25 breathtaking places threatened by us.

Some may try to deny it, but by now there’s next to no doubt that global warming is having real, profound effects on the world we live in. Perhaps one of the most alarming changes is occurring in the world’s oceans and endangering islands with diverse ecosystems, rich cultures, and breathtaking, beautiful landscapes. Pacific island nations like Kiribati and the Marshall Islands have already come to terms with the irreversible nature of the crisis and are formulating long-term relocation strategies for their residents.

The islands pictured below have been identified as being highly at risk for the devastating consequences of climate change. Their beauty is a reminder that global action is needed now.

(above) Palau

Tuvalu

Antigua

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Kiribati

Fernandina Island, Galapagos

St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

Nevis

Bartholomew Island, Galapagos

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

Solomon Islands

Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia

Papua New Guinea

Maldives

Guam

Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia

Fiji

Nauru

Majuro, Marshall Islands

Tonga

Rabaul, Papua New Guinea

Lord Howe Island, Australia

Kauai, Hawaii

Norman Island, British Virgin Islands

Aitutaki, Cook Islands

SEE ALSO:

40 Gorgeous Photos of Europe

40 Gorgeous Photos of North America

40 Gorgeous Photos of Latin America

40 Gorgeous Photos of Asia

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Clean energy, public transit and local food make these 10 big cities the greenest of them all.

Honking cars emit foul black clouds, skyscrapers blot out the sun, litter lines the gutters and healthy green space can be hard to come by. But in many of America’s biggest cities, these negative traits are being eclipsed by clean, efficient public transit, bike-friendly infrastructure, multiplying trees, reliance on renewable energy and a fierce pride in locally-produced products. Slashing greenhouse gas emissions and coming close to zero waste is no easy feat for a metropolis with a population of at least 250,000, but these 10 cities – from Boston to San Francisco – prove that sustainability is possible on the largest of scales, in good economic times and bad.

10. Boston, Massachusetts

Representing the entire East Coast in impressive renewable energy stats, Boston boosted its solar power with the Solar Boston program and counts wind among its top three sources of electricity, with a turbine on city hall and more slated for several public schools. Other big plans include turning fall leaves and other yard clippings into power and fertilizer with a new biogas facility, and using recycled trash to power homes. For those residents who don’t rely exclusively on the nation’s most utilized public transportation systems, taxis will soon be another green option as they’re all required to go hybrid by 2015. New bike lanes and 250 bike racks have increased Boston’s pedal power, and the city saves a whopping $400,000 a year thanks to LED traffic lights.

9. Denver, Colorado

The Mile-High City is an outdoor wonderland with 14,000 acres of parkland in the mountains, 200 parks within the city limits, 850 miles of dedicated bike trails and 29 recreation centers. Denver preserves and protects its active, natural heritage with conservation measures like a no-pesticide policy in its parks and the Mile-High Million program, which plans to plant one million trees in the metropolitan area by 2025. For a city in a semi-arid region, Denver is adept at managing its water consumption, offering residents incentives to keep their usage down. Any concrete going into new city projects must be green, and Denver has also made some significant renewable energy goals, hoping to run on 20 percent wind power by 2020.

8. San Jose, California

Maybe it’s not California’s best-known or most-beloved city, but San Jose deserves some serious accolades for its clean-tech goals and innovations. Angling for the title of clean tech capital of America, San Jose has already created over 25,000 jobs in green industries and actively works to lure green businesses to the city. In fact, after Tesla Motors relocated its headquarters there in 2009, San Jose began rapidly developing infrastructure for electric vehicles including plug-in charging stations. It’s home to many of the nation’s top solar manufacturers as well as the world’s largest testing facility for solar products.

In a bid to become a zero-waste city, San Jose has managed to divert 62 percent of its waste to recycling and plans to reuse 100 percent of its waste water for landscaping within the next 15 years. The city’s Green Vision plan also includes a goal to reduce per capita energy use by 50 percent and get 100 percent of its energy from renewable sources within the same time period.

