Let there be light!
Laurie Benenson
By now everyone has heard about the fabulous new compact fluorescent lightbulbs, which last about 10,000 hours, ten times longer than an ordinary incandescent lightbulb. We first discovered them at a hotel in New York a few years ago, and thought they gave off a hideous light, and had no desire to use them in our house. But that was then, and this is now.
I tried one in a lamp recently, and I'm not sure what the hell I was thinking -- the light is perfectly fine. Especially if you have a nice lampshade to soften the glow. Besides, the idea of saving $30 or more over the life of the bulb, per bulb, is a beautiful thing.
It's products like these new bulbs that give me hope that we may be able to reverse the tide in greenhouse gas emissions, which, of course, are responsible for global warming. It's the kind of modest change that everyone can afford to make -- in fact, you're wasting a lot of money if you don't make this change.
And there are other individual changes which, if made on a mass scale, could have a huge impact. If you can't drive a hybrid or biodiesel vehicle at this time, at least make sure your tires are properly inflated. You can improve fuel efficiency by 3.3% merely by checking to see that your tires are properly inflated! (Not to mention the fact that your vehicle will be a whole lot safer).
Another modest but highly impactful change that I've made is to reduce the ridiculous amount of energy used by appliances WHILE THE PRODUCTS ARE TURNED OFF! According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 75% of the electricity used to power home electronics is used while the products are in "sleep mode" -- you know, when the little green light is on. You can stop this vampire-like theft of electricity either by unplugging the appliance, or using a power strip, and using the switch on the strip to cut all power to the appliance. And for heaven's sake, unplug your battery chargers when they're not being used.
Like I said, little things. The key is for everyone to enact small changes in their lives -- that's the way to make a difference.
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A few years ago our power company presented the challenge of reducing power consumption and receiving a $20 credit. I went thru their brochure and applied everything from fluorescent lighting to using a clothesline. My bill dropped to $25. The power company came and replaced my meter thinking that it was malfunctioning. Go to your power company website. Find their list of ways to reduce power usage. Apply them all and save money!
I second the "unplug your batter chargers" plea -- my husband borrowed his father's car battery charger in January to re-charge the battery in our VW Cabrio we weren't using. He plugged it in, and left it for four weeks; our electric bill was $70 higher than the month before! He insists it couldn't have been the charger: "It shuts off when it's done charging." Uh, no. The lish it on, the gauges are still reading... and guess what, batteries discharge... what a waste.
Anyway, our electric bill is down to $32-26/month when my husband isn't doing stupid things in the garage.
I have a question. I am really trying to do my part these days. I recently replaced a couple of my light bulbs with the lower energy ones. However, I have three-way lamps in my living room. Does anyone know where I can get a small/normal sized efficieny 3-way? I purchased a 3-way, and it was too tall for my lamps.