CAMP LEJEUNE, North Carolina, April 23, 2008 (ENS) - They’re calling it Operation Change Out. On Tuesday, U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman marked Earth Day by launching a joint campaign with the Defense Department to cut carbon emissions, save energy and save money by changing light bulbs. Those spiral compact fluorescent light bulbs now are wrapped in the red, white and blue.

The two agencies are challenging military bases nationwide to change out the lighting in their on-base housing - replacing the old, energy hogging, incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFLs.

The U.S. military goes for energy efficiency in
this poster for the Operation Change Out
campaign. (Photo courtesy Energy Star)

At Camp Lejeune, the first U.S. military base to participate in Operation Change Out, Secretary Bodman screwed in compact fluorescent bulb number 17,500 at a home on the base.

“By using energy wisely the military can help us access the cheapest and cleanest source of new energy - the energy we waste each and every day,” the secretary said.

With Base Commanding Officer Col. Richard P. Flatau, Jr., base personnel, residents and their families as well as over 250 school children at the change out ceremony, Bodman said the campaign will help bases across the country increase energy efficiency, save money and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Changing out the 17,500 bulbs at Camp Lejeune will prevent more than 7.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, save nearly five million kilowatt hours of electricity, and at least $500,000 on energy bills over the lifetime of the bulbs, the secretary said.

An installation team member at Camp Lejeune
changes out one of 17,500 light bulbs.
(Photo courtesy U.S. Dept. of Energy)

He said that changing out the 17,500 bulbs at Camp Lejeune will prevent more than 7.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, save nearly five million kilowatt hours of electricity, and also save at least $500,000 on energy bills over the lifetime of the bulbs.

There are more than 200 military facilities located across the United States, so the effect of Operation Change Out could have quite an impact.

Changing one incandescent light bulb to a CFL in every on-base housing unit across the country could could prevent the emissions of more than 95 million pounds of carbon dioxide, the Energy Department says, the equivalent of taking nearly 1,500 cars off the road for one year.

One CFL can save about $30, or more, in electricity costs, the agency says. Those single CFLs add up - to nearly $7 million in energy costs saving over the lifetime of the bulbs.

That single bulb changeout would prevent more than 400 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions over its lifetime, an equivalent of keeping nearly 200 pounds of coal from being burned, according to energy officials.

These spiral light bulbs use 75 percent less energy, last up to 15 times longer, and produce about 75 percent less heat than traditional incandescent models.

Energy Star is a joint program of Energy Department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency formed in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership that seeks to reduce air pollution through increased energy efficiency.

More than 9,000 organizations have joined as partners committed to improving the energy efficiency of products, homes and businesses. The Energy Star® label appears on more than 50 kinds of consumer products.

Bodman says the Energy Star Operation Change Out campaign will help advance the President’s Executive Order 13423, “Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management,” which directed federal agencies to decrease energy intensity and maximize use of renewable energy.

To learn more about ENERGY STAR®, and to view the revised program requirements, visit EnergyStar.gov or call 1-888-STAR-YES or click here [www.energystar.gov].

View This Story On Eco–mmunity Map.

HARRISBURGH, Pennsylvania, April 6, 2008 (ENS) - Compact fluorescent light bulbs can save up to 75 percent of the energy used by traditional light bulbs and save householders money too, but a lack of options on where to recycle the mercury-containing bulbs may make some consumers reluctant to adopt the popular technology.

To help encourage the use of compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFLs, and make it easier for the public to recycle spiral-shaped bulbs, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, DEP, is providing specialized receptacles to municipalities, small businesses and community organizations across the state hoping the experience will lead participants to continue with their own programs.

“If all of the households in Pennsylvania changed just one incandescent light bulb to an Energy Star qualified CFL, consumers could save $25.5 million annually on household electric bills and prevent nearly 382 millions pounds of greenhouse gas emissions each year,” said Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen McGinty.

“That is the power of energy efficiency, and we need to encourage people to take advantage of that power by adopting these safe and readily available technologies as soon as possible,” she said.

Each compact fluorescent bulb contains
a small amount of mercury, a toxic
metal. (Photo courtesy Florida DEP)

The state agency is partnering with 43 counties, townships, environmental groups and small businesses statewide in setting up CFL collection programs.

More than 110 containers were purchased from Pennsylvania firms AERC Recycling, based in Allentown, and Hellertown, Northampton County-based, Bethlehem Apparatus Company. Both companies shipped the receptacles directly to the participants for use in conjunction with Earth Day and other hazardous household waste collection events.