7. Oakland, California

Hop on a zero-emissions bus for a tour of one of America’s model green cities, checking out dozens of urban farms, renewable energy projects and a wide variety of eco-friendly businesses. Oakland is working to rise above high levels of unemployment and poverty to position itself as a leader in sustainability, particularly in the areas of local food, green jobs and renewable energy. Taking cues from its bigger Bay Area sister San Francisco (and sometimes even eclipsing it), Oakland gets 17% of its energy from renewable sources like hydroelectric, biomass and wind, and in 2007, it won the City Solar Award from NorCal Solar for having more solar power wattage than any other big city in Northern California.

The city aims to lower its greenhouse gas emissions to 36 percent below 2005 levels by the year 2020, the most ambitious target in the nation. It’s also home to Van Jones’ Ella Baker Center, one of several local organizations that focuses on training low-income adults for jobs in green industries.

6. Austin, Texas

Austin may be best known for its vibrant music scene, but this city shines just as bright in the sustainability arena. Not only is Texas’ capital city bicycle and pedestrian friendly, with plenty of mass transit and even hybrid plug-in stations, but its building codes encourage green practices and home energy audits are mandatory when selling a house. Austin is also the largest local government to run on 100% renewable energy, and by 2020 the city aims to have 30% of its residential, commercial and industrial energy consumption shifted to clean sources.

Birthplace of Whole Foods, Austin is brimming with organic restaurants and natural food stores, including America’s first zero-waste, packaging-free grocery store, In.gredients. If you’ve never been there and imagine the entire state of Texas as a dusty wasteland full of tumbleweeds, banish that notion from your mind, at least as it pertains to Austin – this city is surprisingly lush, offering stunning outdoor settings for biking, kayaking, swimming or just relaxing.

5. New York, New York

The fact that the Big Apple can compete with much smaller cities like Austin and Oakland is reason enough to land it in the top five greenest cities. It’s undoubtedly no easy task to keep a teeming metropolis of over 8 million residents from turning into an environmental nightmare, and while New York City can’t boast quite the same statistics on clean air or water conservation, it excels in public transportation and does surprisingly well on greenhouse gases and public park space. It’s the city’s very density that makes it so efficient, with just 20 percent of the population driving their own vehicles on a regular basis. Tall, jam-packed skyscrapers are more energy efficient than single-family homes, and of course, they use up a lot less land. Mayor Michael Bloomberg is further kicking up the city’s eco credentials with tree-planting programs, hybrid taxis and a program that phases out heavy heating oils.

4. Chicago, Illinois

Boardwalks, parks, nature centers, organic restaurants, green hotels and lots of eco-friendly shops: Chicago definitely has a lot to boast about.  The United Nations chose it as one of just two U.S. cities for UN-Habitat’s 100 Cities Initiative for its work over the past two decades addressing climate change and healthier, greener living in general. Since 1989 the city has seen 500,000 trees planted, 10,000 bike racks installed, 114 miles of bike lanes established and 900 acres of abandoned, polluted land returned to productive use.

Chicago’s City Hall boasts a stunning rooftop garden, adding to more than 2.5 million square feet of green roofs within the city limits – more than all other U.S. cities combined. A downtown airport was demolished to make way for a 100-acre park, adding to the city’s reputation as a testing ground for reducing the urban heat island effect. The city is also making headway on a 2008 climate goal that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent come 2050.

3. Seattle, Washington

All of those waterways surrounding Seattle don’t just give it its postcard-perfect beauty and contribute to its wet, mild climate – they also provide over 90 percent of the city’s power in the form of hydroelectricity, and more low-impact hydropower plants are planned to reduce impact on wildlife like salmon. The city’s two global warming initiatives, Seattle Climate Action Now and Seattle Climate Partnership, have distributed thousands of home energy efficiency kits to residents and urged over 100 local businesses to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. And when something like blackberry brambles threaten to overtake Seattle City Light’s substations, the utility employs a chemical-free solution: goats.

