The Cost of Going Green

I just called PSE, our local energy provider, and switched entirely to green power. Green power comes from sources like wind plants and hydro plants (of which there are plenty in Washington state) rather than coal/oil burning plants.

I made the switch because after watching An Inconvenient Truth and reading comments on this blog and others, it really is up to us to get off our asses and do something about it. This problem isn't going to fix itself, and the only ones we can blame for not taking action are ourselves.

The PSE person explained to me that they can't control exactly where the power comes from on the grid that flows into my house, but that I would be feeding the proper amount of green power into the grid. Of course, if everyone on PSE did this, the entire grid would be green. So I realize that while my power might come from some rootin', tootin,' pollutin' source (and likely will until I install my own solar panels and windmills), someone else somewhere is getting green power.

The total cost of my power bill will go up by all of $16 a month, on average. That's far less than the money we saved by properly insulating our attic this year, and it's a price I'm willing to pay.

So what have you done lately?