Scientific American reveals the surprise….

Compare New York City and Denver: Residents of the nation’s most populous city in America emit half the amount of Mile-High residents — 10.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent versus 21.5 metric tons.

“Some cities don’t have the luxury of deciding where they are [located],” said Daniel Hoornweg, one of the study’s authors and lead urban specialist at the World Bank. “Denver has high energy use, its electricity comes from coal, it’s spread out, and it’s cold.”

As one of the largest investors in development projects in the world, the World Bank will be able to use this study as a basis for development aid, along with information on renewable energy use, investment in public transportation and efficiency throughout the power distribution grid, said Hoornweg.

via Why Some Cities Can Be Far More Energy Efficient Than Others: Scientific American.