The Equinox Center's snapshot of San Diego's quality of life revealed some areas where things are good and some areas where things are not so good.
The center's quality of life dashboard tracks 15 economic and environmental indicators. Residential electricity consumption, air quality and venture capital funding were areas that improved from last year.
What people throw away and clean water were areas that performed worse. Rising water consumption was also a concern.
"When you look at the development we're doing. You look at business growth. You look at our innovation economy in San Diego, especially when you get into life sciences and that type of thing, you've got to have a dependable water supply," said Ray Ellis, board chair for the Equinox Center.
Climate change and land use were unchanged from the year before but an increase in the number of miles driven in San Diego County is an area of concern.
"The vehicle miles traveled for San Diego County increased," said Steven Heverly, executive director of the Equinox Center. "We are the highest in the state of California, on a per capital basis related to vehicle miles traveled, and that contributes to 40 percent or more of our greenhouse gas emissions."
The center compiled the index from a variety of local, state and federal sources. The dashboard is designed to be informative and a tool for local politicians.
