The United States is usually regarded as an environmental laggard, with President George W. Bush perceived as being little better than the head of a gang of willful polluters who do everything they can to obstruct global action to protect the environment. Of course, there is some truth in this characterization of America (and quite a lot in that of Bush), but the picture is not uniformly bleak.
一般人认为美国是环保的落后者，布什总统只比那些有意污染者团伙头领好一点。他们竭力阻碍全球保护环境的行动。当然，如此刻画美国不无道理(而对布什的刻画入木三分)，但是情况并非完全如此灰暗。