6 replies to this topic

[FamilyTreeClimber]

This is the list of the top ten greenest countries.  Iceland topped the list with a 93.5 rating and Colombia ended the list with a 76.8 rating.

These are the countries:

• Iceland
  
• Switzerland
  
• Costa Rica
  
• Sweden
  
• Norway
  
• Mauritius
  
• France
  
• Austria
  
• Cuba
  
• Colombia

Source: http://green-buzz.ne...nest-countries/ and http://www.expatinfo...riendly-expats/

I think the list refers to 2010 numbers, since each of these websites wrote about it in different years, unless the numbers did not change between 2010 and 2011.

The list was compiled by Yale and Columbia Universities.  They compared the policies of the countries to how well they met their goals, with 25 items being rated.  It appears the ratings may be based on effort as well as results.

Are you surprised by any of the countries on this list?  Are you surprised by any omissions?  I didn't expect the United States to be on the list, but I would have expected Germany to make the list.  It has been a powerhouse in the solar energy industry.

Costa Rica doesn't surprise me at all since they've gone into eco-tourism.  I am surprised to see Cuba on the list, though.

[dissn_it]

I was not surprised that the US is not on the list. Germany not being on the list maybe just a matter of timing. They may make the 2012 list, though. They really should because of their recent efforts in switching from nuclear to solar power. I guess one country that I thought was really good about being green but is not on the list, was Holland. I always think of the large windmills that they have and the way they utilize their water. Perhaps it is only because they have been this way for years!

[still learning]

Probably should look at the 2012 results:
At the place that produces the index  http://epi.yale.edu/epi2012/rankings
Wikipedia too  http://en.wikipedia....rformance_Index
NY Times article http://green.blogs.n...formance-index/

One thing to note is that the number of countries included in the comparison varies from year to year, 132 for latest list, 163 for the previous one.

The US is, of course, pulled down in the rankings because of our climate change policies.

[FamilyTreeClimber]

Thanks for the updated link, Still Learning.  I searched Google a few different ways and could only pull up the lists that I found.

Here is the updated list:

• 1 Switzerland 76.69
  
• 2 Latvia 70.37
  
• 3 Norway 69.92
  
• 4 Luxembourg 69.2
  
• 5 Costa Rica 69.03
  
• 6 France 69
  
• 7 Austria 68.92
  
• 8 Italy 68.9
  
• 9 United Kingdom 68.82
  
• 9 Sweden 68.82

It is interesting to see that Iceland was displaced from the top 10.  Cuba and Mauritius dropped from the list, also.  Switzerland is the new number one country.  I checked the aggregate data.  They score 100 on water and air quality.  They have good numbers on biodiversity and habitat, too.

Dissn_it, Germany comes in at number 11.  I bet you are right that next year it will break the top 10.  The United States doesn't appear until number 49.  I wonder how the list would look if each state was considered separately.

It is interesting to look at the detailed view for each country.  The US scores a 100 for water sanitation, but that drops to 84.2 for drinking water (40th place).  Switzerland, on the other, scores 100 for both.

Interesting stuff!

[Hardison]

Thanks for posting this. It's interesting to see how the list changed in two years. I am actually a bit surprised to see the UK on the list. Also, the countries are small as compared to the US. I think that the size makes it easy to switch to green.

[aspen]

I was surprised by both France,Italy and the UK being on the updated list. I guess it is a bonus if industrialized countries can make a difference. Australia has just introduced a carbon tax. It will be interesting to see what effect this has.

[Phil]

Considering our love of cars, I'm glad to see we are so high.  As wind and solar continue their inroads and nat gas replaces coal we should move up as well.  It will be a while before BEV's make inroads though.