Economically Green

Want to encourage Americans to go green? How about starting by making Green economically viable?

Some consumers are willing to pay the price for having the stamp of being Green, either financially or by sacrificing their comfort. However, if we were to expect a major cultural shift, Green would have to be economically feasible. In one area, we are always blamed for being a high turnover consumer nation. That means we tend to throw away good stuff just to be able to get a new replacement. In reality, we are usually forced to replace somewhat good stuff because it costs more to fix than to get a new one.

Last week, our 3-year old washer was not spinning well. Clothes were left soaking wet after a cycle. We called GE repair and they required $75 just for the trip. OK, we paid that. The guy showed up and in less than five minutes, he was able to figure out the problem and unclog a small sensor pipe. That was it! And he charged us $250 which is 50% of the original price of the washer! Mind you that had we purchased an insurance, GE would have charged the insurance less than $100. Other things that might end up being replaced instead of fixed include our cracked glass oven top (repair cost = $700, brand new = $600).

Outside the fact that consumers are being ripped off in a similar way to individuals with no healthcare plans, why couldn’t we enforce insurance prices on the non-insured? So how about subsidizing or enforcing rules to help fix appliances instead of replacing them, thus becoming green?