Project Type
Poster
Publication Date
4-15-2022
Department or Program
Mathematics
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Faculty Mentor #1
Hydorn, Debra
Abstract
I examined the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) report assembled by Yale University to address the need for environmental action. In this report, Yale University ranks countries across the globe on their environmental performance based on various indicators. I was interested in determining if all countries were ranked on a fair scale. Yale University acknowledges that each country varies in their economic resources measured by GDP but did not adjust for that in their scoring. I utilized factor analysis and cluster analysis to first analyze patterns and groupings that appeared the countries. I then standardized the original rankings with respect to region and then by Gross National Income (GNI). The new rankings revealed that some countries performed better than in the original report when considering their regional or GNI grouping. Since environmental decline is such a big issue in our global community, it only seems fair to give countries the opportunity to demonstrate that they are making efforts while accounting for each country’s current environmental or economic situation.