Canada is an "environmental laggard," according to a new report
from The Conference Board of Canada. The study ranks Canada 15
out of 17 developed nations on environmental performance, ahead
of only The United States and last place Australia. The bottom
three are also the largest nations surveyed in terms of land
mass and all depend on natural resources for a large part of
their economic output. While Australia may be better known for
its beaches and exotic wildlife, its proximity to lucrative
Asian markets and its abundant natural resources have led to a
recent commodity boom which has had a major impact on the
environment. Canada's situation, replacing Asia with The United
States, is similar. "Our large land mass, cold climate and
resource-intensive economy make us less likely to rank highly on
some indicators of environmental sustainability, but many of our
poor results are based on our inefficient use of our resources,"
said Len Coad, a director at the influential think tank. STORY
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