The AERC containers will hold 100-150 bulbs, and the Bethlehem Apparatus containers will hold slightly less than 100. Once the containers are filled, participants will ship the receptacles back to AERC or Bethlehem Apparatus for the physical recycling.

DEP invited counties, municipal governments, environmental groups and other organizations to host CFL recycling containers in publicly accessible buildings. To recycle a bulb, a consumer simply needs to hand it over to a trained employee, who slides it into the container.

For those residents in need of CFL recycling services, the department reminds residents that they can also recycle the bulbs at household hazardous waste collection events in their communities.

Because the fact is CFLs must be treated as hazardous waste because they contain mercury.

Small amounts of mercury are necessary components of compact fluorescent light bulbs and all types of fluorescent lights, including those that have been safely used in homes, offices and commercial and retail establishments for years.

CFLs contain an average of five milligrams of mercury, or about the amount that would cover the tip of a ballpoint pen. By comparison, a mercury fever thermometer usually contains about 500 milligrams of mercury.

To find a recycling center that takes CFLs, calling the local government office of solid waste or log onto Earth 911, which will help you locate your closest facility. They also have an automated phone information system at 800-CLEAN-UP.

If you break a CFL, no need to worry, but care must be taken to clean it up safely. Most bulbs are damaged when they are cold, and the mercury is likely to adhere to the bulb’s debris. To be safe, ventilate the area, the U.S. EPA suggests. Using rubber or latex gloves, gather up the ballast and broken glass with disposable paper towels. Wipe the floor carefully with more paper toweling, then double bag everything in plastic zip bags. Dispose as hazardous waste.

View This Story On Eco–mmunity Map.

When the grassroots organization, Lights Out San Francisco recently joined Eco-mmunity, we decided to join them and help take action for energy conservation. Eco-mmunity is intended to help people make connections. Like-minded companies and individuals need to become aware of each other and work together to solve the climate crisis.

Lights Out San Francisco is a citywide energy conservation event taking place on October 20, 2007. On this night, the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles will be invited to turn off all their non-essential lighting for one hour. In addition, free compact fluorescent light bulbs will be distributed throughout the city. You may ask: what good does one hour and one light bulb do? What do we hope to accomplish?
Lights Out estimates that turning lights out in San Francisco for even one hour could save as much as 15 percent of the energy consumed on an average Saturday night. The ongoing benefits of then installing CFLs in many houses and businesses will also be also significant.

Lights Out San Francisco was inspired by a similar event recently held in Sydney, Australia, called Earth Hour where, 2.2 million people participated. According to the post event calculations, one hour of lights out meant that 24.86 tons of carbon dioxide were not released into the air - the equivalent of taking 48,613 cars off the road for one hour.

Of course, we hope for the same or better here.

Thus far, LOSF has received a tremendous amount of support. Their growing list of supporters includes Esurance, Gap Inc., Integrated Archive Systems, PG&E, Safeway, Tides Center, and Yahoo!.

Eco-mmunity is proud to join that list. Since the Eco-mmunity Map exists to document and spread awareness to and about specific individuals who make green changes in the world, we are working with Lights Out to encourage all participants in the Lights Out San Francisco and Los Angeles events to create a map marker indicating their participation in the Lights Out event. Simply snap a picture showing your: candlelit restaurant, your home by moonlight or your lights out party and upload it to the map. The photos will appear in individual map markers that will be added to a new “Lights out” group on the map. You’ll be able to view all these markers in a unique “Map Slideshow” soon after the event.

[b]We are also asking all of our Eco-mmunity members across the globe to consider turning their lights off as well in solidarity and adding their photos to the map as well.[b]

“We’re very excited about the synergy between Sundance Channel’s Eco-mmunity and lights out San Franscisco. Now, people can mark the map to show that they’re turning out their lights or hosting a lights-out soiree. They can also upload photos of the night sky as the lights go out. Creating a place online where people have the opportunity experience and share this important energy conservation event. Our plan is to take what we learn here in San Francisco and apply it to citites throughout the US and the world. We believe the eco-mmunity, especially the map, will help us connect with more people.” - Nate Tyler, founder of “Lights Out San Francisco”.

Besides turning out the lights, feel free to include info about all your green efforts in life. Whether it be your awesome recycling system, your great energy saving appliances or the fabulous parties you can have when the lights are off, we want everyone in the world to see your marker. Get started on the Eco-mmunity Map now.

