Incandescents are on the Way Out

In an announcement Tuesday, Australian Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that yellow incandescent lightbulbs would be phased out over the next three years in favor of the more efficient and eco-friendly fluorescent bulbs.

Australia is one of the world’s largest producers of greenhouse gases per capita, but they are being forced to change their ways due to noticable effects of global warming, namely the severe drought that is currently affecting the continent. According to Turnbull, the changes to fluorescent would cut 800,000 tons from Australia’s current greenhouse gas emissions by 2012 and lower household lighting cost by 66%.

After reading a little bit about fluorescent lights, I couldn’t help but wonder why these kinds of changes weren’t made a long time ago.  Fluorescent lights only use 1/3 to 1/4 of the energy an incandescent light does to produce equal intensity lights.  Also, fluorescent lights burn much cooler than incandescent lights and they also last 10 to 20 times longer on average.  The fact that fluorescent lights are more costly is more than made up for in its lower energy consumption and longer life.

I think that when Australia’s changes are put in effect they will set a good precedent for the rest of the world.  Fluorescent lights are obviously the smarter choice environmentally and a have a number of other benefits over incandescent bulbs.  I believe that it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world decides to switch bulbs, and in doing so makes a big step in the fight against global warming.

http://enn.com/today.html?id=12256

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescent_lamp

image credits: wikipedia.org

Lights Out for Global Warming

In order to draw attention to energy consumption and its effects on the environment and global warming, the Eiffel Tower’s lights will be turned off for five minutes this Thursday.

After reading this article, I wasn’t entirely sure what to think. On one hand, it shows that people around the world are aware and concerned about global warming. However, another part of me had the reaction of “so what?” In my opinion, being aware of the problem and letting others know that you’re concerned doesn’t really do much unless the concerns are acted on.

I also found it interesting that the article noted concerns about possibly causing a blackout when turning the lights on again.  If that is a true concern about the event, then it is obvious that the intentions are in the wrong place.

While it is always good to raise awareness of global warming, I think that this will have little or no positive effect.  Now that the effects of global warming are becoming so much more evident and are progressing so quickly, it is much more important to make actual changes than to continue trying to raise awareness.

http://enn.com/today.html?id=12142