Switch to renewable energy is good for economy too

Many people still look at renewable energy as purely environmentally friendly option that can offset greenhouse gas emissions and thus tackle climate change issue, while on the other hand consider renewable energy to have significantly higher costs when compared to fossil fuels.

The brand new study by Dr. Laurie Johnson, chief economist in the Climate and Clean Air Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, argues that switch to renewable energy would not be only good for environment, but would also make lot of sense economically.

The factors that are often ignored when calculating the total costs include pollution generated in the coal-fired power plants, which in United States accounts for 40 percent of the nation's carbon footprint. Burning coal is also responsible for countless pricey consequences, for instance increased rates of heart disease, respiratory illnesses, and premature death, all of which take their toll in total costs equation.

Climate change is said to be a direct consequence of our over-dependence on fossil fuels and Johnson estimates that $100 billion in U.S. tax dollars were spent in 2012 due to extreme weather events caused by climate change.

When taking all these factors into consideration the United States would actually save money by replacing coal power plants with renewable energy, especially on the long run.

The cleaner options like wind, solar, geothermal are therefore not only good for our environment but also for our economy, or in other words burning "cheap coal" used to generate our electricity isn't really that cheap, in fact it's quite expensive.