How Many Presidents Does It Take to Change a Light Bulb?

How many Presidents of the United States does it take to change a light bulb?

Just one.

It's no joke. Millions of Americans have already changed their light bulbs to save energy and fight global warming. New lighting standards announced Monday will help all our homes and businesses make the switch, and as a result, save billions of dollars in utility bills and create thousands of new jobs.

The new lighting standards will save enough energy annually to power all U.S. homes for almost a year, while saving consumers $1 billion to $4 billion a year in utility bills. The long-delayed standards come just a few months after the president directed Energy Secretary Steven Chu to speed up the process of setting efficiency standards for a variety of home and commercial appliances, from refrigerators to soft-drink vending machines.

This is the kind of leadership that will build the clean energy economy of the future. As the President said in making the announcement, a light bulb seems like a small thing. But collectively, billions of more efficient light bulbs will make a big impact.

The Department of Energy calculates that the new lighting standards will save enough energy to eliminate the need for up to 14 large power plants. The standards will also cut carbon dioxide emissions by 593 million metric tons over 30 years, an act equivalent to removing roughly 110 million cars from the road for a year.

Consumers save, too. The new standards will save users up to $71 billion over thirty years. Over the life of a typical bulb meeting the new standards, the average buyer would save over $67 on a new fluorescent lamp and about $8 on a new incandescent reflector lamp. (To learn more about energy efficiency, visit www.earthjustice.org/energyefficiency/.)

DOE could have gone further, but this is a significant improvement from where the Bush administration was heading. In coming months and years, the administration will be rolling out new standards for more than two dozen appliances, including water heaters, washers and dryers and room air conditioners. It's a no-brainer: Some manufacturers argue that with a troubled economy, we can't afford to make our appliances more efficient. The truth is, we can't afford not to.

Comments

[BashingObama]

As usual "greenies" make statements than can never be substantiated. "If every home replaced their existing light bulbs with this silly looking neon bulb it would be the equivalent of removing 80,000 cars from the highways".That's B.S.! $71 million dollars in savings, etc etc etc. Give me a break. If you want to choose an issue to push on the public always choose an issue where you can make outlandish claims that nobody can prove otherwise.

The light bulbs are expensive. They do not last anywhere near as long as the greenies claim and there are definite disposal concerns. One bulb in a pack of four I purchased did not work right out of the box. There was zero cost savings on that purchase.

This article really has nothing to do with the light bulb rather it is intended to kiss Obama's behind and show everyone how much Trip Van Noppin loves and worships Obama possibly with the hopes he will be appointed Obama's greenie light bulb Czar.

[lisasigismondi]

I won't use compact flourescents and i urge everyone not to. Mercury is not allowed in our home - nevermind the environmental mess it will create as they end up in the dump.

I am looking forward to trying out LED bulbs though. We must have a better alternative than mercury.

[COPerez]

LED bulbs are where CFLs were about 5 years ago; rare and expensive. However, many municipal and private recyclers will accept CFLs and dispose of them in an environmentally careful way. If you commit to disposing of them properly, they are a great way to save energy AND your energy dollars.

[noneIn2008]

Pay no attention to the mercury in the new bulbs. GE says no problem, so don't worry. By the way what is my exposure level when one breaks - relative to the deadly levels in fish? By the way, how do I dispose of these, where do we recycle? Doe GE reclaim and recycle all these bulbs? Surly we would not toss this toxic item in our trash?

[ceolas]

I think we can all agree that it's good to lower fossil fuel emissions - for all that they contain, whatever about CO2
However, to ban light bulbs is wrong:

Ban consumers from buying what they want and applaud the savings: Edison's simple safe light bulb is bought 19 times out of 20 in the USA.
The popularity is the reason to ban it: After all, that's why the savings are supposed to be so great, no reason to ban what people don't want.
Think about it!

About saving energy =
Does society need to save energy? No, no shortage of electric energy sources, and energy savings aren't that great anyway, see http://www.ceolas.net/#li13x onwards

All lights have advantages,
that's why they exist for people to choose:
It's a pity that just complaints about "energy saving" saving lights are used against a ban,
those lights are useful too (However: Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s Lab was behind the compact fluorescent light: Conflict of interest?)

About "saving lots of emissions banning bulbs"
Does your light bulb give out any gases?

Since power stations might not give out any gases either,
bans are unfair on emission-free energy households being able to use what they want, now -and in the future - and emissions can be dealt with directly - as is planned anyway - by using new cleaner coal or renewable (or nuclear) energy.

Why a ban is wrong:
For a list with references see:
http://ceolas.net/#li1x onwards