Going green – meaning doing whatever we can in our lives to become more ecologically minded in the things we buy or use is a major part of our news these days. Equally so is the effects of the recession that we are all living through which makes it interesting to see which of the two actually have more of an effect on our decisions to go green and save money while we’re at it.
Well it turns out that the recession is having more of an effect on the things we buy and use rather than wanting to do better for the environment. This is according to a new survey from The Shelton Group who found that 71% of people considered buying energy efficient products in order to save money versus the 51% who said they do it to protect the environment.
Consumers were looking at taking (or had already taken) a bunch of energy-related decisions that would likely save them some green.
- 44 percent responded they are likely to buy a programmable thermostat; 32 percent already have.
- 43 percent responded they are likely to install insulation in their homes; 26 percent already have.
- 42 percent responded that they are to install a higher-efficiency water heater; 26 percent already have.
On the other hand, decisions that might help only the environment, and not their wallet were much less desireable.
- Installed natural / indigenous / low water landscaping – 13 percent.
- Participate in utility’s green power program – 9 percent.
- Buy carbon offsets for plane trips or for home – 6 percent.
Source: EcoGeek.org
I gotta admit that these kind of results don’t surprise me in the least. Until something hurts an individual’s pocketbook the lifestyle of the rich and famous will always trump treating our world properly.
[picture courtesy of EcoGeek]
