NZ 7th in environmental index

[MotherBear]

NZ seventh in environmental index, Australia 46th
9:12AM Thursday January 24, 2008

SWITZERLAND - New Zealand ranks seventh in an environmental performance index released ahead of the World Economic Forum, an annual talkfest that attracts the most influential people in the world.

Switzerland scored top marks among 149 countries measured in six environmental areas including air pollution, water quality and how they control industrial pollution, according to the 2008 Environmental Performance Index.

Sweden came second in the ranking, compiled by environmental experts at Yale University and Columbia University, followed by Norway, Finland and Costa Rica.

The United States, dragged down by poor scores on greenhouse gas emissions and the impact of air pollution on ecosystems, placed 39th, far behind other developed states such as the United Kingdom in 14th and Japan in 21st.

More here .

[MotherBear]

Keep it quiet: We're less than 100 per cent pure
Page 1 of 3 ....... 5:00AM Wednesday February 13, 2008

After initially deleting an entire chapter from a report about the New Zealand environment, a Government ministry has done a U-turn and released the sensitive section.

The chapter details the most intense pressures on the New Zealand environment, and identifies dairying, over-fishing, wasteful consumption and the growth of cities as having the biggest effects on the environment.

The Ministry for the Environment released chapter 13 of the State of the Environment report, saying it wanted transparency over the issue.

Announcing the decision, the ministry's communications manager, Todd Krieble, said the "conclusions chapter" was pulled because a decision was made to let the facts in the report speak for themselves.

More here .

[selchie]

Yep, the US is certainly an embarrassment, not worthy of our lecturing to China & other developing countries.