Unless you have been hiding under a rock you have noticed the recent trend in our culture to go green to save the economy. But the truth of this push is not only that it can save our resources for future generations but it can also give you a little financial incentive to contribute. Going green has many positive things to offer, including resuable and sellable energy as well as cash incentives for recycling.
Energy Economics-relates to the supply and use of energy in societies. There are several different ways that renewable energy can be used to help the economy. Environemental economics deals chiefly with market failure which simply means that the market is not uses its resources effectively. It is the simple concept of supply and demand. Especially in our society, energy is in constant demand, so why not get in the supply business??
1. RECYCLE! Although recycling may sound like a pain in the neck and a waste of time, but it will keep the landfills from piling up and will allow us to use our resources more efficiently. Not only is recycling easy to do if you will get in the habit of doing it, but many recycling centers will pay for your aluminum cans. While the price of aluminum has gone down considerably in recent years, why not get money back for drinking a Coke and recycling the can?
2. Windmills. While windmills are a costly investment, they more than pay for themselves over time. If your windmill creates enough energy, many cities will buy your excess energy from you.
3. Solar panels. Another costly investment, solar panels are upwards of $10,000 but, like windmills, they more than pay for themselves. As with windmills, many cities or states will purchase excess energy, providing you with a little more of a cussion in your pocket.
4. Biofuels are the new trend. Every major car company in the world is coming out with a new hybrid model that gets more gasoline mileage than ever before. However, why not start making cars standard that can run on biofuel, which is a renewable resource, unlike oil. According to the National Center for Environmental Economics, biofuels may reduce some pollutant emisssions like carbon dioxide, and the carbon emitted by biofuel is offset by the uptake of carbon by the feedstock used to create this renewable fuel.
Being environmentally conscious is not always easy, but it can pay off by helping the environment and the economy. Energy economics and environmental economics provide ways for you to get money back, and who couldn't use some extra cash every now and then?
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