The first city in America to adopt a tough and exhaustive carbon-emission reduction plan,

...which is toothless and ineffective. emissions are already *up*. the "Climate Action Plan" and similar efforts are nothing more than political hand waving.

Portland has a popular rapid transit system

Nope. In fact, Portland's dead average in that department, at about 12-13%. In fact, with cities of 100,000 population or more, we're not even in the top 25.

http://www.answers.com/topic/list-of-u-s-cities-with-high-transit-ridership

high-rate of bicycle use

A popular myth, based on a two key data points--the chief one being "count the number of bicyclists crossing the Hawthorne Bridge". Seriously.

the City of Roses has a progressive populace that cares about the planet.

What does that even mean? we have a populace that "cares about basketball", too, but that doesn't make us one of the "sportiest" cities in the nation.

And Portland does statistics like few other cities.

For example, did you know Portland covers over 5,000 *square miles*, has over 2.2 million people, and covers six counties? It's true, because the Portland Business Alliance says so:

http://www.portlandalliance.com/about_portland/portland-facts.html

It's not easy being green.

The only reason we suck is that we allow our local/state officials to get away with murder.

We don't force them to do the right thing.

We vote party lines and not for the right person.

We sleep while the children are playing with matches and running with scissors.

The solution is easy, if you want to be number one at anything you must have the will to stay on top of the problem and guild the people you have running the show.

If they fail to do the job you try to correct and adjust them.

If they continue to not perform you let them go.

Simple.

What a shock that a Communist paper would rank Portland second. Let me guess - Berkeley came in first?

Portland- Best Transportation agency Public Relations Department in the nation.

Rated #1 by more readers than any other Public Relations Department in the nation.

Population density ranking: Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA = 40 (i.e. least stressful, according to Forbes).

Enough said.

Enough with the "enough said." That's the second one today. Two too many.

Having spent some time in the Inland Empire (Riverside / San Bernadino / Ontario), I can tell you that it's much less stressful here in P-town.

I like the idea of not having to get on the 60, 91, or 10 freeways for an hour to do *anything*.

...Two too many.

My apologies, Jack. Here's another try:

The tendency of Forbes to weight one simple statistical parameter such as population density into a ranking of urban areas, without considering the negative consequences of that parameter, such as suburban sprawl, air and water pollution, excessive freeway construction, a distorted tax and expenditure system, a car-dependent culture, and lack of exercise, is not a proper way to rank urban areas.

The tendency of Forbes to weight one simple statistical parameter such as population density into a ranking of urban areas, without considering the negative consequences of that parameter, such as suburban sprawl, air and water pollution, excessive freeway construction, a distorted tax and expenditure system, a car-dependent culture, and lack of exercise, is not a proper way to rank urban areas.

You can say that again.

By People's Daily Online did they mean The Oregonian?