On the Path to Sustainability

Happy Earth Day everyone! What have you done for the earth lately? We should thank the earth for providing us with our beautiful home by doing something to help save the environment. Now that everyone has insulted their homes, or are planning on doing so, what’s another step to save energy and money?

This next solution is much easier than insulting your home and will save a large amount of energy. All you have to do is replace your regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFLs. These bulbs use 60-80% less energy than incandescent light bulbs. Besides using substantial less energy, these CFLs last 6 to 15 times longer than their incandescent counterparts. The average light bulb lasts about 1,000 hours, in comparison to the CFLs that lasts 6,000 to 15,000 hours.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs have improved with technology as well. They were often known for buzzing, flickering, and unpleasant light but recently they’ve had better light quality, emitting a “soft white” light, and can be used in dimming fixtures.

Over time these CFLs will save the user $30 in it’s life, and up to 2000 times it’s own weight in greenhouse gas emissions. Making the switch is easy, and considering the energy savings, everyone should make this change. Transitioning to a more sustainable lifestyle is an individual responsibility that will greatly benefit our Earth, so what better day to start than today, Earth Day!

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/08/green-basics-compact-fluorescent...