Greenest countries

Many countries have made great strides toward adopting environmentally friendly practices, be it through government sponsored initiatives or the individual efforts of citizens. In an effort to gauge how eco-friendly countries are, Yale University established the Environmental Protection Index (EPI), which ranks countries from 0 (least eco-friendly) to 100 (most eco-friendly). To arrive at the EPI score, Yale studied sulfur output, carbon emissions, conservation efforts, and water purity, among other things. Based on these findings, here are the most eco-friendly countries.

1. Switzerland, 95.5

2. Sweden, 93.1

3. Norway, 93.1

4. Finland, 91.4

5. Costa Rica, 90.5

6. Austria, 89.4

7. New Zealand, 88.9

8. Latvia, 88.8

9. Colombia, 88.3

10. France, 87.8

Of the 149 countries investigated, the United States ranked 39.