2. Portland, Oregon

Seattle’s carbon-neutral electricity makes it the star of the Pacific Northwest when it comes to climate change, but Portland has it beat in all-around sustainability and green living. A quarter of Portland’s workforce commutes by bike, carpool or public transportation with about 9,000 city residents biking downtown every day. The first city to adopt a climate change action plan, Portland offers free plug-in parking spots for electric vehicles and has more LEED-certified residential towers than any other city in the U.S. Portland is beating back sprawl with zoning regulations that encourage dense urban growth while leaving farmland for agricultural use. And on top of all of this, Portland has rightfully earned a reputation as a laid-back, eco-friendly place to live thanks in part to a lively local food and beer scene.

1. San Francisco, California

While Portland and Seattle are snapping at its heels, San Francisco manages to hang on to its title as the greenest city in America for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that city residents seem to have concern for the environment encoded into their DNA. Voters routinely approve aggressive green programs like banning plastic grocery bags and financing renewable energy for public facilities. San Francisco diverts a jaw-dropping 70 percent of its waste thanks to mandatory recycling and composting, and urban farms produce 20 times more food than the city’s residents can consume in a year. Nearly half of all San Francisco residents bike, walk or take public transit every day. Despite being more populated, San Francisco has a lower annual output of greenhouse gases than its Pacific Northwest competition, and is on track to reach its goal of 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.

Images: Tony the Misfit, Manu_H, dherrera_96, Wikimedia Commons, Ella Baker Center, Andreanna Moya, njt4148, compujeramey, wordridden, periwinklekog, kevincole

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Optimistic cities are filled with better neighbors, community members and friends. We’re packing our bags.

What is an optimist? A half-full type, a go-getter, a positive thinker. They usually live longer, especially women, and generally have a smash-up, good time of it. Optimists are magnetic and successful types who emanate a kind of luminous juju, to borrow from Danielle LaPorte’s Manifesto of Encouragement, a juju that is physically tenable and accessible.

Now, imagine looping all that optimistic energy into one centralized metropolis. Shazam! That was the sound of your personal happiness index shooting through the roof.

Such places really do exist, albeit changing from decade to decade or from one political tide to another. Here are 10 of today’s most optimistic American cities, sourced from Gallup’s Well-Being Index, which is based on life evaluation, emotional health, work environment, physical health, healthy behaviors, and access to basic necessities.

#1. Orem, Utah
According to Christian D. Larson’s Optimist Creed, an optimist is so strong that nothing can disturb her peace of mind.

#2. Austin, Texas
She also talks about health, happiness and prosperity with every person she meets.

#3. Huntsville, Alabama
She makes all her friends feel that there is something special in them.

#4. Mission, Texas
She looks at the sunny side of everything, everywhere.

#5. Raleigh, North Carolina
She thinks of, works for and expects only the best in life.

#6. Kennewick, Washington
She’s as enthusiastic about your success as she is her own.

#7. Amarillo, Texas
Ms. Optimist forgets the mistakes of the past and presses on to the greater achievements of the future.

#8. Lincoln, Nebraska
She wears a cheerful countenance and gives every living creature she meets a smile, dogs and cats included.

#9. Fort Collins, Colorado
She gives so much time to the improvement of herself that she doesn’t have the time to criticize others.

#10. Little Rock, Arkansas
She’s “too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.”

Are you an optimist? If so, tell us about the magnetic pull where you live.

Images: IraGelb; Cherice; Visualist Images; Thermodynamix; Shainelee; Jeanette Runyon; Scott Butner; Jacqueline Poggi; O’BrienDigital; Yann Ropars; clay.wells

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Maybe it’s not the traffic. The reason you hate L.A. so much could be because you’re a Virgo.

Is it any wonder there was looting in the streets of London last week? Mercury has been in retrograde since the beginning of the month, and will continue to reap its rampant fire energy until the 26^th. That means you’re likely to feel insecure, angry, and – in extreme cases – riotous until September.

