If you have ever taken a stroll around New Haven, you may have been treated to one of our dozens of green spaces. I was so struck over Christmas when I wandered blocks from the Yale campus to find the Farmington Canal Greenway. It is part of the East Coast Greenway, a 3,000-mile bike and pedestrian route that aims to connect Maine to Florida. Visit Milford, for example, and you can bike along part of it as it skirts by Gulf Beach.
Elsewhere, find
Edgewood Park, for example, with its bocce court ensconced by buttonbushes and dogwoods, which help guard against erosion. The park also showcases shagbark hickory, black birch, kousa dogwood, and weeping blue spruce.
These are but two examples of our embarassment of riches in the Constitution State, where green spaces in a city are not a one-off but a way of life, lifting spirits while promoting a healthier lifestyle: from running and rollerblading to simply walking alone or with a loved one.
It turns out, Connecticut has a special place in the nation's heart when it comes to green spaces. Non-profit SmileHub, which thoughtfully connects donors to charities, has ranked us #1 for urban tree cover. In a report on sustainable building development, we aren't ranked quite as highly but this particular ranking is nonetheless significant.
With over 35% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions coming from the building sector alone and fossil fuels still accounting for more than 80% of US energy consumption, the report, "Best States for
Sustainable Development in 2025" discusses everything from pollution to energy consumption patterns.
The non-profit compared the focus on sustainable development in all 50 states across 20 key metrics. The data ranges from the share of aforementioned urban tree cover to green buildings to clean energy jobs per capita.
California ranked number one, followed by lowest polluted state Vermont at two and our next-door neighbor Massachusetts at number three. Connecticut ranks 11th for sustainable development but its top ranking in urban tree cover gives us bragging rights: we boast 6.1 times more than North Dakota, for example, which has the least tree cover. Colorado has the most green buildings per capita, 8.5 times more than West Virginia, which has the fewest green buildings.
I spoke to SmileHub's Luke Powers, business development manager, about a range of environmental issues. A Texan, he lives in a state known for its inroads on windpower and
water conservation. I asked what he thought, though, about how the nation is going to fare under the Trump Administration. The cuts to U.S. environmental agencies and scientific research are rattling government, corporate and academic interests just as climate change reaches an inflection point. The goal of curbing emissions to well below 2°C seems like a pipe dream if you take Trump's stance, not only disbelieving in the science but pulling us out of the Paris Agreement.
Powers was measured in his response, saying: "We typically don't delve into political opinions, but from an economic standpoint, there is a possibility that programs working toward sustainable development must rely upon more private funding in order to continue their work. Naturally, the effects of these economic changes make it difficult to predict how next year’s report will turn out, though we can continue to hope that programs and organizations worthy of funding will receive proper support from a variety of avenues to continue good work across the U.S."
View the full report and see your state's rank here.
All blog photos: Laurie Wiegler, Farmington Canal Greenway, New Haven
Background: by
Melissagarcia17
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