Where's the Greenest Place in the U.S.? Think Northeast.

The greenest place in the U.S., at least according to this article in Yale Environment 360, is...

(For a hint, look at the picture on the right.)

... New York City. More specifically, the Manhattan borough of the city.

The article reveals some surprising facts about New York and New Yorkers. For example:

• The average Manhattanite uses just 90 gallons of water a year.
• New Yorkers consume about 4,700 kilowatt-hours of electricity per household per year.
• If New York City were a state, it would rank 12th in population but 51st in per-capita energy use.
• One third of all public-transit passenger miles traveled in the country are located in Metropolitan New York (i.e., New York City, Northern New Jersey and Fairfield County, Connecticut).
• 54% of New York City households do not own a car.
• And so on.

By contrast, Vermont, which Forbes magazine in 2007 called the greenest state:

• Pipes 7,100 kWh of electricity to every household every year.
• Has no public transport to speak of.
• Depends heavily on cars.
• And so on.

Whether you agree with the writer's premise or not -- and you'll see plenty of dissent in the comments on the Yale 360 website -- it's an interesting and informative article.