The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released a list of the smartest cities (large, medium and small) and Seattle was ranked as the top large city (population over 250,000) in the  country, followed by San Francisco and Portland.  The rankings were based on a set of 10 criteria, including air quality, water quality and conservation, energy and conservation, and transportation.  It's hard to see how Seattle would have make top of the list without yesterday's start-up of light-rail. 

Continuing the trend established with the large city rankings above, the West Coast cleaned up.  Washington cities especially did well with Spokane at #6 and Everett at #15 for medium-sized cities and Bellingham at #1 and Redmond at #10 for the small cities. 

It's nice to remember that we are doing a pretty good job here, despite what can seem like slow going sometimes.  This area has a history of civic engagement and over time and there is a lot of focus now on the impacts of climate change, quality of life, and going green.  It makes a difference.