The greenest countries in the world? China, Australia and Canada

by Martha Edwards (Subscribe to Martha Edwards's posts)
Oct 4th 2007 10:45AM

Categories: Fitness

According to this article, China and Australia have been named the greenest countries in the world -- that is, they're the places where citizens are most concerned about environmental issues like global warming. They're also the countries that are most likely to buy 'green' products and services.

This discovery seemed to come as a surprise to researchers, but while I had no idea that the Chinese were so environmentally-friendly, I predicted Australia would take a top spot. When I was there a few months ago, I was surprised at all the steps Australians took to conserve the environment. Plastic bags, for instance, were nearly unheard of -- everyone carries fabric bags when they do their shopping. And throwing leftover food in the trash? No way -- it goes in the compost.

Another surprise? Canadians also ranked highly on the list because 60% of Canadians say they are taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint. But where I live in Western Canada, SUVs and constant littering prevail -- much to my chagrin.

Source

Comments (3)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Bob 10-04-2007 @ 1:36PM

Odd, seems like China is possibly the largest contributor to Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere.
"China's coal fires, which consume an estimated 20 – 200 million tons of coal a year, make up as much as 1 percent of the global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels.[1] "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mine_fire
or
" China A team from the Netherlands studied the environmental effects of underground fires in China, concluding that the fires release up to 360 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, equal to two to three percent of global carbon dioxide releases."
http://www.minesandcommunities.org/Action/press109.htm
also intersting
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/535245/chinas_burning_of_coal_casts_a_global_cloud/index.html?source=r_science

cindy 11-18-2007 @ 12:25PM

It just goes to show how out of touch the Australian government is with the Australian people. They need to take action on the big companies causing big carbon emissions

neil 12-09-2007 @ 11:03PM

that cant be china.
as a chinese myself, i witnessed numerous environmentally hazardous things going on in china everyday. both the government and citizens behave in a very very poor way in term of protecting environment. the government has few acts on restriction of carbon emission and developing renewable energy, and citizens, for even worse, have no consciousness to protect environment, such as using mercury-free batteries, energysaving bulbs and recycling wastes. This is predominant, and only a few, usually highly-educated and with oversea background are aware of protecting environment.
this is sad but true.