SPECIAL FEATURES:
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.
Mon, Apr 04 2011 at 1:15 PM
Related Topics:
In the spirit of two recent infographics that listed the best and worst of all 50 states — the United States of Awesome and the United States of Shame — MNN is taking another look, this time revealing how each state shines and suffers in regard to science, nature, public health or social justice. Check out the maps below, and for more info (or to be reminded which state is which) see the list of states, stats and sources.
Click here to learn more about each state's superlatives
Sources for "good U.S." map:
- 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)
Sources for "bad U.S." map:
- 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)
Also on MNN:
You might also like:
Sign in with one of these accounts to add your comment.
Email
Did anyone else notice that every state East and Northeast (the way the wind blows) from New York has some of the highest rates of cancer? Anyone think there might be a correlation from the highest air pollution contributing to the spill over costs on the other states? Maybe someone should look into this.
Best: Most wetlands - that are frozen most of the time?
Worst: Most airports - how is an airport a bad thing?
Air travel is not exactly public transit. Granted getting to Alaska or Hawaii is going to require airports. But its listed on here because air travel isn't great environmentally.
Many places in Alaska are only accessible by boat or plane. Considering that there are plenty of issues in Alaska that the state handles very poorly (domestic abuse for one), your choice of airports per capita, based on the generalization that airports are "bad for the environment," is just silly. If you are only doing environmental stuff, how about dinging them for oil spills or overzealous predator control?
Airplanes actually are public transit in Alaska-take a look at how many little communities there are all over the state and how very very few are connected to a road. Most of the towns were either gold mining hotspots or traditional native villages but now it is the modern day and the culture has changed for them but roads have not been built. People out there drive on rivers in the winter to get to the next town, or use boats in the summer.
Alaska has more airports per capita because we have hardly any roads. So how is having more airports with multiple people on little planes worse than having tons of cars on roads everywhere with a single driver per vehicle?
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 ???
Nice try, but cultivation of organic soil actually contributes to the improvement of air quality.
what is bad about an aquifer- really I am asking-- I don't know....
They're not bad, it's just that we're depleting them at an extremely high rate. If the land is being irrigated mostly by aquifers, we're depleting the aquifers at a faster rate than they can fill themselves.
There's nothing wrong with using aquifer water in itself, but it's the rate of pumping that's bad. It takes a long time for aquifers to recharge, and the fact that we're pumping so much furthers the risk of eventually running out. In addition, aquifers affect surface water. The more water pumped out, the lower water levels in rivers.
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
http://www.facebook.com/parkerandtheflowingwow
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?
I was going to settle for rolling my eyes at their Alaska/airports silliness, but then I spotted this. Whoever came up with this ridiculous "map" needs to back away from the graphics and maybe try learning something useful about our states.
Well, if it was JUST a desert, I'd agree but it isn't! Think of Las Vegas and other cities, but esp. Vegas with all its pools, golf greens and thousands of people flying in every week - just imagine the giant amount of water consumption.. in a desert!!!!
The Big Thirst is a good book on water; and shows that per capita, Las Vegas is one of the most water efficient places around. Every fountain and every golf course is 100% recycled water
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.
Pages