Change The World: Volume 1 Issue 2: Compact Fluorescent Lights

I have another bright idea as to how we can change the world together. See, it's great if you can do the big stuff too, but a lot of people can't be philanthropists or lobbyist. Most people can't afford to make donations to Go Green research or put solar panels on their house. But everyone can do something no matter how small that will change our environment and make it better. Look at Mistaya. She's the most beautiful little person I know. I want her to have a beautiful world to enjoy too.

That being said, lets get to the meat and potatoes. You can change the world by changing your lights to Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFL) instead of standard incandescent light bulbs. I could never do as good of a job at explaining all the benefits as Go Green but here are the highlights and some math:

1. They use less energy. An 18 Watt CFL is equivalent to a 75 Watt standard bulb in light output but uses 57 less Watts.
2. They save you money in the long run*. Since they use less energy (only 24% of what they standard uses) you will be paying less for electricity. Average: $44.00/year for ten bulbs.
3. They release less pollution. A standard bulb releases 1,340 lbs or CO² during its lifespan while a CFL only releases 308.2 lbs of CO². While not perfect, that’s better.
4. They last longer. On average they last 8-15% longer than standard bulbs. So you buy replacements less often and save more money.

There is a lot more math and research to back all of this and you’ll see that some of these numbers vary from one place to another but the facts remain the same. Thomas Edison had a good idea when he made the light bulb and some other guy just improved it. There are some catches of course. First, they cost more. And why shouldn’t they? This guy finds a way to improve the environment, save you some money, and use less energy all in one bang! Of course he should get rich because of it. Another way to look at it is if you spent $44.00 on CFL bulbs in the first year (about 12) then you would break even because you’d save $44.00 in the first year. Every year after that you save $44.00 in electricity costs. You can double that too and replace 20-24 bulbs and save $88.00 but the math is the same. Another drawback (kind of) is that they gradually get bright. So instead of instant bright light it takes about 30 seconds to fully output the light equivalent. No one can really notice the difference though.

It’s great to save some money and that’s my real selling point, but to me the biggest benefits is that the environment will be better because we won’t increase carbon dioxide gases in the air (and greenhouse gases) and help to stop this global warming thing. When you think that you can’t make a difference consider if 100 people did this, that roughly 10,000 lbs of CO² that is not sent skyward. Just think about it. Oh, and recycle any old bulbs that you replace.

Check out the next article about green products!