38. El Paso, TX

Bordering on Sustainability

El Paso, TX: Bordering on Sustainability

If the biggest room in the world is the room for improvement, then this high desert city on the Rio Grande has space to spare. El Paso initiated curbside recycling in 2007 and saw a significant increase in residents’ participation, diverting just over five percent of their solid waste that year. The city also started a green building program to encourage businesses and residents to build sustainably, and it’s conducting energy audits on all municipal buildings. In addition, a downtown revitalization effort should breathe new life into the former mining town. El Paso has made noteworthy strides in many important areas, but still has a great opportunity to create an overall plan for sustainability. Such a plan could pave the way for a vibrant and thriving border community and nicely complement the rebirth of the city’s center.

(Photo by Zereshk)

El Paso's Rankings

El Paso sustainlability rankings chart Cities are ranked relative to each other. A longer bar denotes a higher ranking.
El Paso, TX: City Chart

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Wait a second. Ethanol is the answer. I've said it on the show before. It's corn plus magic equals gasoline. Ok? I've seen the commercials. I can get a big Suburban and it's got the flex fuel label on the back and I can just put a can of creamed corn in the tank and I am jaked. That's what I understand. Stephen Colbert

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