Saving energy, one bulb at a time
Diana Christopulos
Christopulos, of Salem, is coordinator for the Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition.
One of my good friends has this to say about global warming: "It's awful and I don't want to hear about it because it's too big. I can't do anything about it."
Well, not so fast. Actually, we can all save hundreds of dollars while doing something to slow down global climate change. It's as easy as changing a light bulb.
The bad news about global climate change is that our country, with only 5 percent of the world's population, is burning about 25 percent of the coal, gas and oil that are the main sources of extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The good news is that as the biggest users we can have a profound impact by making small changes.
Our own local governments are already conserving energy in many ways. Since August 1998, Roanoke County's school system has saved more than $4.6 million in utility costs, primarily through very simple actions such as changing light bulbs and turning off computers on nights and weekends.
Roanoke city is also changing the lights. In addition, the city has started using lower-emission biodiesel fuel in its fleet and will announce a plan for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions later this year.
Salem and other local governments have curbed vehicle idling, turned the lights off when they are not using rooms, and turned down their thermostats.
One simple change that everyone can make is to start using compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) instead of the old incandescent bulbs that Thomas Edison invented when everyone was driving a horse and buggy. It's time to retire the 19th-century technology. I don't think Edison would be using his old bulbs in his own home today.
Fact: Over 90 percent of the electricity used by the old incandescent bulbs comes out as heat rather than light.
Fact: CFLs, the bulbs that often look like a soft ice cream cone, fit into the same sockets and use only 25 percent as much energy as their incandescent cousins.
Even better, CFL prices have dropped in the past year, with six-packs of 60-watt equivalents selling for under $10 at Home Depot and Wal-Mart. That's less than $2 per bulb.
Each CFL saves $30 to $70 or more in electricity costs over its lifetime and lasts five to 20 times as long. They now emit a "warmer" light that looks almost exactly like that emitted by incandescent bulbs.
Best of all, using just three 60-watt bulbs saves the burning of half a ton of coal and the emission of more than a ton of carbon dioxide, a major culprit in global warming.
Here's what would happen if every one of 110 million American households installed just one CFL in place of an ordinary 60-watt bulb: The energy saved would be enough to power a city of 1.5 million people or take 1.3 million cars off the roads.
One bulb in every household would let us retire two power plants -- or avoid building two new ones. The typical U.S. home has 50 to 100 sockets, so we have lots of room for improvement.
Joe Cobb, director of the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Roanoke Valley, calls it "changing the world, one light bulb at a time." What are we waiting for?
http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/commentary/wb/wb/xp-105207
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