Cleanest vs. Most Polluted Cities in the World
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- Cleanest Cities: Green
- Most Polluted Cities: Red
In early September, the Blacksmith Institute published their annual survey of the World’s Most Polluted Places. I really like this type of survey and enjoy reading their conclusions. However, personally I also like being able to contrast this type of information with the other end of the spectrum, so I also looked up Forbes most recent publishing of the World’s Cleanest Cities.
As you may have suspected, the most polluted cities are found in the developing world, with emerging markets such as China, India, and Russia, being the main culprits (each contributing 2 cities to the list). As for the cleanest cities in the world, those were all found in the United States, Canada, Europe, and one from Japan.
Obviously, the results of both of these surveys are debatable, and are largely influenced by researchers opinions. However, as I compare those cities on the cleanest list with those on the most polluted list, I find it really amazing to see all that we are capable of as humans–both good and bad.
To see a place like Calgary, the fastest growing city in Canada and fossil fuels center, as the number one cleanest city in the world is really inspiring. However, on the opposite end of the spectrum, cities like Linfen, China, where over 3 million people can’t even put their laundry out to dry as it will be covered in coal and soot from abysmal air pollution, shows us that we still have a long way to go (Time).
| World’s Cleanest Cities: | World’s Most Polluted Cities: | |
 1. Calgary, Canada |
 1. Linfen, China |
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 2. Honolulu, United States |
 2. Tianying, China |
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 3. Helsinki, Finland |
 3. Sukinda, India |
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 4. Ottawa, Canada |
 4. Vapi, India |
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 5. Minneapolis, United States |
 5. La Oroya, Peru |
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 6. Oslo, Norway |
 6. Dzerzhinsk, Russia |
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 7. Stockholm, Sweden |
 7. Norilsk, Russia |
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 8. Zurich, Switzerland |
 8. Chernobyl, Ukraine |
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 9. Katsuyama, Japan |
 9. Sumgayit, Azerbaijan |
|
 10. Berne, Switzerland |
 10. Kabwe, Zambia |
Photos:
- World’s Cleanest Cities: Forbes.com
- World’s Most Polluted Cities: Times.com
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Wow, you know things are bad when Chernobyl ranks number eight. Glad to see Calgary as number one but that surprised me too. Interesting post!
[…] Travel Logue. For more information about the world’s cleanest and most polluted places, see this article. Tags: honolulu, Places to Go By Jessica | Permalink | No Comments | November 19th, 2007 | […]
I was surprised about Calgary as well, but not so much about Ottawa. I spend a lot of time near there (at a beautiful but simple cabin in the woods) and the air is so clean. It smells soooooooo much different than Toronto.
It’s disturbing to see the effects of acid rain though. And although the snow looks clean, it does make me wonder what chemicals we’ve put into the environment that we just can’t see.
Great post - love the images.
Interesting post! I can understand that Stockholm and Zurich are two of the world’s cleanest cities. I’ve lived in Zurich for 6 months and the air was so fresh compared to other European cities.
Very Interesting post. I completely understand Canada on the clean list, it is no surprise, and I would be amazed if it didn’t make the list. But one i was surprised about was Minneapolis being on the ‘cleanest’ list. You’d think it wouldn’t make the cut. Very interesting, keep up the good work!
Interesting but a little unfair. Any comparison between a city that relies on manufacturing and industry will come out dirtier than a city whose wealth relies on services.
[…] and found a couple of blog posts and sites worth a visit. One of them, Go Budget Travel’s Cleanest vs. Most Polluted Cities in the World reveals, not surprisingly, that Calgary, Honolulu and Helsinki are the world’s cleanest […]