Want to Change the World? Start with a Light.

Today is the 8th annual national ENERGY STAR Change a Light Day. Now, I realize that if you’re a regular reader of Sustainablog, you’ve probably already changed out many of the lightbulbs in your house from traditional bulbs to CFL’s. But keep reading, because you know many people who haven’t done so yet.

ENERGY STAR Change a Light Day recognizes the more than 1.8 million Americans (like me) who have already pledged to change at least one light in their homes to an ENERGY STAR qualified light. The “Change the World” pledge encourages “all Americans to join with millions of others and take small, individual steps that make a big difference in the fight against global warming.”

How big of a difference? Take look at these statistics provided by EPA:

• Replacing just one traditional incandescent bulb with one ENERGY STAR qualified Compact Fluorescen Light (CFL) can prevent 450 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions over its lifetime - the equivalent of more than 200 pounds of coal from being burned. Change two lights and you double those statistics. Change three and … well you know where this is going.
• • » See also: Save on Electricity… and Get Rewarded
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  If all of the 1.8 million Americans who have pledged to change at least one light actually does so, it will prevent 3 Billion pounds of greenhouse gases.

• If every household in America took part in the pledge, collectively they could save more than 110 Billion kilowatt hours of electricity, more than $18 Billion in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases eqivalent to the emissions from more than 18 million cars.

If you haven’t taken the pledge yet, what are you waiting for? Take the pledge. Change a bulb. If you have, spread the word. Feel free to e-mail this blog post to all of your friends and families. Show them the statistics and encourage them to take the pledge and change a bulb, too.

And, make sure you tell them this - It’s a great way for them to save on their energy costs. With energy costs on the rise, this may be the one statistic that gets people to take this action:

• Each CFL can save about $30 or more in electricity costs over its lifetime. Multiply that by the number of lights in a house, and it can add up to significant savings.

It’s easy to take the pledge. Click here and get to work.

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