Underground Journal

Going Green to Save Money

As a climate scientist, I am well aware of the importance of reducing carbon emissions to minimize global warming.  However, I think that the recent focus on saving the planet is a double edged sword.  On one hand, I think that it is great to see a lot of people getting excited about how they can help the environment by going green; for these people, saving the planet is a great motivation for reducing their carbon footprint.  On the other hand, there is an even larger group of people who do not care that much about the environment, particularly if it will inconvenience them or cost them more money.  In addition, there are people who are really tired of environmentalists telling them what to do, and who are turned off by the very concept of going green.

So, how to we reach the majority of people who are not motivated by a desire to save the planet?  I think that the solution is simple: we need to speak to their wallet, which is the strongest source of motivation for most people in our money-driven society.  The case is not hard to make; who would not want to save money by having more efficient cars or appliances, if they can easily see that these savings will more than outweigh the initial price difference?  Of course, not all energy efficiency measures have a good return on investment, and we need to be careful to make this argument only where it will really pay off.  However, I think that there are enough opportunities for saving money through efficiency that we could have a great impact on global warming by educating people about these opportunities, without even saying anything to them about going green or saving the planet.  In addition, because commercial electricity use has a large impact on both carbon emissions and the bottom line for businesses, we can make this case to businesses as well, perhaps with even more success than with individuals.

It will take some creativity to motivate people to do something about global warming, but I think that providing the motivation of saving money is likely to be an important part of this strategy.

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