14 DAY TRIAL // The current global financial crisis seems to be affecting the way “green” Americans conduct their everyday lives, in that people who would otherwise invest in cleaner cars and more efficient technologies now find themselves caught up in mortgages and loan payments and simply cannot afford to shrink their carbon footprint. Sales of companies producing green tech and vehicles collapsed, because these products are more expensive than their traditional counterparts, which are also struggling to cope with the crisis.
With gas prices now at an average of $2 per gallon, investing in hybrid cars is becoming less and less of an attractive prospect for people looking to change their automobiles and, as such, car manufacturers resorted to leasing large parcels of land, simply to have a place where to store their cars until the crisis passes. And with hybrid cars carrying a $3,000 to $5,000 larger premium than all-gas ones, it's highly unlikely that sales will recover any time soon.
Nation-wide, sales in this class dropped by 53 percent in November alone, far more than the industry average of 37 percent. Last summer, when gas prices reached $4 per gallon, fuel-saving vehicles were very sought for, and producers such as Toyota delivered many cars to the US markets. But now, all these cars are in stock, and no one buys them because gas prices are now reasonable and people don't feel the need to invest in such a car anymore, although the extra expenses will probably be recovered in a matter of months.
Alan Finkel, who is the chief executive of Green Life Guru, a company that provides homeowners with solutions on how to reduce their property's energy usage, says that "It's easy to say, 'I care about the environment, I want to do good for planet Earth.' But when they actually have to write a check and spend money, they need to really be shown some kind of payback." This industry has also been heavily affected by the financial downturn, with sales decreasing constantly, and the specter of bankruptcy looming.
In “green” stores across the country, customer flows have diminished to the point where some days are completely without visitors. Business owners say that the prospect of having to endure several more months, or even a year of recession, is simply frightening, and that they most likely won't last until 2010.