by

While I certainly can’t speak for everyone, it certainly seems to me that the call to go green, especially with regards to oil, gasoline, driving less, and more fuel efficient vehicles, has sort of been muted as of late.Â I also think the explanation why is obvious.

I have long subscribed to the theory that if you want people to pay attention, take action, and make changes, you’ve got to hit them where it counts: in their wallet.Â This is why I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the cries for becoming more environmentally friendly grew louder as gasoline prices climbed higher.

On the flip side, I think this is also why many of us seem to not be as concerned about the environment — or at least trying to make immediate changes — as we once were.Â After all, the price of gas has fallen about 50% from it’s peak.

But, one opinion does not a fact make, so I thought I’d pose the following question to my Daily Fuel Economy Tip readers: Are you less concerned about environmental issues now that gas prices have fallen over 50 percent?

As expected, this was kind of a hot button question, and nearly 500 people ended up responding.Â Here’s how the responses broke down:

43% – No, I still care just as much.

19% – Yes, but I still care, just not as much.

18% – Yes, I’m far less concerned

15% – No, I was never concerned

5% – Unsure

According to this poll, nearly 40% of people are less worried about environmental issues than they used to be, simply because the price of gasoline has gone from $4 a gallon to $2 a gallon!

It’s not as if $4 gas is more harmful to the environment than $2 gas, so it seems to me that for many of us, the push to go green had far more to do with economics than it had to do with the environment.

I know that we’re in tough economic times and that for most of us our self preservation instincts are kicking in, so we’re much more concerned with the here and now (economic crisis) than what may or may not go on in the future (environmental crisis).

That being said, maybe it should be the other way around.Â Even if the economy completely tanks, we’ll still survive.Â But, if the environment tanks, that’s another story.

After all, it’s going to take more than government bail outs to save the environment.