Going Green

Today is Earth day so I figured I would join in the buzz and write up an article from my perspective about all of this going green hype. I whole heartedly agree with people, companies, and governments focusing on trying to become more ecologically friendly. However, it appears to me that this whole green movement is sometimes a shifting of eco-damage from what we know are bad side effects now to lesser known side effects that may be just as bad long term. Yes, we know burning things is bad, we know burying plastic is bad, we know chemical use it bad, and the list goes on. However, in fixing some of the most well-known issues, we are basically shifting the problem away to another area.

How does everything get made? If a product is a “green” product, is it green because it is eco-friendly after production or is it eco-friendly from the entire process of acquiring the goods to make the product? Highly doubtful considering that the cost impact of a totally green manufacturing process would make the product unaffordable as compared to maybe a 50% green product. If we are going to focus on going green, we have to start from the very building blocks of everything we do. We cannot just transform an end product to be better; we have to be better 100% through the process. Yes, we have to start somewhere and currently, that somewhere is a place where companies can make a profit off of a legitimate concern which affects our planet. They are using the movement to further line their corporate pockets because there is such an outcry to make a difference.

You may be thinking, “You’re just a conspiracy theorist.” No, I’m an economist. Decisions are made about what benefits you in whatever you view as more valuable. Corporations’ most valuable asset is money and profit. Individuals’ most valuable asset could be time or money or something else (usually money or time here). However, with all of the hype brought on by Al Gore’s recent documentary about Global Warming, the public is ripe for the picking about moving towards a system that protects our ecological system. The public will pay premium prices for supposed organic food, green products, hybrid vehicles, etc. Don’t believe it? Go compare some prices. How available are these products beyond mostly focus group stores? How available is the hybrid car even with gas prices nearing $4 a gallon? The corporations and “green” companies are keeping supply short to allow for profit to stay high to gauge just how interested the public is. As we can see, demand and interest is high so prices are going up on some eco-friendly products. Supply Low = Demand High = Price High.

The corporations have us right where they want us. Television programming can’t get enough of the going green movement and we are being inundated with coming products that are green or “greenish.” I do agree in the direction we are going, but the public is being taken advantage of for simply worrying about our planet. Fair? I don’t think so. We should be subsidized for worrying about our planet. Give the public a tax credit for purchasing products that help our environment. Make a no sales tax law on green products. Give a fair incentive for consumers to purchase these products and you will have corporation after corporation clamoring to create supply to fill the increase demands. Eventually the price will go down right? Yes, but is that bad? If what we truly want is a better planet, profit motive should not be a variable. Profit motive destroys the idea of helping people.

Green companies should be fostered by our government. They should be given higher tax breaks, lower payroll taxes, and more lenient foreign trade laws. This would create an influx of people who truly want to help our planet and are capable of running a business. The above “breaks” would allow for them to make their appropriate money without draining it from the end user to meet their living needs and costs. If we are going to make a difference, changing a few percent isn’t going to do it. Not with 6+ Billion people on the planet. We have to do it at the basic level, where everything is manufactured. Governments can make a difference through business and tax law. Let’s see how our public officials utilize this movement as stump points over the coming election years.