We're Number Two

China Will Pass US As Top Polluter:

China will pass the United States as the world's biggest source of greenhouse gasses this year, an official with the International Energy Agency was quoted as saying.

China had been forecast to surpass the U.S. in 2010, but its sizzling economic growth has pushed the date forward, the IEA's chief economist, Fatih Birol, was quoted as saying in an interview appearing in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal newspaper. . . . China is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol on reducing greenhouse gasses, but is exempt from its restrictions because it is a developing country.

This is a position I'm glad to lose. While I am highly skeptical of much of the research and rhetoric about global warming, I do believe it is important to take care of the environment. However, if you want to impact the world for good, there are probably better bangs for your buck. (I just added this list to my sidebar.)

Here's an animated graphic that shows the relative pollution of countries around the world.

(HT Instapundit)