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Gandhi
once famously said that it is better to light a candle than to
curse the darkness. He also apparently commented that if we each
bring light to one dark corner then the world will be full of
light. Finally Gandhi tells us that we must Be the change. **Turns
out that Gandhi may not have said It's better to light a candle
than to curse the darkness. I have managed to source it to: a
Chinese Proverb, Carl Sagan and Adlai Stevenson (1900-65), praising
Eleanor Roosevelt.**
The
Christmas Lights campaign seeks to help you achieve all three
things: make a positive change to our world, start putting any
green guilt you carry around to rest and finally, but perhaps
most importantly, this campaign will help all of us be the change
one dark corner at a time.
Based
on the Question
I asked that Jen
replied to we are delighted to announce the official launch of
the Christmas Lights campaign.
WHAT
IT IS?
The goal of the campaign is to encourage as many people and businesses
as possible to pledge that this 'Christmas / Chanukah / Kwanzaa
/ Holiday Season / Whatever' they will buy CFL bulbs for friends
and family or employees thus increasing efficiency, lowering emissions
and helping to gently educate people as to the benefits of CFL
bulbs.
HOW
IT WORKS:
For each employee or person you buy gifts for over the holiday
season, please pledge (via the comments below) to buy one compact
fluorescent light (CFL) bulb for them as well. Add it on as an
extra or take it out the gift money you were gonna spend on them
- whatever suits you.
In
your pledge we want to know how many bulbs you pledge to gift.
HELP
SPREAD THE LIGHT:
Additionally, you can help us spread the word and tell others
about the campaign via:
- your own blog using our WordofBlog campaign tile
Want this badge?
-
email using the PDF that will be here shortly or just direct them
to this post
- or just good old fashioned word of mouth
We will keep a tally of how many people participate and how many
bulbs are pledged.
TARGET
Our target is to get pledges for 100,000 bulbs as this would reduce
global CO2 emissions by approximately 50,000 to 62,500 tons –
the equivalent of offsetting approximately 2000-2500 US citizens
or 4000-5000 UK citizens entirely for a whole year. (Extrapolated
from here)
CFL
FACTS:
For each incandescent bulb you replace with a CFL, you can save
approximately 1000 to 1250 pounds of CO2 from being added to the
atmosphere during the life of the bulb.
Each
bulb can save you over $30 or £16 pounds over the life of
the bulb in energy costs. That's because CFLs use 75% less energy
and produce 90% less heat than incandescent bulbs.
CFLs are a gift that keeps on giving in money saved.
Do
you have complicated or hard to reach light fixtures? CFLs can
last 10,000 hours – 8 to 10 times longer than incandescent
bulbs, which means a lot less labor and time spent on ladders
and chairs.
An
added bonus is that CFLs are safer than incandescents – they're
cool to the touch and are less likely to cause burns or fires
– although make sure you buy high watt CFLs to ensure they
provide enough light for the person you are buying for. Here are
some wattage equivalents for you:
15W
CFL = 60W regular bulb
20W CFL = 75W regular
29W CFL = 100W regular
40W CFL = 150W regular
55W CFL = 250-300W regular
(figures from GE
Lighting website)
CAVEATS:
"To maximize savings, use CFLs in places where lights are
on for long periods of time. Frequent switching on and off will
shorten the CFL's life."
"CFLs
contain four milligrams of mercury, approximately half the mercury
found in a linear fluorescent lamp. Mercury vapour will only be
released when the lamp is broken while operating. Most lamp manufacturers
offer a "low mercury" or environmentally friendly lamp.
The green socket or end cap identifies these lamps."
Taken
from the Earth
Day Network
We
look forward to your participation and to a very Bright Holiday
season thanks to all our Christmas Lights
Namaste
Al (CityHippy)
& Jenni (Green
Jenni)
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