January 2, 2007
Wal Mart Promoting Lower Energy Consumption
Wal-Mart has decided to put their massive supply-management/manipulation machine to work promoting compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). CFLs are probably the most effective easy strategy for an individual to reduce their carbon footprint. They use a quarter of the energy and last at least four-times as long regular light bulbs (incandescents) &mash; and that means far less electricity and far less carbon dioxide created. The government Energy Star web site has a good overview.
Some complain that they don't like the light — well, you get used to it pretty quickly, and they've made great strides in improving the quality. Ikea has cheap/good bulbs, and they take the bulbs for recycling (that's the biggest drawback to these bulbs — like all fluorescents, they have mercury and should not be thrown into the garbage). If you care at all about the potential impact of global warming, then replacing most if not all of your bulbs with CFLs is a no-brainer.