Portland named 2nd most green city in the world!

How 'bout a little good news for a change?

According to Grist, billed as "Environmental News & Commentary," Portland, Oregon is the 2nd most green city in the world! I've always been proud to be from Oregon, and this just makes me more so.

Portlanders are good folks. We've got a great, livable city and an "an' it harm none, do what thou wilt" progressiveness that makes many non-Oregonians imagine that we're all a bunch of stoners. (Hmm...methinks more research is required.)

Anyway, congratulations, fellow Portlanders! Next time around, let's see if we can't bump those crazy Vikings out of the top spot.

Go here to see the complete list of the 15 green cities (and 4 runners-up). I've been to quite a few of these cities. My take on those that I have visited:

Portland, Oregon (2)

My home. Portland has everything: livable city, nearby wilderness (mountains, coastline), great people.

Vancouver, Canada (5)

Our neighbors to the north. Vancouver, Washington, and Oregon have more in common with each other than they do with the rest of their respective countries, in my opinion. We're all a bunch of mellow Pacific coasters. If we were each to secede and form our own Pacific Northwest state, Vancouver would be the capitol.

Copenhagen, Denmark (6)

Ya gotta love those Danes. Reserved, fantastically good-looking, noble, obsessed with doing the "right" thing. And Copenhagen harbor is so clean you could swim in it.

London, UK (7)

To tell you the truth, the London I saw was a far cry from being anything like what I would call "green." Sooty, gloomy, intoxicating, vulgar, beautiful and above all, exciting! I love London, but it didn't strike me as a particularly environmentally-conscious place. According to Grist, London earns its "green" status because of its plans for the future more than its current condition. Fair enough.

San Fransisco, CA (8)

(Note: As hard as I find it to believe, I do not have a single picture from any of my many visits to San Fransisco.)

The jewel of the left coast. North America's Amsterdam.

Barcelona, Spain (11)


Probably my favorite city in Europe (at least among those that I have visited). Gaudi architecture, paella, divine coffee and oranges. And everywhere you look there are those oh-so-utterly-chic Spaniards.

Seattle, WA (runner-up)

Our sister-city to the north. Friendly rivalry aside, Portland and Seattle are literally like sisters: always teaching and supporting each other.

Quebec, Canada (runner-up)

Picturesque, relatively quiet and unassuming. Les Quebecois sont très hospitaliers.