Living on earth may be expensive, but it does include an annual free trip around the sun

Actually, green isn’t expensive. Which is why the guys at The Good Human (great name) have come up with ten ways to convince a non-green that going green, saves money.

1. By installing a low flow shower head, you reduce your water bill.
2. With a programmable thermostat, your electric bill could be cut in half.
3. Next time you need a car, check out some smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles. (Check our Act On CO2 Best On CO2 Car Rankings if you're thinking about buying a car anytime soon)
4. Pick up a faucet water filter for $25 and stop buying bottled water. A one time cost of $25 lasts for about 3 months…how much does bottled water cost?
5. Replace incandescent light bulbs with CFL’s. You can reduce your light bill by 1/3 if you replace every bulb in your house. Plus, they last up to 10 years!
6. Next time you are in the market for furniture, see if you can buy it used. Could save you a ton of money!
7. Baking soda and vinegar can create a cleaning agent for almost anything. Cost? $2.00 or so.
8. Check books out of your local library instead of buying something you will only read once. A book a month adds up to a lot over the course of a lifetime!
9. Buy products in bulk. Saves money, saves waste. Come on, you know your Uncle loves Costco anyway!
10. Encourage the use of manual tools rather than gas powered ones. A main culprit? The lawnmower. A reel mower is cheaper, cleaner, and provides free exercise.

There’s a lot of debate about whether fuel economy messages are right for green. Like any innovation, green innovations need to have a genuine utility and use that exist beyond ‘green’.

The big Q is “what extent is the new product better than the one it is replacing?” The more better, the better. Which is why within a hierarchy of messages (I’m not suggesting that fuel economy should be higher up than green), it’s important to think about the other relative advantages of green innovations.