America’s Greenest Cities 2012, from New York to San Francisco

Earth Day—which was founded in 1970 by Wisconsin Sen. Gaylord Nelson—is now a one-billion-strong global event that, for one day at least, brings awareness to the oil spills, factory pollution, and wilderness razing that threaten the environment.

Since Earth Day began as an American event, The Daily Beast wondered how green America’s cities are during the rest of the year, with data from market research firm Experian Simmons—which has tracked the greening of America for half a decade—among other sources.

To find America’s greenest cities, we weighed the following data:

*The percentage of people who think and act in an eco-conscious way
*The percentage of people who do not think and act in an eco-conscious way and may have a negative attitude toward environmental issues
*The percentage of people who make a conscious effort to recycle
*The number of public-transportation trips per capita for the fourth quarter of 2011, as recorded by the American Public Transportation Association
*The percent of households that that use solar heating, according to the U.S. Census Bureau

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-25-saltlake_mqs4n1

Eco-conscious residents: 29.1%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 16.0%
Recycling-conscious residents: 64.1%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 37.4
Homes with solar heating: .01%

Jeff Goldberg / Esto for Ennead Architects / AP Photo

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-24-buffalo_gnurll

Eco-conscious residents: 32.3%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 14.5%
Recycling-conscious residents: 62.7%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 26.9
Homes with solar heating: 0%

David Duprey / AP Photo

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-23-gainesville_w0zwdl

Eco-conscious residents: 34.6%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 13.6%
Recycling-conscious residents: 57.8%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 38.9
Homes with solar heating: .11%

Phil Sandlin / AP Photo

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-22-denver_j1dwiu

Eco-conscious residents: 33.8%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 16.0%
Recycling-conscious residents: 62.2%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 33.3
Homes with solar heating: .04%

David Zalubowski / AP Photo

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-21-miami_xf7lxn

Eco-conscious residents: 40.6%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 12.2%
Recycling-conscious residents: 57.5%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 19.2
Homes with solar heating: .02%

Wilfredo Lee / AP Photo

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-20-albuquerque_ek1bop

Eco-conscious residents: 34.2%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 12.0%
Recycling-conscious residents: 60.1%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 1.8
Homes with solar heating: .16%

Jake Schoellkopf / AP Photo

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-19-reno_ofmoyg

Eco-conscious residents: 41.0%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 20.9%
Recycling-conscious residents: 64.2%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 19.2
Homes with solar heating: .09%

VisionsofAmerica / Joe Sohm / Getty Images

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-18-orlando_uc0pv8

Eco-conscious residents: 40.1%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 15.3%
Recycling-conscious residents: 62%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 13.4
Homes with solar heating: .02%

John Raoux / AP Photo

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-17-portland-me_xfevv9

Eco-conscious residents: 37.7%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 16.5%
Recycling-conscious residents: 65.7%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 1.0
Homes with solar heating: .05%

Robert F. Bukaty / AP Photo

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-16-albany_ztokre

Eco-conscious residents: 47.4%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 21.9%
Recycling-conscious residents: 64.3%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 16.6
Homes with solar heating: .04%

Mary Altaffer / AP Photo

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-15-madison_nprrbf

Eco-conscious residents: 42.6%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 21.6%
Recycling-conscious residents: 65.9%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 26.9
Homes with solar heating: .03%

Zane Williams / Getty Images

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-14-minneapolis_dzijmc

Eco-conscious residents: 44.0%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 22.3%
Recycling-conscious residents: 66.4%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 24.8
Homes with solar heating: 0%

Andy King / AP Photo

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-13-chicago_lm6tsc

Eco-conscious residents: 38.0%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 14.2%
Recycling-conscious residents: 61.0%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 56.4
Homes with solar heating: .01%

Kiichiro Sato / AP Photo

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-12-philadelphia_ow82j9

Eco-conscious residents: 40.0%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 18.2%
Recycling-conscious residents: 63.8%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 57.4
Homes with solar heating: .02%

Tom Mihalek / AP Photo

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-11-losangeles_alepso

Eco-conscious residents: 42.9%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 15.3%
Recycling-conscious residents: 61.8%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 35.8
Homes with solar heating: .05%

Mark J. Terrill / AP Photo

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-10-dc_tkdzvu

Eco-conscious residents: 37.7%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 16.0%
Recycling-conscious residents: 61.8%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 76.3
Homes with solar heating: .01%

Ann Heisenfelt / AP Photo

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-9-portland-or_io8pzu

Eco-conscious residents: 42.3%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 21.0%
Recycling-conscious residents: 66.8%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 46.4
Homes with solar heating: .01%

Rick Bowmer / AP Photo

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-8-santa-barbara_xyo3hg

Eco-conscious residents: 41.8%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 15.7%
Recycling-conscious residents: 63.1%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 18.8
Homes with solar heating: .16%

Damian Dovarganes / AP Photo

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-7-sandiego_gqypef

Eco-conscious residents: 44.2%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 17.0%
Recycling-conscious residents: 62.8%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 27.6
Homes with solar heating: .12%

Lenny Ignelzi / AP Photo

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-6-eugene_o37br8

Eco-conscious residents: 42.4%
Non eco-conscious residents: 19.3%
Recycling-conscious residents: 67.7%
Public transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 33.0
Homes with solar heating: .02%

Jordan Siemens / Getty Images

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-5-boston_ogqk2n

Eco-conscious residents: 39.8%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 20.1%
Recycling-conscious residents: 65.0%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 86.2
Homes with solar heating: .02%

Michael Dwyer / AP Photo

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-4-seattle_glj5iw

Eco-conscious residents: 45.7%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 19.3%
Recycling-conscious residents: 66.9%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 34.4
Homes with solar heating: .02%

Ted S. Warren / AP Photo

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-3-sanfrancisco_xf5xpk

Eco-conscious residents: 52.2%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 19.8%
Recycling-conscious residents: 66.9%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 50.5
Homes with solar heating: .10%

Eric Risberg / AP Photo

galleries/2012/04/20/america-s-greenest-cities-2012-from-new-york-to-san-francisco/greenest-cities-2-nyc_jylltp

Eco-conscious residents: 45.1%
Non-eco-conscious residents: 16.3%
Recycling-conscious residents: 61.8%
Public-transport trips per capita, 4Q 2011: 175.8
Homes with solar heating: .01%

Seth Wenig / AP Photo

America’s Greenest Cities 2012, from New York to San Francisco

The Daily Beast finds America’s Greenest Cities for 2012.