Infographic: United States of the Environment
We can't all have the most organic farms or the lowest air pollution, but every U.S. state is No. 1 in some environmental or public health category ... and No. 50 in another. Here's a look at each state's strengths and weaknesses.
Click here to learn more about each state's superlatives
- Alabama: Lowest rate of alcohol abuse or dependence (U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)
- Alaska: Most wetlands (U.S. Geological Survey)
- Arizona: Most solar power potential (USA Today, National Climatic Data Center)
- Arkansas: Home of Buffalo River, first U.S. "National River" (National Park Service)
- California: Most acres of organic farmland (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
- Colorado: Lowest obesity rate (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Connecticut: Highest percentage of adults who had a teeth cleaning in the past year (CDC)
- Delaware: Lowest cumulative growth in cases of autism (StateMaster)
- Florida: Most recreational fishing trips per year (National Marine Fisheries Service)
- Georgia: Most industrial electricity generated from biomass (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
- Hawaii: Lowest levels of ground-level ozone and smog (American Lung Association)
- Idaho: Smallest per capita carbon footprint (Forbes)
- Illinois: Most electricity generated by nuclear power (EIA)
- Indiana: Burial place of Johnny Appleseed (Johnny Appleseed Festival)
- Iowa: Largest inventory and sales of organic hogs and pigs (USDA)
- Kansas: Most acres of wheat and sorghum grown for grain (USDA)
- Kentucky: Home of Mammoth Cave, longest in U.S. and world (NPS)
- Louisiana: Home of Mississippi River Delta, largest river delta in U.S. (Water Encyclopedia)
- Maine: Most plots of organic mixed vegetables less than 5 acres each (USDA)
- Maryland: Most academic research funding per $1,000 of gross domestic product (National Science Foundation)
- Massachusetts: Highest percentage of students testing above "advanced" level in 4th-grade science (StateMaster)
- Michigan: Best access to freshwater (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
- Minnesota: Highest rate of physical exercise (America's Health Rankings)
- Mississippi: Highest percentage of farms with a black or African-American principal operator (USDA, USDA)
- Missouri: Most Ozarks (NASA)
- Montana: Most acres of organic lentils and dry beans (USDA)
- Nebraska: Highest number of total organic livestock (USDA)
- Nevada: Fewest Superfund sites (GoodGuide Scorecard)
- New Hampshire: Fewest hazardous-liquid pipeline accidents per capita (StateMaster)
- New Jersey: Most commuter rail as a percent of total public transit (StateMaster)
- New Mexico: Home of Spaceport America, "world's first purpose-built commercial spaceport" (Spaceport America, Space.com)
- New York: Lowest total energy used per capita (EIA)
- North Carolina: Highest number of organic Christmas tree farms (USDA)
- North Dakota: Fewest federally listed endangered species (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
- Ohio: Highest percentage of students testing above "advanced" level in 8th-grade science (StateMaster)
- Oklahoma: Most alternative-fuel vehicles per capita (StateMaster)
- Oregon: Most LEED-certified buildings (Forbes)
- Pennsylvania: Most square footage and sales of organic mushrooms (USDA)
- Rhode Island: Lowest sulfur dioxide emissions (GoodGuide Scorecard)
- South Carolina: Most nuclear energy consumed per capita (StateMaster)
- South Dakota: Largest protected mixed-grass prairie (NPS, About.com)
- Tennessee: Most caves (Forbidden Caverns)
- Texas: Most installed wind power capacity (U.S. Department of Energy)
- Utah: Highest rate of breastfeeding (Kaiser Family Foundation)
- Vermont: Lowest carbon dioxide emissions (EPA)
- Virginia: Lowest overall asthma rate (StateMaster)
- Washington: Highest number of organic apples grown (USDA)
- West Virginia: Highest-paid coal miners (StateMaster)
- Wisconsin: Most acres of organic cut flowers (USDA)
- Wyoming: Lowest public health risk from air pollution (GoodGuide Scorecard)
- Alabama: Origin of U.S. fire ant invasion (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
- Alaska: Most airports per capita (StateMaster)
- Arizona: Most groundwater-irrigated acres on farms with annual sales of $500,000 or higher (USDA)
- Arkansas: Most tons of poultry waste (GoodGuide Scorecard)
- California: Highest levels of ground-level ozone and particulate pollution (GoodGuide Scorecard, America's Health Rankings)
- Colorado: Most fatalities from avalanches (Colorado Avalanche Information Center)
- Connecticut: Highest rate of pancreatic cancer (CDC)
- Delaware: Fewest national parks (NPS)
- Florida: Most recreational boat crashes (U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety Division)
- Georgia: Worst water pollution from urban runoff (GoodGuide Scorecard)
- Hawaii: Highest number of federally listed endangered species (FWS)
- Idaho: Lowest per capita funding for public transit (American Public Transportation Association)
- Illinois: Most accidents involving hazardous materials (StateMaster)
- Indiana: Most unrecycled trash per capita (Entrepreneur)
- Iowa: Most tons of hog waste (GoodGuide Scorecard)
