Thursday, January 1, 2009

Going Green: Environmental and Economic Benefits?

Advantages of Going Green by Gladys Brown

Surely we have all heard more than a few dire statistics about the environment's poor condition, as well as the Earth's looming future. For example, the EPA states that transportation is the largest source for CO2 emissions, which is the most prevalent of the greenhouse gases. In 2006, transportation was responsible for approximately 29% of the total greenhouse gas emissions from the United States.

Since greenhouse gases lead to global warming, this has become quite a serious situation. The surge of fuel-efficient vehicles in the market is no coincidence. Switching from a gas-guzzling vehicle to a more eco-friendly car is one of the most common ways that people are going green because not only is an energy-efficient vehicle good for the environment, the higher gas mileage is also good for bank accounts nationwide.

Aside from the environmental benefits, going green has also shown to be economically valuable because the eco-friendly industry is an emerging source for employment. In Barack Obama and Joe Biden's economic plan, they aim to create 5 million new green jobs over 10 years with a $150 billion investment. Not to mention, the Department of Energy already provides tax breaks and incentives to businesses which operate in an eco-friendly manner.

Yet another (if not the most important) advantage to going green is the amount of money that can be saved. A common misconception is that going green requires you to buy a lot of new items and completely revitalize your lifestyle by replacing everything you own with an eco-friendly alternative. Although it would be nice if everyone could exchange their inefficient products with eco-friendly alternatives, it would simply be impractical. Half of the joy of going green is the fact that it makes you feel good about yourself for doing what is best for the environment. Nobody is in a good mood after they suddenly find themselves in debt because they have spent tens of thousands of dollars to replace every major appliance in their home.

Going green should not be a hassle. If all you can afford to do is replace your light bulbs or start recycling more often, then doing just that would be tremendously helpful. In other words, living a more earth-friendly lifestyle can help you save plenty of money, but you have to make savvy decisions and keep in mind that the main goal is to improve your quality of life, as well as the quality of the environment.

Gladys Brown is the founder of http://www.go-green-live-long.com which is a website that specializes in the importance of living an eco-friendly lifestyle. The site also provides a wide range of tips and ideas that are intended to smooth the process of going green, as well as inform the reader of the importance of making such changes in order to save the environment, and save money.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gladys_Brown
http://EzineArticles.com/?Advantages-of-Going-Green&id=1821253



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