Rural vs. City - the Ongoing Debate

Here is another entry in the debate between rural living and city living in regards to sustainability:

City dwellers 'harm climate less'
23 March 2009 NewScientist

City lights may burn bright, but overall the greenhouse gas emissions of large cities are far below those of rural areas, a new report finds.

David Dodman at the International Institute for Environment and Development in London, who led the study, says previous claims that cities contribute disproportionately to global climate change are unfounded.

"Historically, people have associated pollution and environmental damage with cities and, as far as climate warming goes, it is true that urban areas have large energy consumption," he says. "But many emissions come from rural areas, and methane is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide."

To discover just how bad city life is for the climate, Dodman compared greenhouse gas emissions in 12 large cities around the world with the average emissions of their respective countries. He found that, on average, city dwellers emit fewer greenhouse gases than the average for their country...

Click here to read the full story on the NewScientist website.