The Greenest States In America, According To Experts
Eventually, humanity must reckon with the forces of climate change. The most pessimistic outlooks paint an extremely bleak picture. The more optimistic projects offer, at best, warm winters and hot summers. And, frustratingly, there's little one can do on a personal level, which is only exacerbated by terrible climate policy decisions by our leaders.
Still, there is some shred of hope within the state governments. WalletHub consulted with a score of urban planners, environmental scientists and policy experts to rank America's greenest states. They used 23 metrics related to environmental quality, eco-friendly behaviors and climate-change contributions. The results, with Vermont, Oregon and Massachusetts taking the top three spots, are about what you'd expect.
While it might be easy for some residents to pat themselves on the back, or point the fingers at other states for the lack of robust environmental policy, it's worth noting that there's some element of budget disparities between the states. While wealthier states like Vermont (green score: 75) enter the 2019 fiscal year looking to expand and attract more residents, West Virigina (green score: 25) struggles with budget shortfalls and cuts to basic public services.
If anything, the disparity between the green and non-green states is evidence that the nation could benefit from stronger federal environmental policy. With EPA chief Scott Pruitt using his position to enrich himself and his staff, while slowing or stonewalling the agency's policy work, don't expect things to improve anytime soon.
