When it Comes to the Economy: Green is Good

Sorry, Michael Douglas. You were close, but no cigar. It’s not greed that’s good, it’s GREEN — as in, the green movement that’s so all-the-rage these days. Why are so many college papers working the environmentalism beat lately? Not entirely sure, perhaps they’re just simply the ones most committed to making a change. Regardless, it’s University of Maryland’s The Retriever Weekly that brings us today’s scoop, regarding just how beneficial it might be in the long run to go green: not just ecologically, but economically as well.

Though we’re in the middle of two wars, an economic crisis, and an historic election, the current ideology of going green is still important. While some consider it a waste of time, resources and energy, it is clear that they have yet to acknowledge the facts.

But how? It’s an important question, especially with the impending elections hinging so much on our economic problems, to ask how they might intertwine with our environmental issues.

Contributing to the green movement isn’t even the most difficult task. The first step to helping the environment is to recycle. Recycling is neither time consuming nor expensive (it’s actually free). Curb-side recycling is becoming more pervasive throughout the United States, and it’s fairly clear why. Studies find that in the majority of cases recycling is the most efficient way to dispose of residential waste. Beyond the costs, one has to consider air pollution avoided from processes like incineration, reduced hazardous waste, and the need for less space with landfills.

An excellent point, but there must be more. Not enough people care about invisible costs, they care about how things affect The Common Man. How about jobs?

Green technology industry could also create a monumental opportunity for the United States and other countries. Each year the number of startups spun off from universities grows drastically. New techniques to augment the efficiency of solar panels, wind turbines, geothermal energy collection, etc. are creating a whole new field for economic growth. The easiest comparison is to the computer industry boom starting in the 1980s and continuing today in new internet startups.

Absolutely! This hits the nail on the head. New energy means new industry. New industry means new jobs. And new jobs are always, always good for the common man. I recommend reading the whole article, it isn’t too long and makes several good points. Just another win for sustainable and renewable energy and another case made and closed for going green. Keep up the good work, college papers!

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008 at 10:58 am and is filed under The Daily. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.