The Cost of Going Green

Wind Turbines - National Geographic

Due to the ever increasing statistic of global carbon emissions, the rate of warming for the global average surface temperature has been increasing. Since 1880, the Earth’s temperature has risen about 0.08 degrees Celsius every decade, but this number has doubled since 1981 (4). The planet’s surface temperature has been rising even before the Industrial Revolution, but the temperature has been rising at an unnaturally rapid rate since the human race began relying on fossil fuels. While we have advanced the technologies created during the Industrial Revolution, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is still rising due to the increasing population and standard of living. Human activity has caused a major problem to our planet and everything living on it. To combat the problem, major companies, the government, and many consumers are trying to “go green”.

The act of “going green” describes pursuing practices that lead to more environmentally friendly and sustainable results. For example, an individual could consume organic food, purchase clothing from sustainable stores, and use public transportation instead of always driving their car. For companies, using environmentally friendly practices, sourcing their materials from eco-friendly suppliers, and spending on sustainable labor would constitute going green. If the steps for going green are laid out and ready to be followed, why aren’t more people following them? The reason is money. Buying sustainably and following eco-friendly practices are a lot more expensive than conventional products and practices as well as a lot less convenient. Going green takes time, effort, and money that an average person may not have.

While going green is harder for a consumer, the same cannot be said for major corporations. When we look at large companies that are responsible for a large part of global carbon emissions, we see that they earn billions and billions of dollars in profit. Large companies can afford to pay their employees a higher salary and cover the costs of sustainability. While these companies see a lot of their profit go into their bosses pockets, hopefully that will change as many corporations have pledged to adopt more green practices in the coming years. While leaving things up to companies may not produce significant results anytime soon, the US government has also laid down some new legislation to help. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 allocates 369 billion dollars of revenue raised to energy security and climate change. The act outlines different climate conscious practices like reducing carbon emissions by 40% by 2030 and introducing a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicle owners under a certain income limit.

The cost of going green is definitely expensive, but it is a necessary expense if we want to take care of our planet and preserve it for the future.

~ Edited by Rita Dwivedi

References:

1. https://www.democrats.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/inflation_reduction_act_one_page_summary.pdf
2. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/buying-green-is-too-pricey-for-the-average-consumer/
3. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-price-of-going-green-is-rising-for-american-companies-11657032127
4. https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-temperature

This article was originally published at the Teach-Technology Organization, Inc. online technology blog. I volunteer as a tech blog writer at this organization, which is dedicated to bridging the gap between seniors and technology. You can read this article (and many more) at the Teach Technology site.