Is "Going Green" Really Worth It?

Turn on the TV, the radio, or just drive to the store and you will be bombarded with "green" this and "green" that. There's green banking, green vehicles, green cleaners, green clothing, green furniture, and even green pet food.

Generally, the appeal of going green falls under two categories:

1. Saving money

2. Saving the earth

Let's start with the first. During the Summer of 2008, when gas prices were at record highs, people began buying green vehicles like they were going out of style. The vehicles weren't anywhere close to being cheap, but they got very good gas mileage, so people bought them hoping to save money on gas. Unforunately, the savings wore off as Winter came and gas prices dropped. People who spent $30,000 on a green car were now saving pennies, not dollars. Add to that the cost of repairing these new cars, and going green suddenly began to cost a lot of green.

Another example is recycling. Most waste mangement companies charge a fee to collect recyclables. On top of that, you have to pay up front just for the privilege. If you choose to take your aluminum cans to a recycling facility to get paid, you will spend more on gas driving to get there than you will collect from selling the aluminum. Unless you have truckloads of aluminum cans. It costs more to recycle. No wonder waste companies charge you to recycle!

The second reason people go green is to help save the planet from pollutants and wear and tear. Wind turbines, solar, and bio-diesel are all touted as the solution to providing green energy. But in reality, the production of these things requires a large amount of mining, deforestation, and pollution. Turbines require plastic, metal, and iron. Bio-diesel can't be formed without toxic chemical reactions. Solar panels are made from plastic and silicon, which must be mined. Even if these materials are all sourced from recyclables, the process of recycling requires a large amount of energy, which in and of itself creates pollution.

Going green might sound good on the surface, but the only green that will really be going anywhere is your money.