WBOB Original Reads

Study: Rhode Island Ranks as 10th Greenest State in America

4/17/2018

Rhode Island ranks 10th among all states in regard to environmental friendliness in 2018, according to a recent study.

In their analysis, Wallethub looked at factors such as Environmental Quality, Eco-Friendly Behaviors, and Climate-Change Contributions, to rank each state against its peers.

The study's author, John S. Kiernan, spoke out to describe why such a study is important.

"In the past year, the U.S. has seen an especially devastating amount of natural disasters," said Kiernan. "According to National Geographic, 17 storms caused an estimated $200 billion in property damage. Hurricane Maria, for example, left Puerto Rico without power for months and severely hurt the territory’s economy. Experts attribute the high number of hurricanes to unusually warm Atlantic waters, so it’s possible that living more sustainably and using greener energy sources could prevent us from having quite as bad hurricane seasons in the future."

New England fared particularly well as a region, with Vermont taking the top ranking followed by Massachusetts (3), Connecticut (7), New Hampshire (8), Rhode Island (10), and Maine (11).

See the results below

Despite performing well overall, Rhode Island ranked poorly in many individual categories. While the Ocean State ranks #2 in lowest energy consumption per capita and #3 in gasoline use per capita, the state ranks #47 in renewable energy use and #45 in soil quality.