poor; the average wealth of the well off is even greater. Our expectation is that when more research is done and all the spheres of discretionary consumption of the well off are taken into account, the energy gap will begin to approximate the income gap, and the very rich will tower over all with their private yachts, executive jets, and multiple homes and cars.

This study takes a first step. It compares the consumption of fuels people buy themselves (their primary energy consumption) with their current income. The consumption figures are based on utility bills and the incomes from information supplied by the household. This approach avoids complex measurement problems, and at the same time provides necessary detail from a rich source of basic data. The results show that the more income a household has, the