Photo by futureshape on Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons

Chances are, the green on your mind these past few weeks has nothing to do with chlorophyll. But environmentalism and economics are tightly tied, and so I was curious to find out how the crises would impact the earth. What I found was a relief – experts say that though environmental policy may take a back seat for a while and green firms may feel the squeeze, they don’t forecast long-term destruction.

Environmentalism may be a tougher policy to sell these days, according to Steven Hackett, a professor of economics at Humboldt State University in California. When legislators focus on the economy, environmentalism may drop a few rungs on the priority ladder. “I think that until we get out of the worst of the financial crisis, it will be difficult to pass comprehensive legislation,” says Hackett. “Addressing greenhouse emissions will be challenging until we resolve the worst of this.”

And, as expected, who ends up in the White House will affect how the crisis affects planet policy. Charles Kolstad, author of Environmental Economics, says that though both candidates want to pursue energy policies that reduce the byproducts of energy consumption, McCain and Obama’s differing views on federal budgets mean that the way things unfold will depend on who wins on November 4th.

“McCain has taken some pro-environmental stands in the past, but he wants to continue to reduce tax income, which will make it difficult to pass environmental initiatives,” Kolstad said. “Obama has indicated that wants to increase tax revenues and pursue social and national priorities.” Though both candidates have good ideas about environmentalism and energy, their differences in budgetary approaches could mean the difference between believing and doing.

Green firms (like green tech companies) are going to feel the credit crunch just like the rest, says Northwestern economics professor Lynne Kiesling. “If capital markets are tight for everyone, they’ll be tight for them as well, and they may have difficulty in getting investors,” she says.

As for companies continuing environmentally friendly practices, the experts agree that there’s no reason to expect them to stop – but not out of the goodness of their hearts. Being green may not have been easy for Kermit, but it’s been deemed good business sense by most. “I suspect companies will continue on the green route,” says Kolstad. “It’s viewed as where the future is… there is a lot of intellectual energy behind it.”

Being environmentally friendly may drop to the last thing on our minds when we’re worried about getting a job after graduation or the country heading into a deep recession. But, says Nick Berning, spokesperson for the environmental organization Friends of the Earth, living green makes sense in cash-strapped times. “Living an environmentally friendly lifestyle is usually friendly on the pocketbook,” he says. “As far as global warming goes, the best thing you can do is conserve and be energy efficient, which not only saves the environment but saves money too.”

And, while fuel prices increase as demand increases, the price of clean energy actually decreases as demand goes up. For renewable energy sources like solar panels and wind turbines, as their production increases, the price of each one goes down, and companies can invest in research and development to come up with cheaper and more efficient technology.

Certainly, some of the standard prescriptions for being gentle to the planet do cost money. As we all start to hold on to our wallets a little tighter under such economic uncertainty, we may forgo organic foods today, or a new hybrid car next year. But overall, the experts agree that in the long run we won’t see too much harm done. “I don’t suspect students will change that much,” says Kolstad. “These are deep cultural things… the way we live our lives. Everyone will realize this is cyclical. Times are hard right now, but we’ll get out of it and I don’t think we’ll see long run negative effects.”