Would it surprise you to know that the price you pay for fossil fuels could be as little as 20% of their real cost? That's because they're often subsidised by the government. Cynics would say that this is to keep prices low and ensure that business keeps booming for the people who control the resources and, in many ways, history shows they're right.

The best example is the most well-known: oil. The price of the gas you put in your car is kept deliberately low by allowing the oil companies to avoid paying most taxes and by subsidising the supply with the taxes you pay. If the big companies paid their taxes like you and me, our tax rates would be lower, though the price of fuel would increase.

On the face of it, this is a shocking fact, but it makes a lot more sense when you consider that the oil companies are among the most powerful in the world. They wield enormous political influence for obvious reasons: take away the oil supply and you cripple the country. The same goes for all fossil fuel and electricity providers. Because of this power the big corporations wield (no pun intended), governments frequently grant tax breaks, subsidies, research funding and a wide variety of other perks – including direct payments – to them.

But money isn't the only cost of fossil fuels. There's also the environmental impact and all the hidden costs.

Burning any kind of non-renewable resource produces pollution, whether it's excess carbon dioxide that changes the atmosphere or nuclear waste that's so dangerous we simply submerge it in tons of water because we don't know how else to deal with it. The worst culprit is coal, which spews chemicals that cause acid rain, which in turn slowly destroys absolutely everything it falls on, whether man-made or natural.

We're all reasonably aware of the visible impact on the environment but the real danger is the hidden cost of non-renewable energy. Take acid rain, for example: it's a sign that we're damaging the environment but it also affects everything it touches. Have you ever considered how much money and other resources go into repairing that damage every year, all over the world? And how much of that money comes out of your taxes?

Or consider air pollution from car exhaust fumes. Not only is there the cost of all the gasoline production but there's the extra health care, medical drug production and energy used in hospitals and clinics to treat all the people affected by the pollution. You're paying extra taxes and extra insurance to cover yourself for something caused by dependence on fossil fuels.

The higher initial investment in renewable, clean energy pales into insignificance when you consider the overall cost of using non-renewable fuels. Add the fact that relying on any non-renewable resource is, logically speaking, a losing proposition and you have a compelling argument to switch. The return on investment may take longer to realise but the savings in the long run will far outweigh any cost.