Top 5: Cleanest Countries In The World
In the last decades, Earth‘s health and the environment raised more and more question marks, people blaming the “global warming” and shrugging their shoulders when it comes to taking responsibilities and making decisions. Everyone knows about the Kyoto Protocol, which entered into force in 2005, under which most industrialized countries agreed to cut emissions, besides the United States and Australia. The protocol aims to reduce by 5.2% in the level of gas until 2012. The EU promised even 8%, but we are already in 2010 and it looks like things are not going very well.
According to the ranking done by Forbes, the European countries occupied 14 of the top 20 places because the Old Continent has a perfect infrastructure to provide clean drinking water and waste can be used properly. The probability of Europeans suffering from diseases due to water is extremely low.
The Republic of Cuba is a country in northern Central America, located on the largest Antillean Island, which lies at the confluence of the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. To the north are the U.S. and the Bahamas, west of Mexico, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica to the south and to south-eastern, Haiti.
The elongated island of Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean and it is bounded to the north of the Straits of Florida and North Atlantic Ocean, northwest Gulf of Mexico, west of the Yucatan Channel, south of the eastern Caribbean Sea and the Strait Windward. It occupies the entire island of Cuba and other neighboring islands (in total more than 4000) and Isla de la Juventud, known as the Island Pinetree. The exception is Guantanamo Bay, a naval base that was leased by the United States since 1903. On the main island of Isla Grande is the 15th largest in the world after a length of about 1250 km and a width of 35-145 km.
The island’s landscape is diverse. The plains stretch to slightly wavy, steep hills and mountains in the north. The highest peak is Pico Real del Turquino (1974 m). The climate is tropical tamed by regular winds. It is a dry season from November to April and rainy from May to October.
Havana is the largest city and capital of the country. Other major cities are Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey. Among the most notable towns include Baracoa (the first Spanish settlement in Cuba), Trinidad and Bayamo.
Cuba’s economy is one of state property, with a few small private companies. Tourism has become the main source of income, and between 1993 and 2004, the U.S. dollar became the official currency (using a two-economy currencies). Cuban economy was hit hard by the collapse of the Soviet Union and CAER. Among the recent problems include high oil prices, the recession of its main products for export markets, sugar and nickel, the damage caused by hurricanes (Hurricane Charley damage done around one billion dollars) in tourism downturn in the economy and uncertain conditions in the world.