I mentioned the OR article referred to below in my OR summary yesterday, Dec. 9, in the BENEDICT thread. Reuters proides some details.
Vatican City is
the world's greenest state
VATICAN CITY, Dec. 7 (Reuters) - With a population of only 800, Vatican City is the world's least populated sovereign state, as well as the nation with the highest Pope-to-citizen ratio. And now, the Holy See's hometown can add one more title: world's most carbon-neutral state.
Lower panel, the Aula Paolo VI roof before and after it was fitted with the solar panels, shown close up in the top panel.
The city-state's official newspaper,
L'Osservatore Romano, recently trumpeted the installation of giant solar panels on top of the Paul VI Conference Hall two years ago, which have since saved the Vatican nearly 90 tons of fossil fuel equivalent.
The report goes on to state that the installation has "reached a small record in solar energy power production per capita: 200 watts at peak times... per inhabitant, compared to 80 in Germany, the world leader in this field."
For his push towards renewable energy, Pope Benedict has been dubbed the "green pope" by parts of the Italian press. The Pontiff has also made recent public statements that he would like to retrofit his iconic "Popemobile" with solar-powered technology.