The Great and the Good, scientists, corporate titans and even the Great and Not-so-Good are all telling us we’re in for a rocky future if we don’t get our collective act together and dramatically slow down the rate of global warming. They then come up with what they reckon the world should do about it, and that invariably involves the spending of unheard of sums of money. Ever since the corporate titans and the Great and the Not-so-Good came round to the notion that there were boatloads of boodle to be made in all this eco stuff, they’ve come aboard the gravy train with a passion that is commendable. They then start pushing the particularly lucrative solution that serves them, and of course the rest of the world, best. Nothing wrong with that. We’re in big trouble and anything that gets us through this is badly needed.
So that’s all very well, except that the one means of curbing global warming, something as, if not more, effective than anything else - a means that is cheap, abundant, does not pollute, is readily available and, best of all, is something every single one of us can do something about, remains an unpromoted orphan because there’s no money in it.
All the other big-budget answers remain problematical in one way or another. Coal is filthy stuff, oil is dirty and we’re running out of it, nuclear power is too pricey, wind and solar depend on the weather, bio fuels destroy forests, drive up food prices and lead to more carbon emissions than it saves, and so on. The means to make these various big-ticket solutions viable options may be in the offing but are several years away - and zillions of dollars. Hence their desirability to our Green Titans of Industry
The “Orphan” Solution
The miracle energy source to which I refer goes by the name of Energy Efficiency. Every individual, every household, every business, every province and every nation can all save money plus play a major role in saving the world, simply by using energy more efficiently. We don’t necessarily have to deny ourselves anything to make a huge difference. We’re not even talking about energy conservation here, which is driving less, turning off lights, lowering heaters and air conditioners and so on. It’s not about doing less with less, however admirable or even good for us that may be. It’s about doing the same or more with less.
So now I want each and every one of you to take a small giant step for mankind. If you have not already done so, get up out of your chair right now and go buy four of those funny new squiggly light bulbs. Having done that, sit down, pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself - for you are now an Eco Hero Grade One. Not only are you saving yourself money but you are playing your part in saving the world. Repeat the exercise once a week, or once a month if you’re pushed for a penny, until your house and/or your business is equipped throughout with new squigglies. If you can’t do that, you deserve what’s coming your way. Only trouble with that being, its coming all our way.
Enter the Squiggly
What I call a squiggly is of course more properly known as a Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL). Initially they were ugly to look at and shed an unattractive white light, like their cousin strip lighting. However that’s rapidly changing for the better as the market grows by leaps and bounds. CFLs now only cost about double that of a conventional incandescent bulb but uses 75% of the electricity to give the same amount of light and lasts seven times longer. Just think what that’s going to do to your utility bill. To get the scale of it, if the 110 million households in the US replaced just ONE 60-watt incandescent bulb with a CFL that would provide enough energy savings to light 3 million homes or an entire city of 1.5 million people, or the equivalent of taking 800,000 cars off the road. If CFLs really do catch on as they seem to be, it will reduce the world’s use of electricity by 40% and just think how many coal-fired power stations we wouldn’t need. By 2030 CFLs could reduce Co2 emissions by 16.6 billion tons a year, says the National Geographic Society.
Each 13-watt CFL has a 10,000-hour life and saves 470 kilowatt-hours compared to the old 60 watt bulb. This translates to a global warming reduction of 730 lbs of Co2. It also means a reduction of 1.6 lbs of nitrogen oxide (contributing to ozone depletion and acid rain), 4.3 lbs sulphur dioxide (contributing to haze and acid rain) and makes significant reductions in the impact of coal-produced power, such as mercury pollution, the destruction of forest and stream habitats in mining areas.
And here’s the financial pay off for reaching Eco hero Grade One. You cut your electricity bill per light by 1/5th for every CFL you put in. Doesn’t seem to me that electricity is any cheaper here in Bali than in America. And who knows, maybe we wouldn’t have all those irksome power cuts we get.
So what are the snags?. There have to be some. Yes, but not serious and they are progressively being eliminated. CFLs have limitations for outdoor, recessed and dimming fixtures and the “warmth” of the light has been addressed giving out a warmer more golden light, just like the incandescents of yore.
Less Mercury, Fewer Power Stations
The main drawback to CFLs is they contain mercury, an average of 4 mg compared to the 500 mg there is in a thermometer, say. No mercury is emitted during use but care needs to be taken in cleaning up in the case of breakage and with final disposal. Increasingly proper arrangements are being made for the collection and disposal of CFLs, though I imagine it will be a some time before that comes to Bali. A project here perhaps? We don’t want the poor mangroves at Suwung to suffer any more than they have done already, now do we?
Should mercury deter you from using CFLs? No it should not, and here’s why.
As noted, the reduction in use of electricity and the mercury generated thereby more than compensates many times over for the mercury emissions from CFLs. The comparison of mercury emissions over a life of a 13-watt CFL with a 60-watt incandescent is 1.8 mg to 5.8 mg of mercury. CFLs are responsible for almost one quarter the amount of mercury as the old bulb.
Of course it doesn’t stop there. Now you’ve reached the elevated status of Eco Hero Grade One you are of course itching to scale the heights of Eco Heroism, Grades 2 through 10. Now you need to spare some thought for your car, running it and your household appliances efficiently as well. This costs a little more in initial outlay than buying a squiggly or two, but nothing to daunt an Eco Hero, surely? Anyway, you cover the costs in no time at all. Then it’s time to move the game from the home to your business, get your carbon footprint measured and do what needs to be done to reduce or eliminate it. Then I reckon you’ve graduated to Eco Hero Class 2 with Green Knobs On and you are what the world needs now - part of the solution, not the problem.
