Environmental Business Journal had this story on its short list this week:
YALE REPORT: U.S. SLIPPING IN ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCEThe United States ranks last among the Group of 8 nations and 39th among 149 countries in terms of environmental performance, according to a recent report issued by the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy. The report evaluated national performance in solid waste management, agricultural policies, air pollution control, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions control and about 20 other measures, with an elevated emphasis in this latest study on climate change practices and policies, noted Daniel Esty, director of the Yale Center and the report’s lead author. Scoring 81.0 points on the scale, the United States is “slipping” in its position compared with other nations, said Esty, largely due to its low scores on three different measures of GHG emissions management. The top ten countries in terms of environmental performance, all with scores of 87 or better, were the following: Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Austria, France, Latvia, Costa Rica, Colombia and New Zealand. The ranking, conducted by researchers at Yale and Columbia University, is the fourth in a series of national environmental performance evaluations issued since 2002.
No surprise, of course, given the last seven years. The question: how quickly will we be able to turn this around?