Whether you actually buy into planetary politics (we’re reserving judgment), the cosmos are a fun and convenient foil for a range of bad behavior and bum luck.

Your astrocartography, on the other hand, is something that should be taken very, very seriously. That’s right, your astrocartography, a.k.a. locational astrology, meaning you are where you live. That’s what the experts say, anyway. And you, my dear Leo, could very well be living in the wrong ZIP code.

Pack your bags. Here’s where you should be living according to your star sign.

Aries (March 21 – April 19)
Pioneering by nature, you like the idea of being there first. If you’re not there already, you should be living in one of the next big boom towns, which are Austin, Texas, Raleigh, North Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee.

Taurus (April 20 – May 20)
You’re a nature chick at heart who gravitates towards grass, trees and pretty, healthy things. Portland, Oregon is a natural place for you, though Asheville, North Carolina (voted best place for yoga, food and foliage), is prominent on your horizon.

Gemini (May 21 – June 20)
You deal in extremes, as such Detroit is your astrological homeland. There has been a lot of speculation about the future of Detroit, either exceedingly optimistic or doomsday rapture-esque. Two things are for sure: you don’t do gray, and neither does Motor City. Welcome home.

Cancer (June 21 – July 22)
You like to maintain a tight network of family and friends around you at all times. Walla Walla, Washington is known for its onions, wine and busy bodies. We kid. Walla Walla is one of the friendliest places on earth, but that doesn’t mean it’s annoying. It just means you’ll have someone to talk to.

Leo (July 23 – August 22)
Leos are very outgoing people, and very outgoing people tend to converse well in the language of sports. You’re either a sports fanatic or hang out with people that are. Listen to that battle cry calling you home. It’s Pittsburgh, the City of Champions.

Virgo (August 23 – September 22)
You’re kind of bookish, aren’t you? What you crave is a good café in close proximity to your literary icons. You don’t mind freezing your butt off, or tolerating baseball season. As long as you can say, “Emerson was here.” Dear Virgo, get thee to Boston.

Libra (September 23 – October 22)
You’re a natural balance-seeker. Live up high, away from it all in a place like Bishop, California or Breckenridge, Colorado located 9,603 feet above sea level on the western slope of the Continental Divide.

Scorpio (October 23 – November 21)
You’re pretty intense, but plenty of exes have told you that by now. Try living near water. It will soothe your tumultuous nature. Your cities are Seattle, Minneapolis, and San Francisco.

Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21)
Adventure is your game. You need a locale that is near hiking trails. Better yet, anywhere you can go white water rafting or jump off something high. Vegas, baby. National Geographic voted it a top adventure city because just beyond Sin City is a backcountry playground.

Capricorn (December 22 – January 19)
You want to be in the heart of it all – as downtown as possible. Los Angeles is for you. Though synonymous with sprawl, traffic, and fake boobs, you will be pleasantly surprised to discover something real. The density of downtown, its superlative public transit system, plus galleries and designers galore make Downtown L.A. an ideal stomping ground for you Capricorns.

Aquarius (January 20 – February 18)
It might not sound exciting, but you crave privacy and comfort. Suburbia is for you, my friend. Routinely ranked as the most livable suburbs in the United States, consider Columbia, Maryland, Eden Prairie, Minnesota or Ames, Iowa. You’re not lame for loving the ‘burbs.

Pisces (February 19 – March 20)
You’re not likely to go totally “off the grid” since community engagement is your thing. What you need is a good commune, an intentional community where they don’t even drink Kool-Aid because it’s bad. Try Sewanee Creek, Tennesee.

Such a move could bode well for your wallet, love life, karma, alignment, and planetary sanity. Next time, instead of blaming Mercury’s movements for your wistfulness and borderline-despair, start with something more concrete that you can control: your area code.

Images: Curbed; Classic Country Land; Apple Wood Manor; After 5 Detroit; Mother Earth News; Breckenridge Real Estate; Twin Cities Real Estate; Sewanee Creek

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