If we want environmental protection, we've got to sacrifice jobs and economic
prosperity, right? Not so, says the Gold and Green Report, a publication of the
Institute for Southern Studies in Durham, North Carolina. The study ranked the
environmental and economic health of all 50 states, using 20 indicators for each
category. Nine of the states in the top 12 on the environmental scale also ranked
in the top 12 on the economic scale.
(The states where you're most likely to find
robust economies and welcoming environments: Vermont, Hawaii, New Hampshire,
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado, Oregon, Massachusetts, and Maryland.) Conversely,
12 states ranked among the 14 worst in both environmental and economic
accountings. (Bringing up the rear are Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, South
Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Arkansas.) Concludes the report, "The states that
do the most to protect their natural resources also wind up with the strongest
economies and the best jobs for their
citizens."
Source: Bigger Not Better by Eben Fodor (New Society Publishers, 1999) and Gold
and Green Report, Institute for Southern Studies, P.O. Box 531, Durham, NC 27702;
(919) 419-8311; e-mail: Southern@igc.apc.org.
(C) 2000 Sierra Club. Reproduction of this article is not permitted without permission. Contact sierra.magazine@sierraclub.org for more information.
