Too Cheap for Our Own Good

November 30th, 2011 by Zachary Shahan

I’ve been meaning to write this piece for a while — now seems to be the time. It’s more about American culture, or perhaps human nature, than anything else. It is most certainly an issue everywhere, but I don’t think there’s a country on earth where it’s a bigger problem than in the U.S.

For some reason, we seem to be obsessed with thinking about the prices of things before almost everything else. Not in all situations — humongous iPad sales show that cool is still a big factor in some cases as well. Paying $10,000 more a year for a car when you could bike or use transit instead is another example of an exception to the rule. But, generally speaking, when we consider something, we focus on price first. You may think this makes sense, but in many situations, I think it’s clear that it doesn’t.

First of all, price IS NOT cost. For example, the price of solar may be higher than the price of coal today (note: for some, it may actually be cheaper already — look into it), but the cost of solar is lower for most or all of us. Why? Because the price of coal does not include the billions or trillions in health costs attributed to coal. It does not include other environmental costs. It does not include the cost of suffering from coal-related cancers. It does not include the cost of suffering from climate-change-related disasters. It does not include the rising cost of food from climate-change-related ‘natural’ disasters.

The same goes for electric vehicles over gas-powered vehicles now.

The same goes for the cost of healthy versus unhealthy food.

But, we choose to be polluted. We choose to get cancers. We choose to have less national security and sacrifice the lives of our fellow citizens rather than change our transportation options.

Basically, we seem to be too bad at examining costs (and our government doesn’t do enough to adequately adjust the price of products to internalize health, national security, environmental, and other costs) for our own good.

Just putting it on the individual today, though, it’s our own responsibility to do a little research and choose a better life for ourselves — one with less suffering and disease, and one with more quantifiable and unquantifiable net benefits.

Aside from putting a cost on things like clean air, clean water, and a healthy body, it also makes sense to acknowledge that some such things cannot truly have a price tag — they are necessities for a “good” life. They are a base need. How can we say it makes more sense to burn coal today since it’s slightly cheaper, while people suffer and die every day from the horrible effects of coal mining and the burning of coal?

And one more thing: we often make a big deal of price without thinking about where that extra money we’re paying goes. Does it go towards creating more jobs, rather than sending more money into a highly automated industry in which the rich are getting richer? Does it go towards local, small-scale businesses versus giant multi-nationals, industrial farms, or hostile countries where the citizens and leaders hate you? Spending money isn’t only about you, it’s also about who or what you support….

I know some readers (and commenters) sometimes get frustrated when we focus on the price of solar or wind versus coal or nuclear sometimes. I certainly get a little frustrated having to write in those terms sometimes, and appreciate the reminders to look beyond price. But I think the truth of the matter is, we’ve got two issues to tackle — 1) we need to try to get people to see and incorporate more of the costs of dirty energy more often, since that already makes renewable energy a better option (and since people do think in money terms so much), and 2) we need to promote the idea that everything isn’t about money, since we have basic necessities and even desires that trump a small difference in the price of one option over another.

These are things I think I do every day, but once in a while it’s good to spell that out rather than imply it or stick a few lines into a story about another topic.

Take home point: don’t be too cheap for your own good.

Image via SS&SS

Keep up to date with all the hottest cleantech news by subscribing to our (free) cleantech newsletter, or keep an eye on sector-specific news by getting our (also free) solar energy newsletter, electric vehicle newsletter, or wind energy newsletter.

Tags: renewable energy costs, renewable energy price, Solar Costs, Solar Power Costs, solar power price, solar price

About the Author

Zachary Shahan spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as the director/chief editor. Otherwise, he's probably enthusiastically fulfilling his duties as the director/editor of Solar Love, EV Obsession, Planetsave, or Bikocity. Zach is recognized globally as a solar energy, electric car, and wind energy expert. If you would like him to speak at a related conference or event, connect with him via social media. You can connect with Zach on any popular social networking site you like. Links to all of his main social media profiles are on ZacharyShahan.com.

