America dinged in eco-ranking

The United States is faring worse and worse in the environmental realm, according to a recently released international ranking.

Compiled by the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, the report places America 39th among a total of 149 countries on the list, and dead last among the “Group of 8” industrialized nations. The ranking is based upon 20 measures, such as sanitation, greenhouse-gas emissions, air pollution and agricultural policies, reported The New York Times.

Countries in the upper tier for environmental performance included several European nations, with Switzerland taking the top spot. The report’s lead author told the Times he attributed the United States’ poor ranking to its levels of greenhouse-gas emissions and smog.