Green Cities, Brown Suburbs:Beneficial to the Environment

Green Cities, Brown Suburbs
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In response to the article, “Green Cities, Brown Suburbs,” the point that resonates is that if one wants to be beneficial to the environment, one must stay away from it, and move to high-rise apartments surrounded by plenty of concrete. This point was illustrated by Thoreau’s accident when he went for a walk along the Concord River in Massachusetts with a friend. Thoreau built a fire in a pine stump near Fare Haven pond to cook chowder. The fire soon spread to the surrounding grass, and in the end, over 300 acres of prime woodland were burned because there had not been much rain lately. The unfortunate result of sheer carelessness will be borne in mind by those who may visit the woods in the future for recreation.
Professor Matthew Khan and Professor Glazer conducted a study to estimate the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by an average household. An average household would be settled in a variety of major metropolitan areas in the United States and then measure the comparative data between projected central city versus suburban emissions within new or recently built homes. Four different sources were considered in the calculation of Carbon emissions. These sources include home heating, electricity, driving, and eventually public transportation. When the results were examined, five metropolitan areas with lowest levels of carbon emissions were all in California San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Sacramento. These places are cold like Rochester that uses little electricity. Warm places such as Houston do not do much heating, and having comparably low heating emissions appear browner. Professor Glaser said that households...