- Kansas: Most cases of pathogens in water (GoodGuide Scorecard)
- Kentucky: Highest overall cancer death rate (National Cancer Institute, CDC)
- Louisiana: Fastest loss of wetlands (EPA)
- Maine: Highest rate of esophageal cancer (CDC)
- Maryland: Worst access to clean freshwater (EPA)
- Massachusetts: Highest rate of thyroid cancer (CDC)
- Michigan: Highest risk from Asian carp (EPA, Michigan Department of Natural Resources)
- Minnesota: Highest autism prevalence among 8-year-olds in public schools during 2009-2010 school year (Thoughtful House)
- Mississippi: Most cases of pesticides in water (GoodGuide Scorecard)
- Missouri: Site of 1983 Times Beach evacuation due to dioxin contamination (EPA)
- Montana: Most cases of sediment pollution in water (GoodGuide Scorecard)
- Nebraska: Highest rate of carbon monoxide poisoning (CDC)
- Nevada: Lowest annual rainfall (USGS)
- New Hampshire: Highest rate of mesothelioma (CDC)
- New Jersey: Most Superfund sites (GoodGuide Scorecard)
- New Mexico: Lowest percentage of total surface water (StateMaster)
- New York: Highest public health risk from air pollution (GoodGuide Scorecard)
- North Carolina: Fewest librarians per capita (StateMaster)
- North Dakota: Fewest clean-energy businesses (Pew Charitable Trusts)
- Ohio: Most cumulative growth in cases of autism (StateMaster)
- Oklahoma: Lowest consumption of fruits and vegetables (America's Health Rankings)
- Oregon: Highest rate of adult asthma (CDC)
- Pennsylvania: Most dams in need of repair (Association of Dam Safety Officials)
- Rhode Island: Highest rate of female breast cancer (CDC)
- South Carolina: Fewest acres of organic farmland (USDA)
- South Dakota: Most tornadoes per capita (StateMaster)
- Tennessee: Most combined sewer overflows (GoodGuide Scorecard)
- Texas: Most carbon dioxide emissions (EPA)
- Utah: Slowest growth in clean-energy jobs from 1998-2007 (Pew Charitable Trusts)
- Vermont: Highest rate of brain cancers (CDC)
- Virginia: Most cases of ammonia pollution in water (GoodGuide Scorecard)
- Washington: Highest number of invasive aquatic snail species (USGS)
- West Virginia: Most coal-mining deaths (Mine Safety and Health Administration)
- Wisconsin: Highest binge-drinking rate (America's Health Rankings)
- Wyoming: Most energy used per capita (EIA)
link:
Comments
so California is the best for organic farms but the worst for smog...... ahhh where does all that smog settle down on-- the "organic" food ???
what is bad about an aquifer- really I am asking-- I don't know....
LOL..I knew it..Texas has the most hot air.
It would be lovely if you could append a thumbnail of the plus graphic to this so that when we post to FB, it would show.
Poor South Carolina with all those nuclear power plants. Do you know that S.C. has the best tasting water, but now I wonder if it has radiation runoff in it.
I understand that nuclear power plants have their dangers but do you even know what radiation is? All of our water is affected by radiation.
NO water should have man--made radiation from nuclear power plants in it, such as iodine-131, tritium, cesium-137, strontium-90 which cause cancer in thyroid gland, bones, muscles, etc. Unfortunately, nuclear power plants spew radiation into the environement all the time.
This may interest some of you
How is it a bad thing that Nevada has the lowest annual rainfall? Isn't it a desert in the first place? Sooo why is that a bad thing?
Its a silly concept...but people are made primarily of water. just about 70% and so they really are in need of replenishing that.
Most of Hawaii's native species are what is going extinct, and it is because of the continued introduction and past introductions of invasive species
Its much more than the introduction of foreign species! Look at the development of the land itself. 90% of the State population reside on one island -- out of 8. Development, at the scale we presently see, is the direct result of tourism and accommodating to the needs of the tourist. The issue of endangered species is thus the result of how humans decide to populate and develop a new area.
I don't think that New Mexico having a spaceport is an environmental plus. Its actually a huge corporate welfare boondoggle that has depleted the water supply for surrounding landowners. If its ever used, the carbon footprint for those space flights will be enormous.
I totally agree with you. If that's the best environmental news anyone can come up with for New Mexico, it's pitiful.
Oregon's willamette valley is the most fertile in the country and is known for having the nation's highest daily pollen counts and the growing season is year-round, so people are out planting their gardens in december and january. Therefore higher asthma rates. lots of things grow = means OR does not excel? Nope.
Nevada = Fewest Superfund sites, which also has the most open pit, heap leached gold mines in the US
While the District of Columbia isn't a state, a little shout out would have been nice.
The information for Hawaii isn't very useful. It has sweeping tradewinds and ocean currents to disperse smog, and a greater number of unique and rare species than most places on earth.
It is funny that they don't mention the vog here! There is a lot of it and it can be very dangerous for many people who are sensitive to it- which is most!
