Finance and Economics

One of the central dilemmas of “going green” is that although it means lower costs in the long run—at least on the societal level—on the short-term, individual level, it can be a significant increase in expense, depending on how much one is spending already.

The gains of being more environmentally friendly may not be experienced right away by the individual consumer. Using a professional car wash that reduces its water usage, reclaims it, and treats it, rather than releasing harmful chemicals into the environment the [Page 147]way washing one's car at home does, achieves a definite good. However, the effect on the actor is minimal. The real effect is felt when everyone switches to green professional car washes, and even then some of the good achieved ...