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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Guest opinion: Energy-saving bulbs a Northwest hallmark

Tom Karier Special to The Spokesman-Review

Are you concerned that climate change is destroying ancient glaciers and threatening the existence of precious plants and animals? Perhaps you are concerned about the cost of your monthly power bill? There is one easy step everyone can take to help solve both problems: replacing all your old incandescent light bulbs with modern compact fluorescent lights, or CFLs. Your power rates will go down a little, demand for electricity will slow, and fewer power plants will be built, thus helping to contain carbon dioxide emissions. But none of this will happen unless you buy the bulbs and screw them in.

The CFLs cost more than regular bulbs, a few bucks each, but they have two great advantages: They last a lot longer, up to seven years, and they use a fraction of the electricity of incandescent bulbs. The economics of this are extremely favorable. The energy savings quickly pay for the higher cost of the bulb, and the long lifetime guarantees that the savings will keep rolling in. I’ve noticed that light bulbs are no longer on our grocery list; they just don’t burn out.

We now have them in every socket in our house, even outside lighting, with the exception of the dimmer switches, which have different requirements. You can buy CFLs all over town, but the prices vary enough that it is worth shopping around. The best prices are usually for the multipacks containing at least three or four bulbs. Buy what you need with the correct wattage and remember you may not need a lot of spare bulbs. I’ve kept my old incandescent bulbs for those dimmer switches until I find better replacements for them, too.

According to one organization that tracks this kind of thing (18seconds.org), Washington state ranks first in the nation in CFL sales. While the Northwest accounts for only 4 percent of the national population, we bought 7 percent of the CFLs sold in 2007, or about 20 million bulbs. It is even more impressive considering that many other regions of the country have considerably higher electricity prices. This record shows that Northwesterners understand that these are smart financial investments that will significantly help the environment. But we are not done yet, not until every socket has an energy-saving light bulb. If your house is already saturated, ask your family and friends how they are doing and think about buying a multipack for them.

I bought some of my CFLs during the energy crisis in 2000 and I have a couple of burned-out bulbs in a plastic bag in a drawer. There are a few places in town that will recycle them, including the Waste-to-Energy Plant west of town. Recycling is important because the CFLs contain small amounts of mercury that are not good for landfills or incinerators. For more information, call Spokane’s hazardous waste office at (509) 625-7898.

The war on climate change is going to require some sacrifices in the future, but this isn’t one of them. CFLs will save you money every year while reducing your contribution to the region’s carbon dioxide emissions. You win, and so does the environment. We should be proud that Washington state is leading the nation in this campaign and we in Spokane can help to keep it going.