Pacific Spirit Marine Institute
Wal-Marts Pushing Compact Florescent Light Bulbs…CFL’s
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Why does Wal-mart want to put compact florescent light bulbs into 100 million homes by 2008.
Wal-Mart is hoping its 200 million shoppers will pick up these energy saving bulbs. But, just how much energy do these bulbs actually save?
There are clearly conservation advantages to these lights, though I’ve never looked on Wal-Mart as being a green company concerned with the well being of the communities in which they operate. Compact florescent lights use 75% less energy than regular incandescent bulbs and they last 10 times longer.
The loss of sales of 9 incandescent for every 1 compact florescent (CFL) would give pause to anyone, as jaded as I, when it comes to following the money trail. So what is the pay off for companies such as Wal-Mart that are known for their keen sense of the bottom line?
These CFL’s are 8 times more expensive than incandescents. In spite of this, the consumer would save about $30.00 in energy costs over the life of each bulb. These CFL’s also produce about 450 pounds fewer greenhouse gases.
These bulbs have been on the market for a couple of decades and only around 6% of homes currently use them. They are weird looking, they give off an odd light, and they cost 8 times more than incandescents so it’s no big wonder why, as yet, they haven’t caught on.
The rise in energy costs over the years has created conservation through necessity. Even if some people aren’t taking on the whole global warming, climate change crusade, they are taking up the idea of lowering their monthly energy bills.
We’ll explore this subject more tomorrow. In the mean time,
Turn off those lights when you are out of the room. It will keep you cooler in the summer time too!
Labels: CFL's, Compact Florescent Light, Ewaste, Global Warming, Mercury, Toxic Ewaste, Wal-Mart
© 2009, Pacific Spirit Marine Institute.
Wal-Marts Pushing Compact Florescent Light Bulbs…CFL’s
