Germany

Germany is one of Europe's most densely populated countries, with over 230 inhabitants per square kilometer. It also has a prosperous and technologically powerful economy, the fifth largest in the world. Despite its density and strong economy, both factors often compounding environmental [Page 762]problems, it ranks within the top 25 percent of countries categorized in the 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI). This index, developed by the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and the Center for International Earth Science Information Network at Columbia University, looks at the ability of nations to protect the environment in the upcoming decades. The higher ESI score a country receives, “the better positioned it is to maintain favorable environmental conditions into the future,” according to Daniel Esty. Within the ...