Canada is always used asan example of the largest energy consumer per capita...why? climate?

Question

Canada has one of the, I said "one of" the harshest climates and greatest expanses to traverse so why are we always labeled as the biggest energy user per capita..why do I not feel guilty?

Answer 1

Canada is a large consumer of energy per capita but it's not the largest, it also has one of the highest per capital emissions of greenhouse gases but again, it's not the highest.

Excluding exceptions such as island territories with large military bases, the largest energy consumers and polluters are the oil rich states in the Middle East. After them comes Luxembourg, the United States, Australia then Canada.

As you said, Canada is a large country with a generally harsh climate so energy consumption is going to be pushed up. I don't have figures but if Canada were smaller and had a warmer climate then energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions would fall significantly, maybe (and I'm guessing here) by as much as 20%.

Further, Canada is a developed nation and like all developed nations it has higher than average energy consumption and emissions. All things considered, Canada is probably no better or worse then many other developed nations.

Answer 2

though canada is the largest energy consumer per capita, you have to remember how many people are in canada (32 million). by that same reasoning, china and india are probably the lowers energy consumers because they have so many ppl.

to get an accurate estimate, look at the total consumption by a country. that'll put the US in the top spot (followed by china and india). then think that the US could be doing a lot more to reduce emissions released into the atmosphere...

u don't need to feel guilty to be pushed to make a difference... "we don't inheret the planet from our parents, we are merely borrowing it from our children" -old native american proverb

Answer 3

Absolutely right. They do always claim Canada uses more energy. It must be climate and the large temp changes in climate. I agree totally with you!