Replace six (or more) incandescent light bulbs with CFLs
So what exactly is a CFL?
A CFL is a compact fluorescent light bulb. Although older bulbs gained the unfortunate reputation of providing unpleasant lighting for windowless offices and doctor's offices everywhere, modern CFLs emit soft light that is nearly indistinguishable from a traditional light bulb.
Changing your light bulbs is a pretty common "easy" solution to climate change, but we've got an important truth to share. Even though millions of people know that switching their old light bulbs for CFLs is a good idea, many of us still haven't made the switch.
Three Good Reasons for Switching to CFLs
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It's EASY. Don't even try to pretend like you can't find CFLs at the store – they're available nearly everywhere incandescent light bulbs are sold. Each CFL may cost more at the grocery checkout, but you'd have to replace each incandescent bulb at least 7 times before the CFL burns out, which means that CFLs save you money in the long-term.
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It's REAL. About 25 percent of energy used in the average American household comes from lighting and small appliances; changing your incandescent bulbs to CFLs can make a big difference in your home's energy use.
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It's MAJOR. If you change just six bulbs to CFLs, you will keep about 2.2 metric tons (almost 5,000 pounds) of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere...that's the weight of 20 professional football players. If you change all the bulbs in your house, just think of how many football players that would be! Note: this is only a weight comparison. Team Earth thinks football players are great.
So take a moment to think about how many light bulbs you can change at your house. How many light bulbs we could change if we talked to our neighbors, or gave them as housewarming gifts.
Think about this: If every American household changed six bulbs, we would prevent the emission of almost 520 million metric tons of greenhouse gases – more than the total emissions generated by Ukraine in a year. That's a lot of energy saved by doing something that takes only a few dollars, and even less time, to achieve.
The “How To” This one's easy. Buy some CFLs at your local grocery or hardware store, install them when you get home (even if the old bulbs haven't burned out, your energy savings will start right away!), and voilá – you're done. Let the savings begin.
Still confused? Ask the EPA!