For more info on Lights Out and to sign up, go to LightsOut.org [www.lightsoutsf.org]

Yesterday, we mentioned [www.sundancechannel.com] the idea that longevity (and the requisite durability that usually comes with it) is an important (and sometimes easy to overlook) facet of being “green,” using Porsche’s claim that 60% of the vehicles they’ve ever built are still on the road. A nice stat, for sure, but let’s be realistic: we all can’t go out and buy one today, or tomorrow, or maybe ever. The good news, though, is that you don’t have to (with tongue fully in cheek — in case you were really thinking about it); here are some of TreeHugger’s favorite old faithfuls.

1) One way to think about it is this: don’t settle for “design icing” — go for the cake as this building did [www.treehugger.com] by eschewing a simple green roof for high-efficiency boilers, heat recovery, and high-performance glazing. The results: a building that will perform at a high green level for at least 75 years.
2) That’s a nice example, but here’s some more practical context: this light bulb [www.treehugger.com] has been working since 1901 (!!), sipping energy to the tune of 4 watts thanks to a carbon filament.
3) Speaking of light bulbs, we have to mention that compact fluorescent light bulbs [www.treehugger.com] can last 10 times longer than the incandescents you replace them with.
4) Great, but when talking “longevity” and “light bulbs,” LEDs take the cake [www.treehugger.com]; they’re more expensive, but they’re super-energy-efficient and it might be the last time you ever change the bulb.

5) In the spirit of yesterday’s car example, check out this Volkswagen diesel [www.treehugger.com] that has topped 562,000 miles and is still chugging along.
6) Durability should be a regular consideration for almost every consumer choice you make, including choosing which clothes to buy [www.treehugger.com].
7) Okay, so buildings, light bulbs and cars; they all make sense, but where does durability fit in with the definition of sustainable design [www.treehugger.com]?

Ed. note: Twice a week, we’ll run a ‘Best of TreeHugger’ post, featuring a rundown of the best ideas, stories, products and people that TreeHugger has covered in the past.

One of the quickest, easiest changes you can make to help the planet and your home be a little greener is as simple as changing a light bulb. In fact, that’s it: change a light bulb, replacing your incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). They use about 70% less energy than the traditional incandescent bulb, while giving off the same amount of light and lasting up to 10 times longer. How does that help? If your home requires less energy, that means less energy has to be produced, and when the vast majority of the energy in our country is produced by burning coal and other dirty fossil fuels, that’s a very good thing. So good, in fact, that both California [www.treehugger.com] and Australia [www.treehugger.com] have banned the outdated incandescent in favor of CFLs.

But can one bulb really make a difference? If every household in the U.S. replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an energy-efficient CFL, it would eliminate the equivalent of the emissions created by one million cars [www.treehugger.com]. And that’s just one bulb; most homes have fifteen, twenty, thirty or more. A global switch to efficient lighting systems would trim the world’s electricity bill by nearly one-tenth [www.treehugger.com]. The carbon dioxide emissions saved by such a switch would, it concludes, dwarf cuts so far achieved by adopting wind and solar power. Wow. But that’s not all; though more expensive to buy, CFLs will save you cash on your energy bill by using less and lasting longer than incandescents, so when the entire lifecycle is considered, CFLs win in a landslide.

So we’ve established that this is a good thing, but how do they work, and how can we maximize their use? TreeHugger has answers [www.treehugger.com] for these questions and more, including where to get them. Speaking of selling bulbs, would you believe Wal-Mart is aiming to sell one million of the bulbs in a year [www.treehugger.com]? It’s true, and they’re even on track to do it [www.treehugger.com]. There’s a new campaign in the US to track nationwide bulb use at 18seconds.org [www.treehugger.com], so you can keep up with the Joneses.

CFL skeptics point to the small amount of mercury in each bulb that can escape if they’re broken, but the myth that CFLs contain more mercury than incandescents is actually untrue. In an ironic twist, compact fluorescent bulbs are responsible for less mercury contamination [www.treehugger.com] than the incandescent bulbs they replaced, even though incandescents don’t contain any mercury. The highest source of mercury in America’s air and water results from the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, at utilities that supply electricity. Since a compact fluorescent bulb uses 75 percent less energy than an incandescent bulb, and lasts at least six times longer, it is responsible for far less mercury pollution in the long run. A coal-burning power plant will emit four times more mercury to produce the electricity for an incandescent bulb than for a compact fluorescent.

So, as you can see, changing a bulb nets a big payoff from a small investment; for more on greening your lighting, we recommend How to Green Your Lighting [www.treehugger.com], one of TreeHugger’s many guides to greening your life.