To start off, imagine if your utility bill included a line item for all of the damages caused by the air pollution released while generating your electricity. Since the vast majority of Virginia's electricity comes from fossil fuels, that could add up. What if you had to pay directly for the effects of the soot, smog, mercury and other toxic pollution that was created to allow you to flip on your light switch?

The National Academy of Sciences estimated just such a number in a congressionally requested report called "Hidden Costs of Energy" that was released last year. Using a sophisticated algorithm, researchers estimated the damages caused by burning fossil fuels in the U.S. We pulled out their estimates for just some of the coal-fired power plants in Virginia.

The numbers are astonishing — total damages of $1.68 billion dollars per year from burning coal in Virginia. That's $573 for every household in the commonwealth each year. Yes, $47 per utility bill.

What kind of damages does this include? The NAS examined the cost of a whole range of problems caused by air pollution from burning coal, oil and natural gas — from effects on crop yields to damages to building materials. But what hurts the most for many of us is the "premature mortality and morbidity," as they put it, or early death and disease.

For example, air pollution contributes to the development of chronic bronchitis and asthma. Did you know that Richmond is the asthma capital of the U.S.? According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, it's the most challenging place to live with asthma in America.

But let's move on to another way that Virginians' wallets are feeling the effects of burning fossil fuels. There are also the costs of dealing with the impacts of climate change, which is caused by the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released by power plants and other burning of fossil fuels. Scientists agree that a warming Atlantic Ocean is causing extreme weather events like Irene to become more severe. Estimates for damage to property and crops in Virginia from that storm top $100 million.

Even big, established companies have taken note of this trend. Many major commercial insurance companies are no longer covering coastal areas of Virginia. Allstate won't write new property insurance policies for most of the localities in Hampton Roads, and Nationwide won't insure new property within a mile of the coastline.

Plus, we can't forget that climate change is causing the sea level to rise rapidly. Norfolk has experienced a rise of 14.5 inches since 1930, the highest on the East Coast. This means that residents are dealing with the effects of more frequent coastal flooding and localities are spending millions in tax dollars to make adjustments to neighborhoods near the ocean, such as raising street levels and redirecting storm drains. Some homeowners have even gotten FEMA funds to raise their houses — a project that can cost taxpayers more than $100,000 per house.

So you get the point — burning fossil fuels costs us a lot more than the figure we see on our monthly bill. But we can't forget that renewable energy could actually be making a lot more money for Virginia's economy than fossil fuels are. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts found that the clean energy sector creates three times as many jobs per million dollars invested as the fossil fuel industry.

Installing wind turbines a dozen miles off the coast would allow us to take advantage of our vast offshore wind resource to generate electricity without releasing any toxic pollution or greenhouse gases. Plus, Virginia has a lot to gain from positioning itself at the heart of this new American industry. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership, a state agency, has estimated that an offshore wind industry in the commonwealth could generate $19 billion in state GDP over its first 10 years. It would also help to put Virginians back to work, creating around 10,000 jobs in the commonwealth.

The potential benefits of building wind farms off our coast and the total cost of burning fossil fuels are simply too high to ignore. Thought leaders like your columnist Hinkle must be responsible and look at the total costs and benefits of energy types before commenting on Virginia's energy future.

Beth Kemler is the Virginia state director, Chesapeake Climate Action Network; contact her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Glen Besa is director of the Sierra Club, Virginia chapter; contact him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .