The environment is dying a slow death and that is no secret. Through continuous abuse of resources, through incessant burning of fossil fuel and relentless deforestation we are destroying our beloved planet little by little. It is true that some countries have taken positive strides towards achieving a greener world but their efforts have been let down by some others. In the quest of industrial supremacy and power some countries have damaged the environment day in and day out be it voluntarily or involuntarily.
Following is a list of the countries that are definitely harming the planet. They are the ones responsible for leaving the biggest carbon footprint that would be hard to get rid of if they do not change their ways fast.
List of countries harming the planet
- Peru:
This is a small South American country and one would be led to believe that this is hardly a country capable of doing some considerable damage to the environment. But if the statistics are to believed it ranks the tenth in the world in terms of the negative impacts towards the environment. Much of this rank has to do with their status of endangered species which is indeed in poor condition. An unchecked marine resource abuse and lack of proper laws protecting exotic animals have led to this situation that 28 species are endangered in Peru and that does pose a sorry sight. - Australia: This country finds its name among the countries harming the planet because of its unchecked deforestation. In fact since just a mere 10% of the land is protected, a lot of it is left unchecked to allow overuse of resources. When it comes to excessive use of fertilizers, there too this country does come across with a low rank. Habitat conservation is at an all time low and Australia is leaving the biggest carbon footprint due to the reducing greenery by the day.
- Russia:One of the major issues with the country of Russia is their lack of availability of clean and safe drinking water. Over a half of their population is in fact deprived of the proper fresh water supply and much of it is due to rampant water pollution. From hazardous industrial wastes to the dangerous nuclear wastes, the water supply in the country is poor to say the least. They also have a poor air quality to go with this and an exceeding marine capture which eats away at the biodiversity of the region.
- India: This South Asian country has to feed the second largest population and for that the agricultural production boom came at a price. The price to pay was over usage of urea fertilizer which resulted in poor soil quality and harmful crops. Apart from this, water contamination is another issue in the country and together with the Co2 emissions and poor air quality.
- Mexico:When it comes to the diversity of animals present in a country Mexico surpasses all others in the world with the largest number of species in its borders. The reason how Mexico is destroying the environment is by poor protection policy of these species. Neither were they prompt at joining the CITES convention to prevent the illegal trade of exotic animals, nor were they doing good to check the deforestation.
- Japan: Abundant marine capture is mainly the reason why Japan finds itself in the list of countries harming the planet. With an abundance of fish in their diet, the oceans have been over exploited for some species like the tuna and salmon. Even the practice of whaling and killing of dolphins leads to their poor overall rank. Carbon emissions too are a huge problem in Japan largely due to the numerous industries.
- Indonesia:
The rapid loss of forest cover has rendered many species residing in the forests of Indonesia endangered. The country has hardly managed to stop this large scale deforestation and has been destroying the environment in more ways than one. Water pollution too is a major issue that they are battling apart from the overuse of fertilizers much like the case for India. - China: With a great population comes greater responsibilities and China has not done much to boost their name in this regard. The water pollution in this country ranks amongst the highest in the world. They are also bogged down by the issue of overfishing with affects the marine ecosystem of China making it rank among the countries harming the planet. The economic development that they seek often clashes with their environmental goals and causes a great damage to the global environmental health.
- USA:This may be the country at the pinnacle of development and industrialization but this country has its own share of problems when it comes to the environment. It is the highest emitter of carbon due to the incredibly large number of cars and aircraft running throughout the country. The overuse of fertilizer too is a major issue. It has taken several steps to conserve the species but yet it is the 7th in the world in terms of endangered species. We have ranked USA so highly among the countries harming the planet due to the environmental impact the damage from the country has.
- Brazil: Although it has one of the best natural diversities it damages the most too if statistics are to be believed. The country of Brazil ranks among the highest when it comes to abuse of forest resources and several endangered species. The Amazon Rainforest is extremely important for the health of the world’s ecosystem and for this reason the abuse of such a crucial rainforest has to stop at the earliest.
Final words
It is high time that world came together irrespective of their differences and stopped destroying the environment. The world is the only place that we have as residence and it is important that we maintain is as our beloved habitable planet. The least eco friendly nation thus needs to take prompt action and come together with the ones making the efforts to make the world a better place.