It's not easy being green

April 22 was Earth Day. I'm sure many of you participated in Earth-conscious activities in the warm afternoon. Then you took time out from preparing for finals to help preserve Mother Earth. And then you planted a tree or cleaned up the dirty sidewalk in front of your dorm. At the end of the day, you joined in sing-alongs celebrating all the great things our planet has given us. \nI'd be surprised if IU students even remembered this forgotten holiday. Despite being the day that we celebrate the only planet we've got, few students took notice. It's our home, so why do so many people not care about it?\nWe're all inhabitants of the Earth, and there's nothing wrong with caring for the only planet we have. Many people think Earth Day is an inconvenience, but conservation affects our everyday lives, especially where it counts: by saving us some cash. \nTwo Bloomington groups realized this and made fuel-conscious and economically sound investments for the community.\nOn Friday, Pizza Express introduced Bloomington's first completely electric, zero-emission pizza delivery car. The vehicle, which will serve the campus area, can reach top speeds of 30 mph and can go 30 minutes without recharging. The little "go-cart" will be zipping across Bloomington during the summer. While not publicly acknowledging the rising gas costs in Wednesday's Indiana Daily Student, it is obvious that one of the main reasons Pizza Express bought the electric car was to cut down on the expensiveness of gas. Money not spent on gas will lower Pizza Express' overhead costs. That wise financial move saves the company money and promotes the pizza chain as Earth-friendly.\nRight now, gas prices are $2.11 a gallon. Earlier this month, the price of oil hit an all-time high at $58 a barrel. That price doesn't look like it'll come down soon. In fact, it might continue to go up. There's a definite crunch at the pump for most consumers, so why not go hybrid? Not only will it pollute less, but you'll save some hard-earned green. Pizza Express realized this -- why shouldn't you?\nEnvironmentalists realized it's eco- and econ-friendly to stand against the construction of Interstate 69. If you're upset about rampant government spending in Indiana, then you too have a reason to be upset regarding this issue. The Indiana Department of Transportation chose a plan with a projected cost of $1.7 billion. Renovating Interstate 70 and U.S. Route 41 would cost only $900 million, almost less than half of the original cost. The state is in a budget crisis right now, so doesn't it make strong financial sense to go for the cheaper renovation? Gov. Mitch Daniels wants a balanced budget, so couldn't we use that extra $900 million somewhere else in the state? Plus, the state would save at least 4,070 acres of farmland and 1,140 acres of forest, according to the Indiana Student Public Research Interest Group.\nYou don't have to be an environmentalist to realize being eco-friendly can benefit the state. It helps save consumers money and businesses from high overhead costs. Plus, you'll live longer and better by not inhaling exhaust every waking minute of the day.\nOne of the stereotypes about environmentalism is that only hippies or radicals give a damn about all this organic Earth stuff. However, conservationism can be a good idea for everyone. The Earth belongs to everyone, so it's beneficial to all of us to keep it around. And the icing on the cake is that businesses and governments can save themselves some money. \nWe only have one environment, and we'd better make sure it's still here for future generations. Plus, we'll have some extra cash to give to them.