Light Bulbs: Environmental Savior

We don't always do what we should when it comes to conserving energy but there are many new offerings that allow us to do our part with minimal effort. They have been around for a while now but I am just now learning the wonders of the fluorescent light bulbs.

I know we owe a rather large debt to Edison for inventing the incandescent light bulb, but it has just about run its course for usefulness. For over a century, it has lighted our homes and offices without fail and allowed the world to completely change. It still serves the same purpose today that it always has but there is a new item that will do the same thing and help us save the environment.

At the beginning of the year I purchased my first fluorescent light bulbs after hearing my dad extol their virtues. These little bulbs offer the same amount of light as a regular sixty watt bulb but use on thirteen watts of electricity. This sounds like a trifling amount but if you multiply that across all the homes in the US it adds up into a pretty significant number.

For years we have ignored the crisis that is global warming with all sorts of excuses but I don't think any rational person can honestly say they have seen no changes in the climate. Being from the Appalachian foothills we used to get snow on a regular basis every year. In the past three years we have not had one single snow storm that has produced more than three inches. Include that with the fact that I was working in my yard in shorts during February and I am seriously worried.

After switching all the bulbs in my house to the new bulbs I have seen a slight drop in my power bill each month. It is usually around five dollars lower which is not going to pay the mortgage but it is a start. I think that is how we all need to look at helping the environment, we have to start somewhere.

I do not know the actual numbers but Al Gore made a statement that if every house in America switched to these bulbs it would be like taking eight million cars off the road for an entire year. Think how much cleaner our air would be and how much carbon dioxide that would reduce in the atmosphere.

Right now the US Senate is looking at bill that would end the manufacturing of incandescent bulbs within a certain period of time. If the these new fluorescent bulbs are important enough to catch the attention of the slow moving Senate maybe that are important enough for all of us to look into.

I do not claim to be a scientist but common sense says we need to start taking strides now or our planet is not going to survive. If buying a light bulb that lasts longer and uses less energy is one way I can help I will gladly make that change. Now we just need everyone to look for these opportunities to help.