ecological protections are downstream of honest governance. america is relatively polluting because it is relatively corrupt. china is ridonkulously polluting because its officials are all getting paid to look the other way and/or murdered if they stand in the way of "economic objectives" that are not contributing long-term to the nation's quality of life. honest governments try to solve problems for people. people who try to solve problems for others are naturally drawn to providing cleaner, safer environments for all manner of conduct.
United States