Environmental issues in New York City
See also: Environmental issues in the United
States
Central Park is nearly twice as big as the
world’s second-smallest country, Monaco.
Historically its reservoirs were important
components of the city’s water supply.
Environmental issues in New York City
are affected by the city’s size, density, abund-
ant public transportation infrastructure, and
location at the mouth of the Hudson River.
New York City also plays an important role in
national environmental policy because of its
size and influence.
New York’s population density has envir-
onmental benefits and dangers. It facilitates
the highest mass transit use in the United
States, but also concentrates pollution.
Gasoline consumption in the city is at the
rate the national average was in the 1920s,[1]
and greenhouse gas emissions are a fraction
of the national average, at 7.1 metric tons
per person per year, below San Francisco, at
11.2 metric tons, and the national average, at
24.5 metric tons.[2] New York City accounts
for only 1% of United States emissions while
housing 2.7% of its population.[2]
Population density
Environmental concerns in the city involve
managing the city’s extraordinary population
density. Mass transit use is the highest in the
nation and gasoline consumption in the city is
at the rate the national average was in the
1920s.[1] New York City’s dense population
and low automobile dependence help make
New York among the most energy efficient in
the United States.[3] The city’s greenhouse
gas emission levels are relatively low when
measured per capita, at 7.1 metric tons per
person, below San Francisco, at 11.2 metric
tons, and the national average, at 24.5.[2]
New Yorkers are collectively responsible for
one percent of the nation’s total greenhouse
gas emissions,[2] though comprise 2.7% of
the nation’s population. The average New
Yorker consumes less than half the electricity
used by a resident of San Francisco and
nearly one-quarter the electricity consumed
by a resident of Dallas.[4]
Concentrated po