That darn energy bill!

I don't know why but I have always feel trepidation when I open my electricity and gas bills. My heart unfailingly stops beating as my eye races to see the money I will have to pay. When I do so I should sit down. Obviously, the momentary loss of blood flow presses me to feel light-headed. With the huge increases in energy charges these days I should probably lie flat and organise a heart specialist on standby. It is getting that bad.

As expected energy costs go up. But what grates me is that my household energy charges seem to be going up more than any other expense. In two quarters my bill has jumped more than 100 dollars, and percentage-wise this increase is much more than groceries and other essentials, which are also sky rocketing. It just seems disproportionate. Something seems awry about the CPI bundle the government is calculating. Seriously.

By the way this isn't a rant about my bill. I am not that unreasonable to expect a free ride when it comes to energy. I am aware of the costs and the benefits that come from usage.

Where I want to draw this post is to the decision I have recently made to portion part of my payments to renewable energy. It may seem meagre but 20% of my bill will now go to the renewable energy sector. Yes, I know this commitment is lean and it looks hypocritical considering my strong views and all.

Unfortunately the other 80% will still end up in the hands of the dirty coal industry.

But, the choice was easy to make, after all I support renewable industries. The difficult part was trying to settle on the amount I could afford to shell out.

I don't know what it is like elsewhere but here in Australia there appears hardly an incentive to switch to green energy. Considering the undeniable truth about fossil fuel's life span I don't understand why our governments are dragging their feet on policy direction. Their greenish rhetoric seldom gets marshalled into substantive action and their support for coal appears undiminished, in fact flourishing. Of course, politically, there are many reasons why governments are reluctant to make big difficult decisions. But they will have to make them sooner hopefully than later. I think people want our governments to be courageous and make the wise decision to do what is more responsible. Let go of coal.

In order for me to choose green energy I have to shoulder a higher premium amount under a 2 year contract. As a conscientious responsible citizen I want to make a substantial contribution even when it means paying for something more than what it costs under coal technology. I wish I could afford more, however, this is not financially possible without greater sacrifice on other necessities.

It is this business of deadlines that worries me, 2012, 2015, 2020, and 2050. For the sake of our children's future our governments have to lead with greater commitment and help us move toward the changes that have no alternative but to be made quick smart.