Daily Detox: Get Illuminated

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) started the “Change-a-Light, Change-the-World” Campaign yesterday to promote energy saving Energy STAR light bulbs. Throughout the month of October, the EPA is asking Americans to take the EPA’s “Change a Light, Change the World Pledge”. The idea, save energy and the planet with just the switch of a light bulb.

Environmental News Network reported that the diesel run Energy Star bus will be traveling around the country and stopping at 10 cities this month to promote Energy Star light bulbs. Why? According to the EPA, replacing one 60-watt incandescent light bulb with an equivalent 13-watt Compact Fluorescent light bulb, you can make a big difference.

Here are some of the savings with Compact Fluorescent light bulbs (EPA):

• One Compact Fluorescent light bulb costs $2 – $3. More expensive yes, but CFLs last 8 to 12 times longer than a conventional bulb.
• An ENERGY STAR-qualified Compact Fluorescent light bulb can save an average of $30 or more in electricity costs over its lifetime.
• Lighting accounts for 20% of the average home’s electric bill. The average home has approximately 30 light fixtures, which would mean an electricity bill savings of around $1,000 over the life of the bulbs.
• ENERGY STAR-qualified bulbs and fixtures produce about 70% less heat, so they’re safer to operate and can cut energy costs associated with home cooling

And for the environment (EPA):

One Compact Fluorescent light bulb keeps half a ton of greenhouse gas (CO2) out of our air. If one out of every three Americans switched just one light bulb to a CFL it would:

• Keep 22 billion lbs of coal from burning at power plants
• Keep 45 billion lbs of GHG from being emitted
• Equate to removing 700,000 cars worth of greenhouse gases from the air
• Keep 700 million incandescent light bulbs from landfills

The "Change-a-light, Change-the-World" pledge is to switch one bulb. You can take it a step further replace your highest used fixtures or the light bulbs in them with energy-efficient models. According to the EPA:

the five highest use fixtures in a home are typically the kitchen ceiling lights, the living or family room table and floor lamps, and outdoor porch or post lamp. If every American home replaced their 5 most frequently used light fixtures or the bulbs in them with ones that have earned the ENERGY STAR, we would save close to $8 billion each year in energy costs, and together we would prevent the greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions from nearly 10 million cars.

Get illuminated:

• U.S. promotes swap to energy-saving light bulbs
• How to Green Your Lighting at TreeHugger
• Taking ourselves more lightly at Ideal Bite
• Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs at Energy STAR