light at home or church affects

the outside world as well.

Lighting accounts for 20% of all

electricity consumed in the United

States, and a vast majority of electricity

in Middle Georgia comes

from fossil fuels, which have been

linked to greenhouse gases and other

pollution. As caretakers of God’s

earth, we know it’s worthwhile to

explore low-energy lighting, and

CFLs are more available than ever

before to help us out.

Compact Fluorescent Lights, or

"CFLs" as they are called, are

cousins of the long tube fluorescents

used for generations in commercial

buildings. Each has a smaller, folded

or coiled tube and its own ballast

which can be screwed into a standard

light socket. They use about a

quarter of the energy of ordinary

bulbs and can last many times

longer. This means that switching

bulbs to CFLs could reduce lightingbased

carbon emissions by up to

80%.

Picking the size we need is easy

because packages include easy-toread

markings telling us what

wattage of "regular" bulb it replaces.

If I am swapping out a 60-watt bulb,

I look for an Energy Star CFL with a

big "60" on the box and then enjoy

reading the bottom to learn that it

will use no more than 15 watts of

electricity.

According to the EPA’s ENERGY

STAR website, "If every

American home replaced just one

light bulb with an ENERGY STAR

qualified bulb, we would save

enough energy to light more than 3

million homes for a year … and prevent

greenhouse gases equivalent to

the emissions of more than 800,000

cars."

Longer lasting bulbs mean less

hassle and more savings, and Energy

Star bulbs even come with a guarantee.

In addition, fewer hot incandescents

will cut cooling costs all

summer long. CFLs give us the

most savings when their light is

needed at least 15 minutes at a time

and are used several hours each day.

Most also benefit from open fixtures

that permit airflow.

Curly-Q’s aren’t our only

CFL option these days. There are

now covered bulbs in a variety of

styles, such as traditional A-line,

globe, and candelabra. It is possible

to get "soft white" for pleasant surroundings

and a cooler white for

task lighting. Now we can even get

lights designed to work in dimmer or

3-way switches or sturdier bulbs to

last longer in ceiling fans. Reflector

CFLs (think floodlamp or spotlight)

work well in recessed lighting.

Wasted resources do not help the

environment. Don’t skimp on quality

and be sure to read the packaging

for any limitations before you buy.

Handle the bulbs gently, and hold

onto the base instead of the glass

when screwing them in. Remove

your CFL if it flickers or buzzes

because something is probably

wrong with the bulb, fixture or circuit.

Compact fluorescent lights are

not perfect. Newer technology has

removed most of the flickering and

slow starting associated with older

fluorescents, but radio frequency

interference might still a problem.

Future research should also include a

life-cycle assessment of the complex

bulbs, looking at the various

resources needed to manufacture

them in China and ship them here.

Within the coiled tube, each CFL

contains a small amount of mercury,

about 5 milligrams or 1% of that

found in a thermometer. The best

disposal, therefore, is to recycle

them. We don’t have local collection

points for them yet, but Veolia

Environmental Services offers a prepaid

RecyclePak online for mail-in

recycling. Even better for some, the

Atlanta IKEA store offers free CFL

recycling. On Wednesdays, recycling

CFLs at IKEA even earns a

10% discount in their "As Is"

Department. That’s certainly worth

remembering the next time you or a

friend goes to Atlanta.

Never dispose of CFLs in an

incinerator. The EPA says it is better

to seal the bulb in two plastic bags

and put them into the outside trash

bin for the next normal trash collection.

If a fluorescent bulb breaks at

home, it can also be disposed in this

way. However, care should be taken

in the clean up to minimize contact.

Detailed clean-up guidelines can be

found online at EPA.gov.

Because of the enormous combined

energy needs of modern lighting,

environmental groups and faith

communities around the world recommend

swapping out incandescent

lights to CFLs. Maybe changing

every bulb in the house isn’t in this

month’s budget, though. Start by

trading out one or two of the mostused

bulbs in your home. Save the

incandescents for spots that are

turned on and off a lot, such as a

closet or utility room. Reduce your

energy bill further by dimming your

incandescents when practical and

shut off your lights when not using

them.

Be on the lookout for improvements

in lighting, such as lowermercury

CFLs. Consider halogen

lamps for task lighting. LEDs,

which use 1/10th the energy of

incandescents, are becoming more

usable in the home, also. Using the

oldest standard – sunlight – is the

most eco-friendly option of all.

CFLs can be an easy first step in

becoming better environmental and

financial stewards. As seen on a

church marquee, "Think globally;

shine locally." Step by step our

journey continues for His Creation.