From buying stuff to eating meat to wasting water,there is growing evidence that countries with a bigger gap between rich and poor do more harm to the planet and its climate, writes Danny Dorling
That equality matters in terms of health and happiness has been clear for some years. But it is also better for the environment. The evidence (which is still emerging) suggests the most unequal affluent countries contribute more to climate change via pollution than their more equal counterparts.A large section of their people may suffer more, and too. A modern report predicts the United States will see its levels of economic inequality increase due to the uneven geographical effects of climate change – resulting in “the largest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich in the country’s history”,according the study’s lead author.
In economically unequal countries, the pressure to buy items and keep up with your peers is immense Related: Humans are most atrocious when we live under the weight of considerable inequalities | Danny Dorling It's not that people wash more often in more inequitable countries: the Japanese buy the most soap worldwideBehind all of these factors lies the basic inequity in how human beings are ranked by their pay Related: The Inequality Project: the Guardian's in-depth gaze at our unequal world Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com