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TheBuzz
Erika Engle
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Honolulu drivers 27th in ‘green’ survey
Men's Health magazine gives Honolulu a "B" for green driving habits.
We rank at No. 27 among 100 metro areas the magazine studied, using several sources to tabulate data on gas consumption; annual miles driven; air quality based on ozone and particle pollutants; vehicle efficiency; and quality and usage of mass transit.
The time frame during which the research was conducted -- say, whether the data was gathered before gas hit the $4-a-gallon mark -- was unavailable by TheBuzz's press time.
Among the magazine's "greenest drivers," 13 cities got A-pluses, A's or A-minuses -- the top five were Seattle, Wash., Burlington, Vt., Portland, Ore., Madison, Wis. and Fargo, N.D.
The state of Texas has more "fossil fools" than any other state, according to the magazine, with four cities in the bottom 10.
America's biggest gas guzzlers, at No. 100 on the list, are in Arlington, Texas; Yonkers, N.Y.; El Paso, Texas; Riverside, Calif.; Birmingham, Ala.; and No. 95 Fort Worth, Texas. San Antonio was the fourth Texas town in the bottom 10.
Honolulu is in No. 6 among cities with the lowest number of high ozone days, but for some reason does not appear among the best cities for lowest daily particle pollution. Because data collection dates were unavailable, it is unknown whether vog clouded what otherwise might have been a top 10 Honolulu ranking.
The Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association estimates that as a state, Hawaii's average miles driven per vehicle is 9,990, about 20 percent less than the mainland average of 12,500.
That is not reflected by Men's Health, which doesn't place Honolulu among the 10 cities with fewest household miles driven annually.
Your columnist may be thinking wrong, but one might figure that on lists of cities driving the fewest household miles each year and of cities consuming the fewest gallons of gas each year, there would be tons of crossover. However, only Buffalo, N.Y., is common to both.
The issue hit the street yesterday and is posted online.
Green design
A Honolulu company has made the inaugural Top 100 Green Design Firms list in the Engineering News-Record, an industry publication.
If you are a regular reader you know the word "green" causes your columnist's eyes to roll with disinterest because of its overuse.
However, ENR bypasses the "green-washing hype," and objectively measures the market, according to a statement.
The only Hawaii-based firm on the list is WATG, formerly Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo, at No. 80.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4747, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at:
eengle@starbulletin.com