Gazette-Times reporter

Corvallis is getting a reputation as an environmentally conscious place to live.

The city is ranked third on Country Home magazine’s 2007 Best Green Places list. The top spots went to Burlington, Vt., and Ithaca, N.Y. The magazine used data from 24 different sources to determine the rankings, which will appear in the April issue, hitting newsstands March 20.

“We are seeing a real interest by readers in exploring eco-friendly choices,” said the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Carol Sheehan. “We wanted to find out who in America is actually taking action, where they are and what they’re doing.”

One of Corvallis’ highest green qualifications was its status as a green power community, a designation awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2006. To meet the program’s requirements, the city buys 90,000 kilowatt-hours a year from Pacific Power’s Blue Sky program, which provides electricity generated by wind turbines and geothermal plants. There are also 2,950 Corvallis households and 100 local businesses in the program.

Corvallis was the first, and remains the only, city on the West Coast to receive the designation. Only two other cities in the country qualify — Moab, Utah, and Boulder, Colo.

John Hope-Johnstone, executive director of Corvallis Tourism, said the EPA designation is a real feather in Corvallis’ cap.

“It’s amazing — and quite disgusting, as far as the other cities go,” he said. “They need to get their act together. The public is far ahead of the government in awareness of global warming.”

Bert Sperling of Sperling’s BestPlaces, who conducted the study for Country Home, said Corvallis rated very high in a number of the 24 categories.

Per capita, Corvallis:

• ranks second in the number of green public buildings as defined by the U.S. Green Building Council;

• has more people who bicycle to work than anywhere else;

• has a high number of people walking to work and using public transit; and

• has a high number of farmers’ markets and food co-ops.

In the spirit of full disclosure, it should be noted that Sperling is an Oregon State University graduate and a former Gazette-Times employee. But he said there was no favoritism in Corvallis’ rankings.

“We just run the numbers,” he said. “Corvallis doesn’t need any of our help.”

Corvallis attracts conferences and individual tourists because of its eco-friendly commitment, according to Hope-Johnstone.

“I think Corvallis has a history of being progressive as far as land use, parks and facilities,” he said.

More and more people are considering those things when looking for a place to live. Of the 17,500 people visiting the city last year, 23 percent said they were looking for somewhere to relocate, Hope-Johnstone said, and they are looking at Corvallis.