Housing (IMAGE) National Geographic Society Caption The Greendex survey measures consumer behavior and lifestyle related to the environment across four broad areas: housing, transportation, food and goods. The housing sub-index comprises 17 variables measuring size of residence relative to number of inhabitants, heating and cooling, recent upgrades resulting in more-efficient heating and cooling, consumption of renewable energy, hot water and water-heating equipment, energy-efficient major appliances and water usage. Brazilian consumers earn the highest score by far for housing, with fewer average rooms per home, rare use of home heating and wide penetration of renewable electricity. US consumers fare worst, with large homes and prevalent air-conditioning. Credit Photo by Cary Wolinsky Copyright National Geographic Usage Restrictions IMAGE IS FOR YOUR ONE-TIME EXCLUSIVE USE ONLY. NO SALES, NO TRANSFERS. EMBARGOED: For release noon (U.S. ET) Wednesday, May 7, 2008 IMAGES MAY ONLY BE USED BETWEEN May 7, 2008-Aug 4, 2008 IN CONNECTION WITH THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC/GLOBESCAN GREENDEX STORY License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.