Vatican City Goes Green

Green is the new religion-even for the Pope. Vatican City is not exactly known as a hotbed of innovation, but Pope Benedict XVI recently committed to producing 20 percent of its energy with renewable resources over the next 12 years. After declaring that environmental pollution is a “cardinal sin,” he hopes to transform the Vatican into the first European state to achieve such ambitious environmental goals. Having already installed 2,500 solar panels on the rooftop of one of the Vatican’s central buildings, the initiative will lessen the city-state’s carbon footprint by 210 tons while saving 80 tons of oil.