Costa Rica and other green countries for Earth Day

On Earth Day, one of my students asked me which country was doing the best on renewable energy.  I answered Costa Rica, based on its using only renewable energy for electricity during the first 75 days of 2015, as Accuweather reported on Earth Day.

For the first 75 days of 2015, Costa Rica's 2.8 million citizens not only powered their homes and businesses with solely renewable energy sources, but cut costs as well.

As part of a nationwide clean energy campaign, Costa Rica challenged itself to run the entire country by using natural energy sources such as water, sunlight and wind.

Backed by the country's inhabitants, government agencies only stopped when resources diminished to the point that it was hurting the economy. Without any domestic oil or natural gas sources, importing such fuel supplies is costly, but necessary at the present time to keep up with import and export demands.

ODN has more in Costa Rica goes 75 days powering itself using only renewable energy.

Costa Rica manages to achieve a clean energy milestone by using only renewable energy for the first 75 days of the year - a record for any country. Report by Claire Lomas.

The student was impressed.  Of course, Costa Rica was still burning lots of gasoline and diesel in its cars, trucks, planes, and motorcycles, but at least it was completely renewable when it came to electricity.

Even so, Costa Rica may not have been the best answer, as Discovery News reported in Which Countries Are The Most Eco-Friendly?

As the world moves to become more environmentally friendly, some countries outshine others. Which country is the most eco-friendly?

In terms of renewable energy now, the answer may still be Costa Rica, but other countries, notably Switzerland and Sweden, may be better for the environment overall.  In addition, the image from EcoWatch at the top of the entry shows Norway ahead of Costa Rica as well.  Maybe I should follow up with that student about this information.