Seattle, Burlington, Vt., Portland, Ore., Madison, Wisc., and Fargo, N.D. The first three I follow, and Madison is kind of understandable, as home to the University of Wisconsin and a lot of students without cars. But what's up with Fargo?
The rankings, available online, are accompanied by articles raising concerns about motorists' exposure to toxic chemicals ("Is the Reaper Riding Shotgun in Your Car?) and the health impacts of air pollution, plus tips on being more fuel-efficient.
in growth/land use
| Permalink
| Comments (1)
I report on the environment and Chesapeake Bay. A native of West Virginia, I have focused mainly on Maryland's environment since moving here in 1983. Along the way, I've crewed aboard a skipjack in the bay, canoed under city streets up the Jones Fall from the Inner Harbor, and gone deep underground in a western Maryland coal mine. Recently, I have been covering the growth and development transforming the landscape. I love seafood, rambles in the country and good stories. I hope to share some here.
Comments
As a resident of Washington, DC, I am apalled to hear that we rate only 40 in terms of our focus on being green. I am looking forward to the changes in store under Fenty's leadership -- he is quite focused on going greener and has a track record already of getting things done -- It leaves me feeling hopeful that we will see an improvement in that score in the future.
Posted by: Laura | July 27, 2008 12:57 PM