Is A Bad Economy Good for the Environment?

I’m a pragmatic environmentalist. By that I mean that we should examine environmental issues factually, from all sides, without rancor or hypocrisy. That doesn’t always put me in good standing with “pure” environmentalists. But the problem for the green lobby these days isn’t how they are perceived by the public, it is the chilly economic climate that has frozen the shoots of environmentalism. Espousing the green life is increasingly being seen as a luxury.

Only a year ago, one poll showed that 15% of those polled put the environment in their top three concerns. That figure has dropped by a third to 10%. According to Andrew Cooper, director of the research company, Populus: “There is a direct correlation between how people perceive the economy and the importance they place on the environment. When times are tough people resent paying more to salve their conscience.”

It's not just the economic downturn that has harmed the green order. People are growing wary of environmental causes that can turn out to do more harm than good. They don't want wind turbines marching across the landscape when nuclear power stations can do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They worry that washing and bleaching all those non-disposable diapers may be damaging the ozone layer, and that the massive incentives for biofuels have distorted the world food market.

But paradoxically, we may be becoming greener. People are driving far less due to the price of gasoline. We are buying fewer white goods, buying less impulsively, and thinking carefully before heading out on a trip around town to run errands. Bottled water sales have fallen. Garden centers have reported a rise in the sales of vegetable seeds in the past 12 months. People are saving money by growing their own potatoes and carrots. They are turning off their central heating for a few more months of the year.

It's the downturn that has made greenery look unappetising - but it may yet prove to do more than anything to save the planet.