How Eco-Friendly is Your State?
Throughout TRC’s existence (we’re about to celebrate 21 years), we’ve been committed to our efforts to identify, collect and recycle mercury-containing thermostats.
However, a recent article on the WalletHub website got me thinking about our broader environmental picture.
We are a segment of the environmental ecology stream, committed to responsibly eliminating our targeted thermostats.
In this process, we have worked with many individual states and their unique approaches to waste and recycling. Our program is available nationwide, but that doesn’t mean we see the same results everywhere. Why is that? I think we can begin to answer that question by asking another. How eco-friendly is YOUR state?
According to WalletHub, the top 10 eco-friendly states are :
- Vermont
- New York
- Oregon
- Connecticut
- Minnesota
- Massachusetts
- California
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- New Hampshire
If we share the top 10, it’s probably appropriate to list the bottom 10. They are:
- Texas
- Oklahoma
- Mississippi
- Arkansas
- Alabama
- North Dakota
- Wyoming
- Kentucky
- West Virginia
- Louisiana
What does this mean for those of us in the environmental industry? “We should all try to do our part to save the world for future generations,” according to WalletHub. “In order to highlight the greenest states and call out those doing a poor job of caring for the environment, WalletHub compared each of the 50 states on 27 key metrics. Our data set ranges from LEED-certified buildings per capita to share of energy consumption from renewable resources.” A worthy endeavor, and you can read the full report at https://wallethub.com/edu/greenest-states/11987/
Knowing where you rank is the first step in understanding the eco-friendly status of your state. For better or worse, my state (Pennsylvania) is right there in the middle. Those of you who watched the “Longmire” television series, set in Wyoming, know that a county sheriff would often stop abruptly to pick up a solitary piece of litter, even if it was a gum wrapper. That is a great place to start, but another side of that effort is to volunteer and join an organization that has a responsible and measured approach to the issue. After all, the planet belongs to all of us.
One other consideration for those of you who care about the environment (shouldn’t this be all of us?) would be to urge young people to consider the environment and seek careers in the industry if they feel strongly about preserving it. In today’s world, you can find a sustainably impactful position in almost any industry, because it has become that important.
It’s not glamorous work, and it typically doesn’t offer breath-taking salaries, but it is a contribution to our world that benefits us all. And that provides a sense of satisfaction that serves as its own reward.