Prius Power button

It’s all the rage today. Global warming is at hand. It’s up to everyone to contribute to reduction of carbon in the atmosphere. And so everyone is encouraged to reduce their carbon footprint in just about anything we do. We should buy products with environmentally-friendly packaging. We should recycle products properly after use. We should patronize products that are green. We should go for gadgets that use less power, while operating with less carbon output.

Sometimes, though, I wonder about the cost of being more green in the things we buy, and whether it becomes too much of a burden for us to switch to greener technologies.

Take your car, for instance. Hybrid technologies have been lauded as one of the best approaches to reducing your automotive carbon footprint. Hybrid uses the best of both worlds–electric power for light use, and internal combustion for when you need the extra horsepower. You get excellent mileage, and energy is stored more efficiently. You even get to recharge your battery from the kinetic energy produced by braking.

My fifteen year old subcompact sedan guzzles gas like iced tea in a hot summer day. I do want to reduce my carbon footprint. But I don’t think I can buy a hybrid anytime soon. Not even an upgrade to a newer non-hybrid car, which should be more fuel efficient. I simply cannot afford it at this time.

Or how about your refrigerator? Researchers say fridges today are about twice as more efficient as those sold five years back. Sure, I could probably save on electricity in the long run, but with my tight budget, I couldn’t afford to shell out cash for an upgrade.

Or how about your laundry? Front-load washers are greener, because they consume less electricity, and use less water than top-loading washers. They even require less suds from soap. But your usual front-loading washing machine costs four times the price of a regular top-loader.

How about computers? Processors are becoming cooler and cooler, and use less and less power with every new version. But I simply cannot upgrade every three months.

Simply put, going green comes at a premium. I sometimes wonder how people can be encouraged to go green if it comes at a cost. It’s true that in the long run, a healthy environment is a priceless treasure that we want to preserve. But if our individual pockets cannot afford to be green, then we would rather stick to what we have. Tomorrow morning, I’ll still be driving my fifteen year old gas guzzler. I’d love to upgrade to a Prius, but that would be a far shot.

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