Richer Canadians Have 1.8 Times the Carbon Emissions of Common Folks

It should be no big surprise that richer Canadians emit more greenhouse gases then low income earners do.   There should also be no doubt that those Hollywood Celebrities that are protesting against the XL Keystone pipeline fall into a similar category.  While this study deals only with Canadian households, one can assume that it is not much different in the United States.  

A new study says the richest 20 per cent of Canadian households spew almost twice — 1.8 times — the greenhouse-gas emissions of the country's lowest income-earners.
The study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives finds household carbon footprints increase with income and concludes that reduction policies must reflect that inequality.http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/richer-canadians-emit-far-more-greenhouse-gases-2?ocid=tweet

The study which is published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says in order to create effective policies for the reduction of greenhouse gas emission, it is important to know who creates them.

Since 20% of the richest Canadian emit 1.8% more greenhouse gases than those in the lowest income group, the study finds that policy makers must take those facts of inequality into consideration.

The study contains several recommendations and formulas for the reduction and how the equality of reduction should be shared.  The issue is complicated and varies obviously by regions.  While Alberta shows as one of the provinces with most emissions, it obviously is driven by the use of fossil fuels in a harsh winter climate, while British Columbia and Quebec make use of hydroelectric systems as a fuel source. 

The complete study can be read in "Who Occupies the Sky" pdf