Is This The New Symbol For A Bright Idea?

If this article is any indication, maybe we will need to change the symbol of a bright idea from a traditional bulb to one like this. The compact fluorescent lightbulb (CFL) has undergone a metamorphosis over several years and it looks like it is finally ready for prime time. If Charles Fishman can write a glowing, 4000-word story on a light bulb, you know there must be something to it. This bulb can save America a lot of energy so please go buy some! By the way, I have no financial connection to this product whatsoever.

The energy this bulb could save is impressive. For an equivalent amount of light to a traditional bulb, CFLs consume only 20-25 percent of the energy. An excerpt from the article puts this in perspective:

“What that means is that if every one of 110 million American households bought just one ice-cream-cone bulb, took it home, and screwed it in the place of an ordinary 60-watt bulb, the energy saved would be enough to power a city of 1.5 million people. One bulb swapped out, enough electricity saved to power all the homes in Delaware and Rhode Island. In terms of oil not burned, or greenhouse gases not exhausted into the atmosphere, one bulb is equivalent to taking 1.3 million cars off the roads.”

That is if you just replace one! The average home has 50 to 100 sockets. This is a case of small individual acts of change adding up to a major difference. Besides, it will save you money.