According to the
2005 Index of Environmental Sustainability, a measure of overall progress towards environmental sustainability (based upon a set of 20 core "indicators"), the United States basically sucks with regards to the environment.
Well, I guess it doesn't suck if you think that ranking 45th in the world, behind Botswana, Bhutan, Guyana, Uruguay, Argentina, Japan, most of Western Europe, and even Russia (#33) for god's sake, is a good thing.
But then again, the United States is the country where people don't believe in evolution, think global warming's good because it makes the winters less uncomfortable, and vote for George W. Bush as President. So what can we expect? Gentlemen, start your Hummers...vroom, vroom!!
January 24, 2005
Nations Ranked as Protectors of the Environment
New York Times
By FELICITY BARRINGER
WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 - Countries from Northern and Central Europe and South America dominated the top spots in the 2005 index of environmental sustainability, which ranks nations on their success at such tasks as maintaining or improving air and water quality, maximizing biodiversity and cooperating with other countries on environmental problems.
Finland, Norway and Uruguay held the top three spots in the ranking, prepared by researchers at Yale and Columbia Universities. The United States ranked 45th of the 146 countries studied, behind such countries as Japan, Botswana and the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, and most of Western Europe.
The lowest-ranking country was North Korea. Among those near the bottom were Haiti, Taiwan, Iraq and Kuwait.
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The report is based on 75 measures, including the rate at which children die from respiratory diseases, fertility rates, water quality, overfishing, emission of heat-trapping gases and the export of sodium dioxide, a crucial component of acid rain.
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After Finland, Norway and Uruguay, the top 10 countries in the overall rankings were, in order, Sweden, Iceland, Canada, Switzerland, Guyana, Argentina and Austria.
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South Korea moved up 13 spots between 2002 and the new report, but was only No. 122 in the overall index, and 14th out of 21 high-density countries in which more than half the land has a population density greater than 100 people per square kilometer.