Green Cities: We're #13!

It's a good thing the Phillies are trouncing Boston so far on the field, because they're way ahead of us in green-itude, according to a new list from Siemens, an international engineering firm that traffics widely in sustainable technology.

On the list released today, Siemens USA ranked San Francisco as the Greenest City in North America (a title our mayor vows that Philadelphia will grab by 2015), with New York, Seattle, Denver and Boston rounding out the top five. Philly ranks 13th, well behind LA and Chicago, but way ahead of Pittsburgh and, um, Detroit.

Still, as there are 27 cities on the list - and only 27 - a good glass-is-more-than-half-full perspective is that there are more cities below Philly on the green list than there are above us. And of course, like an Academy Award nomination, it's an honor just to make the list.

Explaining the categorization, Siemens says: "The nine categories are based on 31 individual indicators — 16 of which are quantitative (e.g. consumption of water and electricity per capita, recycling rate, and use of public transportation) and 15 qualitative (e.g. CO2 reduction targets, efficiency standards and incentives for buildings, and environmental governance).  A key element of the study is the comparability of the results from each city — within the individual categories and in the overall evaluation.  The study also includes in-depth city portraits that reveal the strengths and weaknesses of each urban center, while also highlighting initiatives and projects from which other cities can learn"

From the looks of it, Siemens failed to take into account in its calculations all the gaily-colored Big Belly trash cans on South Street, which I encountered for the first time yesterday. OK, those might not have bumped us up to number one, but at least we might have beat Boston.

In the meantime... GO PHILLIES!