CNN notes in a recent article that a newly released study shows that the U.S. (not surprisingly) and Canada (pretty surprisingly) are among the worst polluting countries in the world:

It puts Canada dead last among the 30 countries in nuclear waste and carbon monoxide production, and 29th in per capita water consumption. European countries such as Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark and Germany ranked at the top of the environmental list, while Canada, Belgium and the United States were at the bottom.

Suzuki, a geneticist and one of Canada’s most respected environmentalists, said North Americans take their natural resources for granted while most European countries have dealt with environmental crises for years. . . . “Our research found Canada’s environmental performance to be surprisingly low,” said Gunton. “Canada lags behind in almost every performance indicator.”

“The ability of other high-income countries, such as Sweden, to achieve much lower levels of pollution shows it can be done,” Gunton said in a news release. “There’s no excuse -- all it requires is a strong commitment from government.” The study found Canada has shown no improvement over the last decade. Canada’s rank today is the same as it was in 1992: 28th out of 30.

Wow. Canada has this image, at least among progressives, as being a very liberal and socially conscious country, at least when compared to the U.S. So it is rather surprising to see that when it comes to protecting the environment, Canada is apparently just as inept and ineffective as the U.S.