Archive for the ‘Musings’


Perspective


Too often we get too wrapped up in money and things. The creation of this blog and others like it indicate that. Do not get me wrong, money makes the world go around, money is the root of all evil, how many couples divorce or split up over money, etc? I am not trying to minimize the importance of wise money management.

But often times events around us make money seem so insignificant.
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Frugality and the Environment

Many people take good living and environmental sensitivity as being in opposition to each other. However, are they? My opinion is they are not.

The connection between frugality and environmentalism is strong. For what it is worth (FWIW) I detest eco-freakos, I think they are budding totalitarians and do their supposed cause more harm than good, but I leave that aside.

Being kind to the environment should be a frugal choice not extravagant. In the end, if the choice seems extravagant then it is probably not environment friendly. Do not invest in technologies just because they are environmentally friendly, helping the environment must be frugal or it will not catch on.

The cost of products is made up of many factors. Many of those factors eventually capture the cost in terms of damage to the environment. The more an item costs typically the more of a given resource or resources must be utilized in the item’s production.

Now, there are many technologies out there that are pitched as an investment in the environment. They are pitched that way because they are more expensive. However, do a serious analysis before spending the extra money and I would bet (again, bet is being used rhetorically as gambling is not frugal) you will find the expense does not pay off soon enough. Do not feel guilty for not investing and doing your all for the earth. When the technology is sufficiently developed then it will be truly earth friendly.

There are a number of reasons for this. The technology is not sufficiently understood and the engineering & technical expertise is rare and not well understood which often leads to over-engineering or engineering cheaply. In any event the resources thrown at the project (in total) are going to be ill utilized.

Now, if you can afford it, go for it. Being a first/early adopter is not frugal, but still important. It is on your back the reasearch and learning is done.