We have made choices that raised our energy costs.  It is very doubtful that most of these choices will lower our CO2 emissions.  For instance, electric cars do not lower CO2 emissions unless you build more renewable energy power plants first.   When four out of the biggest economies in the world are still expanding coal production and building coal power plants, our money is not being well spent.  In fact, we are making the lives of poor people more difficult without accomplishing all we can on going green.   The fastest and most cost-effective way for us to reduce CO2 emissions at this point in time is to build natural gas power plants and shut down coal power plants.  And step two is to build nuclear power plants while we crank up R&D on green technology and begin some serious development of an engineering plan to go green cost-effectively.