Have you ever wished the whole world would just buy hybrid cars and be done with this global warming thing? It turns out that the price premium for hybrids also includes an enormous opportunity cost in regards to cutting emissions – far more effective alternatives exist that would also provide a much more enticing financial case as well.
The March 10, 2008 edition of BusinessWeek included this clever graph depicting the range of emissions-cutting activities spanning the financial range from money-saving initiatives like updating residential lighting systems to money-chugging activities like hybridizing automobiles. While the magnitude of the bars indicates the net cost (or savings) of each initiative, the width suggests the relative quantity of greenhouse gases each activity could conserve.
This relative analysis points out, among other things, that improving automobile fuel economy standards is a much more cost-effective and emissions-effective means of reducing greenhouse gases than car hybridization. This data should be an essential reference for any company’s corporate social responsibility plan, and person’s own reference for greener living, and any government’s pursuit of effective business and environmental policy.
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