Aerosol sprays.

In about 1999, my family and I went to visit some friends of the family in Port Alberni, BC.  When the hostess pulled out the can to the left of this paragraph to spray some olive oil on a pan, I was intrigued.  A couple years later, I came across one of these Mistos at The Bay, and purchased it.  They were about 60% more expensive back then compared to now, but I would do it all over if I could.  At the time, I was concerned (mistakenly) about aerosols, because concerns about aerosols and CFCs had somehow become an issue, so in my mind buying a Misto was an excellent way to address that problem.  The issue with aerosols and CFCs was apparently resolved decades prior to that, because now a different propellant is used in aerosol sprays that does not contribute to the greenhouse effect.  I'm not 100% sure I believe that there is no damage caused by aerosols in their current form, but for the sake of this blog entry, I'm willing accept it for now. 

In any event, we will assume that aerosols are safe and that no negative effects arise as a result of the actual act of spraying them.  Are there any other reasons why someone being eco-friendly and trying to save money might still think of investing a little extra money to purchase a Misto?  Well, to start off, there is the fact that I have spent about $1.00 on cooking spray in the past decade that I've had my Misto (other than the initial up-front investment of about $15.00 for the Misto).  I have had to refill it either twice or three times since I got it.  I'm not sure what others spend on cooking sprays, but I'm going to have to guess that even one disposable can costs more than that.  Multiplied by the number of cans that a household might go through in a decade and I think the Misto comes out as the clear winner on the economical front.