Here are most and least environmentally friendly states

Story at a glance Personal finance site WalletHub released a study ranking the 50 states on three factors -- environmental quality, eco-friendly behaviors and climate change contributions. Environmental quality includes factors like air, water and soil pollution and energy efficiency. Eco-friendly behaviors refers to aspects like the amount of solar panels, number of electric cars...

• The greenest state is Vermont, the 'Green Mountain State'

• West Virginia was the least green state, which ranks 48th in environmental quality and eco-friendly behavior and last in climate change contributions.

Environmental quality includes factors like air, water and soil pollution and energy efficiency. Eco-friendly behaviors refers to aspects like the amount of solar panels, number of electric cars and commute times. Climate change contributions cover carbon emissions and other greenhouse gasses.

The greenest state is Vermont, the 'Green Mountain State'. It ranked second in environmental quality and first in eco-friendly behaviors among all states, while coming just 33rd in climate change contributions.

It’s followed by New York and California to round out the top three.

The best environmental quality belongs to Hawaii, fitting for the island state. Connecticut grabbed the top spot for climate change contributions.

For the DMV, Virginia grabbed the 17th spot overall while Maryland topped it in fifth.

The study found that blue states are more environmentally friendly than red states. States that voted for President Biden in 2020 had an average rank of about 15th, while states that voted for former President Trump in 2020 came in at an average of 36th.

Some argue climate change distracts from what they deem higher-priority policies, but experts believe that eco-friendly behavior is not mutually exclusive with driving the economy forward.

“This is a common misconception — that we can only have a livable environment or economic growth,” Heather Payne, a Seton Hall law professor, said. “Our GDP has continued to grow even as our air and water have become cleaner and our land less polluted. Anyone arguing that we can only have one or the other is presenting a false choice.”

At the bottom of the list is West Virginia, which ranks 48th in both environmental quality and eco-friendly behavior, and last in climate change contribution. 

The survey found that Alaska has the worst environmental quality, and Louisiana the worst in eco-friendly behaviors.

But that doesn’t mean that someone in a poor-scoring state is out of luck or can’t help the planet. There’s a plethora of ways someone can individually do their part.

“For some people — it is reducing food waste. For others — it is reducing the number of trips they take in a car each day and maybe walking a little bit more using a bicycle or e-bike. For others — maybe it is just eating a little less meat each week (which is also healthier and will reduce healthcare costs!). And for others, it is to make sure that we recycle our aluminum cans and other recyclables,” Georgia Tech professor Daniel Matisoff said. 

“There is no one silver bullet that can solve an individual’s impact on the environment. But we can all take a few small steps to live a bit more sustainably that will help reduce our impact on the planet,” he added.