Responsible Consumer Behavior

We all need to buy things. Nobody can be entirely self-sufficient. That's okay, though. One basic tenet of economic theory is that specialization leads to the creation of wealth, due to economies of scale. Instead of everyone making their own widgets and sprockets, we're better off having widget makers and sprocket makers. Trade is born.

However, we also have an obligation to buy responsibly. People of goodwill can have disagreements about what it means to buy responsibly. For example, let's say there's a company called BigCorp. BigCorp sells low-priced goods. Some people object because BigCorp drives smaller stores out of business. Other people hail BigCorp as the savior of the community for creating jobs and giving the poor a place where they can afford to shop. Empirical data supports both of the arguments about BigCorp.

Choices involve trade-offs. Very little is black and white; most things are varying shades of gray. Like most things in life, responsible consumer choices need to be subject to a cost-benefit analysis. That analysis will come out differently for different people because each person's costs and benefits will be different. (Costs do not need to be entirely personal. If a person finds a corporation's behavior to be unethical, supporting that corporation may impose an intolerably high cost.)

So, I've come down to my own little dilemma on how to fuel my car. For years, I've purchased my gasoline from Arco. I've done this for two reasons. The first is that it's inexpensive gas and I'm a cheapskate. The second is that Arco is one of the few gas companies (and the only one in the Bay Area) that does not import oil from the Middle East. I'm not too keen on giving my money to people who wish me harm, and plenty of people and governments in the Middle East are unfriendly to America. Unfortunately, Arco is owned by BP. So, now my choices are to finance people who want to do me harm, or finance a company responsible for an enormous environmental disaster that gets bigger by the day.

The benefit is the same to me with either choice. I get to travel to the places I need to go. (Unfortunately, riding my bike or walking won't work for most of my destinations.) I'm not sure which cost is higher.

I've toyed with the idea of biodiesel. I've read about the chemistry involved in its production, and it's no more difficult than soapmaking. However, living in a tiny apartment, I don't have the space to make my own biodiesel. That would leave purchasing it, and commercially purchased biodiesel is considerably more expensive than either gasoline or petrodiesel. Plus, I would have to get a diesel car, which is an added expense. There's also the straight vegetable oil route, which would eliminate the need for processing space. However, it would require a diesel car with some engine modifications, and it's not as high-quality of a fuel. (Most people use waste oil, so it's good for recycling, bad for the car.) There's also the option of a plug-in electric vehicle, but I've rejected that one because the range and speed aren't up to par yet. (They only get 150 or so miles on a charge and can only go 55 mph. Going that slowly on a CA freeway is suicide.)

So, it looks like I'm stuck with a bunch of bad options, and I just have to find the least bad one. I suppose I can liken it to the situation I'm faced with health-wise right now. My adrenals are out of whack, and one of the things I need to do is eliminate my exposure to certain chemicals, most notably fluoride. Since the water supply is fluoridated, that's impossible. So, I do what I can. I drink and cook with purified water, and I brush with fluoride-free toothpaste. There will still be fluoride in foods and beverages prepared by others, but I can reduce my exposure. Same thing with the automotive fuel problem. I can't eliminate my use of gasoline, but I can find ways to mitigate the problem.