A Bright Idea

Members of 10 Are you concerned about the effects of global warming on the world in which your children will have to live? Did you know that each Garden City household can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by simply purchasing and using one compact fluorescent bulb (CFL) for one year?

Members of the 10 th grade Student Council sold CFLs at most of the schools during parent-teacher conferences in March. The sale was their effort to call attention to the small changes that can be made to slow the effects of global climate change.

An easy way to help the environment is to replace a standard incandescent light bulb with energy-efficient CFLs. CFLs use abut 20 percent of the power of normal bulbs, which leads to an 80 percent reduction in the electricity needed to generate that light and a comparable reduction in the environmental impact of generating that electricity. Each CFL will keep half a ton (1,000 pounds) of carbon dioxide out of the air over its lifetime. Since CFLs last eight to 15 times longer than a standard bulb, they typically save enough money in electricity costs to make up for their higher initial price within 500 hours of use.