A survey conducted by National Geographic magazine and polling agency Globalscan have revealed Indians and Brazilians to be the most environment friendly and Americans to the most polluting in the world. India and Brazil have been awarded 60 green index points. They were followed by China (56.1), Mexico (54.3), Hungary (53.2) and Russia (52.4). Americans had the lowest score of 44.9 points. The United Kingdom finished mid-table with a score of 50.2. Over 1,000 people from each of the 14 high-polluting nations were surveyed.

The survey also showed that poorer people in developing countries care more about the environment than others in more prosperous nations. The more prosperous consumers, it, was found, led the least sustainable lifestyles, consumed more food, had more cars and lived in bigger houses.

The survey rated Indian eating habits as the best, with 84% of those surveyed eating local vegetables at least once a week. Indians were credited with not wasting much food and were good at recycling. Another reason for the Indian green index to be high is the low per capita consumption of energy at 0.7 kilowatt and large scale recycling. India and China are also credited with using high amounts of solar energy.
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