New Yorkers' Carbon Footprint Reportedly Among Smallest in U.S.

Despite New York's reputation as a city of avid consumption, the carbon footprint of its residents is among the smallest in America, a new report shows.

In 2005, the average New Yorker emitted 0.67 tons of carbon from residential energy consumption, the 18th-lowest amount of 100 metro areas surveyed, according to yesterday's Brookings Institution and Regional Plan Association report, which examined carbon emissions from transportation and residential sources. The average American emitted 1.16 tons.

The New York area also had the fourth-lowest carbon emissions per capita among the 100 other metropolitan areas.

The report was not all good news: New York's per capita footprint from transportation and residential energy use increased 7.73% between 2000 and 2005, outpacing the average per capita footprint of America's 100 largest metro areas and of the nation.

The director of the Regional Plan Association's America 2050 project, Petra Todorovich, said in a statement that the keys to maintaining the city's low footprint are improving public transportation options for suburban residents and investing in and improving light rail train and housing options.

The report also noted that residents of the largest metropolitan areas have a smaller per person carbon footprint than citizens in the nation as a whole.

The 100 largest metropolitan areas emit 56% of America's transportation and residential carbon emissions while housing 65% of the nation's population and producing 76% of the nation's economic output, according to the report.