Lawrence is No. 8, and Topeka is No. 5.

But the winner of the Yahoo! “Be a Better Planet” Greenest City in America Challenge is Hastings, Neb., which won the $250,000 grand prize that will be dedicated to environmentally friendly projects, developed in conjunction with Global Green USA, the global Internet brand announced Monday.

More than 350 cities participated in the challenge, and the top 10 cities were: Hastings; Pelzer, S.C.; San Carlos, Calif.; Mill Valley, Calif.; Topeka; Dover, Del.; Spring, Texas; Lawrence; Walnut Creek, Calif.; and Fairfax, Va.

The top five cities will receive deliveries of thousands of energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs.

Cities earned points in the competition when residents logged onto the Yahoo! Web site to answer environmental questions, learn more about environmentally friendly methods and pledge other actions such as using public transportation and recycling.