I’m not an environmental scientist or expert on anything environmental. I fully acknowledge there are differences of opinion on matters such as global warming, conservation, pollution, etc.
That being said, I think we can generally agree that the Earth is a closed system. We’re not going to be making any more energy out of nothing. (The laws of thermodynamics being such as they are.) So let’s all do our part to help save some of the energy that we have remaining.
Over the past year, I’ve been replacing the conventional incandescent light bulbs in my home with CFL bulbs. At first, I was skeptical about the way fluorescent light would make things look. I was afraid of my home looking like the inside of a dentist office or grade school class room. I’m happy to report that CFL bulbs do no such thing and are entirely acceptable for indoor residential use.
If you haven’t tried CFL bulbs yet, I urge you, dear reader, to go to the store and buy just one. Test it out and see for yourself. If you install CFL bulbs into high use lighting fixtures in your home, you’ll undoubtedly notice a nice decline in your power bill. I know I have.
This post is made in support of Blog Action Day.
I’d definitely encourage people who use them to find adequate recycling for them instead of tossing them in the landfill as well. CFL bulbs contain mercury, and the more go in the trash, the more mercury will be going into our water. Recycling them will cost the end consumer (you and me), but it’s better than poisoning our grandchildren.
Excellent point, Gabe. The upside to this is that they last so long the frequency of needing to recycle is low.