We do not make up any of the facts and figures given. We only offer up a place to debate and learn. We find lots of the information strange. We find lots of the information informative. Click on the Stumble link to find many of our favorite sites that offer up lots of views on many subjects. There is good and bad in lots of things. We hope everyone can find something that helps them find a way to improve their way of life.
Wow, a lot of the negatives are caused by the "good thing". Some of them are caused by other good things.. like I wonder if MN has a high autism rate due to better autism care??
And really?! How is SD supposed to control the tornados when you just said protected prairies was a good thing?
How is the most airports a bad thing. Really stretching it there.
Oh my goodness, if you've ever lived by an airport you'd understand. The noise, the smell of fumes, the haze in the air!
Oh my goodness, if we here in Alaska got busy now and started building roads 24/7/365, in about 30 years we could catch up to the rest of America's average road density (square miles of land per mile of road). In the interim, we're quite happy to have the highest ratio of private pilots by population in the world. Some of these "airports" counted in the stats are short dirt strips in the middle of nowhere with a fuel station (maybe) and a few lights. Not exactly the bustling, fume belching,.... More
Not exactly good for the environment...
I agree .. but did you see that Indianna excels in "The burial place of Johnny Apple Seed"
Most airports... well let's see...
how about the fact that airplanes and jets use up so much energy and burn so much fuel and oil that it's ridiculous... airports also take up a lot of space that could have been animals homes as well.... so overall they use tons of natural, unrenewable resources and take up tons of space and what do they give us in turn? Loads of pollution and CO2 emissions and whatnot... I mean, sure we can travel around and such but how many airports do you need to go to one.... More
Alaska has a lot of airports because it is very, very, vary rural. Many towns can only be accessed by airplane, or maybe a river that is only navigable by boat 4 months a year, and snowmobile another 3. Every town has an airport, even if they don't have a grocery store. An Alaskan airport isn't nessasrally that big, the building may be the size of one gate in a big city airport, and a runway long enough for a 6 person plane to take off. Now, air travel is very inefficient, and.... More
Most invasive snails... pssshhh :P washington wins fools!
Note that Arizona is listed as having the most Solar Power "potential", NOT the highest power generation from Solar. Pretty sad.
And Idaho...lowest funding for public transit per capita? Having grown up in Idaho I know that large portion of the state wouldn't be appropriate for public transit since people and places to go are few and far between. This infographic is what happens when the same "stats" are applied across the board when other information is not equal.
I spent much of my life in Idaho. The main reason I left the state later in life is because it is impossible to live there without owning a vehicle, a big factor in reducing my personal carbon footprint. What interests me so much about Idaho is that, despite having virtually no public transportation system, it has the lowest per capita carbon footprint.
How is sports fishing a GOOD thing? And Alaska has a need for that many airports because there's almost no roads. The small airports it does have for bushpilots are far less damaging on the environment than say, freeways everywhere.
Autism growth should not be considered a reason why a state does "not excel" for many reasons, including the growing amount of information and awareness on Autism that is leading to higher rates of diagnosis (not necessarily cases), and the fact that Autism is not a "growing problem" in society- the society is that which needs to be reevaluated...
How is "most sport fishing" got anything to do with anything?!
how about hanford nuclear site for washington.
New York wasn't as bad as I thought. Air pollution wasn't a shock though. And I do have to say Ny'ers are definitely on the best "least" energy use kick I have noticed. Lights are always on sensors, off in the summer (I do live in one of the most energy efficient areas in NY and most eco friendly areas as well). But every part of the US has its thing, its strengths and weaknesses. A lot of it has to do with LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION.
Its scary that the cancer stats are all located in a concentrated area along the east coast and near the great lakes...
You mean "New England"?
actually none of those states touch the great lakes at all....
Of course Texas has the highest CO2 emissions...it's huge! It does not, however, have the highest CO2 emission per capita, that honor is left to Wyoming (2008). Texas doesn't even make the top 10.
This map is cool but seriously flawed.
This map is a very interesting topic for discussion, but needs to be amended. I agree with the comments of Sarah Dorrance-Minch. The inclusion of rates of autism as an assessment factor is arbitrary and based on faulty assumptions.
The World Health Organization has identified diseases with environmental causes, such as diarrhea, respiratory infections and malaria. A map of rates of environmentally related diseases would be interesting but only linked to information regarding state or.... More
What does the burial place of johnny appleseed have to do with anything?
Most Sport Fishing & Most Boat Wrecks >.<
It's interesting to see how much tamer problems outside of the Northeast and California are. Most hog waste compared to most smog?
Hog waste is actually a huge threat to our health, our water systems, and our air. Have you seen what happens to the surrounding countryside and community health wherever CAFOs are located? I believe the film Food, Inc., shows some of that.
Then there's the whole issue of antibiotics in the soil and water, which I understand are wreaking havoc on our ability to fight the new superbugs, which are thought to spring, in part, from the heavy use of CAFO antibiotics.
Believe me, hog waste is not tame. It's very toxic and gets into water supplies.
I don't see what autism has to do with the environment....
Some studies suggest that autism might be caused by environmental toxins rather than the previous debate (still ongoing) that the increase in autism was due to childhood vaccinations.
