Something changed in my “green” journey recently, and the economic downturn has a lot to do with it. With friends losing jobs, the cost of being green is now a bigger part of the equation, and I think about expenses before taking an action or buying a green product. I want to be green, but I also watch my pocketbook. I can talk about the importance of organic fruits or green cosmetics, but I cannot blame someone for going the less expensive route in today’s economy. Companies need to adjust as well. They must innovate for a cleaner world AND worry about the bottom line.

Currently, I am in Florida, visiting my mother. Air travel is such an unpleasant experience nowadays, with the airlines “nickel and diming” each passenger. To a certain point, passengers understand these difficult times in the airline business. We bite our tongues and accept the added fees for the first bags, second bags, headphones, seat selection (!) and talking to a real person on the phone when making a reservation, but one airline has taken the next step, charging a $4.90 passenger usage fee each way on tickets bought online. Now, those who want to save an additional ten dollars a flight will need to drive to the airport and make their reservations in person. While the assumption is that passengers will be too lazy to actually do this, insuring that the company will make an extra ten bucks, many passengers WILL make this trip to the airport, especially in today’s economy. If a family is traveling together, why not save $40? This is a terrible corporate decision. In order to gouge their customers in a new and clever way, this airline is pushing those who are the most needy to get in their cars, waste gas, add to the traffic, and pollute the earth — just so they save money off their airplane tickets? And who can blame them wanting to save this money?

I can sympathize with the airlines as well, but I would rather they just raise their overall prices, then manipulating their passengers with tricks that just ends up hurting the environment.