Pingback: Biofuels 14-31 Times More Costly than Raising Gas Tax, Study Finds | evolve+sustain | news on global & societal sustainability
Pingback: Biofuels 14-31 Times More Costly than Raising Gas Tax, Study Finds
Ed

Dear Zach, I know you are a youg educated nice guy but your socialistic, have the government run everything is not the answer, A successful (History has proven that Capitolism has provided the greatest success for the masses) program would use positive incentives to get people to things that are better for them and everybody else. An example would be the two grocery stores in my neighborhood. One charges extra if we us plastic bags. The other gives a discount if we bring our resuable bags. See what i mean.

You are a smart guy.

Help find incentives that will make it logical to do the the best things
- Anonymous
  
  Hmm, I’m not sure what you’re talking about here. This piece is specifically about individuals, has nothing to do with government’s role.
  
  I certainly don’t think the govt should run everything, but i certainly don’t think corporations should be free to pollute and harm the public either.
  
  There are many, many “carrot” policies I like and support. But, again, that’s not the point of this article at all — this article is about the individual, how he/she thinks (or doesn’t think) about cost of products and services.
BlueRock

Excellent commentary. Thanks, Zach.

> …we need to promote the idea that everything isn’t about money…

I think lots of people get this, and seemingly more of us are waking up to it – witness the widespread support for Occupy [wherever].

Unfortunately, there is a certain political demographic that seems to be completely unreachable, unmoved by facts and science – and they have the billionaires goading them on.

So, we keep plugging away, communicating the truth. It always wins eventually.

P.S. Check out http://www.earthtechling.com/2011/11/the-failed-chevy-volt-that-just-wont-go-away/#comment-376641938
- Anonymous
  
  Thanks!
  
  & WTF??! Can’t believe ET is going that route. Ironically, i unsubscribed a week or so ago, bcs there’s just too much old stuff on there that I have to go through twice. But maybe i sensed this coming.. jk, but WTF?
  - BlueRock
    
    Exactly. WTF?!
    
    If you’ve not seen it, they’ve responded to the criticism with “we are trying to bring all voices to the table”. The same false balance BS that has plagued climate science communication. B’ bye ET.
    
    No great loss – I’d started to think their articles were mostly rehashes of CleanTechnica output.
    - Anonymous
      
      Yeah, I saw that. What a shame! I can never understand that argument when it’s clear one side is lying and clearly wrong. We don’t need to give liars a bigger podium! They already have far too much control.
Anonymous

You hit upon a good subject, we often do have the choice to choose one thing over another. But often times choices are made for us, without any control on our part. How often do politicians make choices for us, at the bequest of lobbiest? Or how about the stuff we use every day in our living? Buyers for the large box stores make the choice of whether to buy from an American manufacturer, or foreign, and often dictate the specs for the products as well.

I am optimistic that our future will give us more choices for a cleaner and more sustainable environment. As I scan through all the science blogs, I see that the choice for clean, will be cheaper than our antiquated fossil fuels, so the choice will be an easy one to make.
- Anonymous
  
  True & True
  
  & I agree..
http://twitter.com/USAlovelist SarahSW

Zachary, you’ve really hit on a topic that baffles, perplexes, and frustrates me, especially in these frenzied post Black Friday/Cyber Monday days. People are struggling, the economy is bumpy, but generally, globally and historically speaking, our standard of living is so high. People are making choices – and as you say, they ARE choices – but they don’t even realize it. While you address the health and environmental choices, I think the most about the business and consumer choices. I have been trying especially hard this season to write about small companies and growing businesses who have made the choice to produce their goods in the United States and provide American jobs wherever they can. I write about shopping, which is admittedly more frivolous than the environment, but it is a place where people make small choices every day without realizing that they really do make a difference in the world, in their communities, even in their own health. I know we all can’t believe in the same things, but I hope we can all believe in something more than saving a buck.

Sarah from htttp://www.usalovelist.com
- Anonymous
  
  Thanks. Yeah, we seem to have a culture of not thinking about where our money goes. Thanks for the note, and keep up the good work!