6. Boston, MA

It Only Gets Better

A call for the city's first community-wide greenhouse gas inventory and a 10 percent increase in recycling by 2012 are among the actions laid out in an executive order issued by Boston mayor Thomas Menino in April of 2007. Add to this the new zoning laws requiring LEED certification for certain developments, a requirement that all taxicabs go hybrid by 2015, and a mandate to assess all city buildings for alternative energy potential, and we think Boston's on its way up the green charts! Enhanced bikeways sure to cycle in with the city's newly appointed bike coordinator--along with all the new parks on the Rose Kennedy Greenway (former home of I-93)--will likely increase ridership and reduce traffic congestion.

"This study serves as further proof that we are taking the necessary steps to ensure the future of our city, not just for this generation, but for the ones to follow. Taking care of the environment is and always will be a main tenant for Boston’s success. Sustainability means a cleaner and healthier environment, one that will keep residents and attract businesses to help boost our economy in uncertain times.

"It is a great honor for the City of Boston to be ranked sixth by SustainLane.com, a company internationally recognized for its research methodology. SustainLane's study is proof that cities around the country are heading in the right direction and serves as an important motivating factor for city administrations to work hard at cleaning up the environment." --Mayor Thomas Menino

(Photo by Nelson B.)

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Stories and Perspectives

Come Fry With Me

French fries may be terrible for your arteries, but Don Levy thinks they’re pretty darn good for the environment. Sort of. Levy owns Deluxe Town Diner in Watertown, MA. For the last three years he’s been heating his restaurant with spent oil from his fry maker. Not only does this eliminate the need for heating oil – it also slashes his heating bill to nothing. Watertown isn’t in Boston proper, but the rising cost of winter heating oil is an important issue facing cities in the northeast, not to mention other areas that suffer cold, harsh winters. Three years ago, Levy says, he was paying $2 a gallon for heating oil. This winter, he says, oil looks to be heading toward $5.45 for the same gallon. That’s why, when Levy learned that he’d have to replace his oil-fired heater, he decided to try something new.more »

Taking In the Trash In Boston

Used to be you took out the trash. But if Boston officials have their way, the trash will soon be coming in—at least some of it, that is.

City officials hope to use this trash to produce enough energy to power about 1,500 homes. It’s all part of an innovative new initiative to create an indoor composting center that would help slash green-house gas emissions from the decaying pile of discarded food and yard-cuttings that comprise Beantown’s outdoor, 6,000-ton composting program. The new facility would allow officials to separate out the high-energy components in the pile and feed them into an anaerobic digester, where they would be converted to methane gas. This biofuel would then be used to power a turbine that could generate 1.5 megawatts of power. Not bad for a pile of garbage!
In Boston (and around the country) outdoor compostimore »