The nation’s capital is the sixth most environmentally friendly city in the country thanks to its public transportation, according to a new analysis released Wednesday.
Wallethub released its annual study of the greenest cities in the country, with the District of Columbia coming in sixth, dropping two spots from last year. The capital trailed San Francisco, Honolulu, San Jose and Fremont, Calif., and San Diego.
Despite locals’ loathing of the various public transportation options in the District, the city received high marks for public transportation availability, coming in third overall. D.C. also received high marks for having a relatively low percentage of commuters who drive, the number of farmers markets per capita, the amount of green space in the city and the walkability and bike-ability of the city.
The city came in 14th for greenhouse gas emissions per capita. Many scientists blame greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels for causing climate change and the subsequent warming of the planet.
The study took into account 20 “indicators” of a city’s environmental friendliness. Among them were air quality, water quality, how much electricity comes from renewable sources, how many “green” jobs are available in a city and how many jobs were accessible by public transportation.
Baton Rouge, La., was ranked the least environmentally friendly city in the country.
