Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s comments about House Speaker Pelosi brought the issue to the front of the line. In her current bout of political tourettes, she had this to say:

“[Pelosi] is committed to her global warming fanaticism to the point where she has said that she’s just trying to save the planet,” Bachmann told news site OneNewsNow. “We all know that someone did that over 2,000 years ago, they saved the planet — we didn’t need Nancy Pelosi to do that.”

Yes, folks…stop recycling, throwout your reusable bags and just let your cars run all day long. For Jesus, yes the one and only Jesus, has already fixed that whole global warming thingamabob.

Mind you, this lady is notorious for her hair-brained explanations. For example, did you know that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is now 100% wildlife free? Yep, same great taste but less filling. And this is why the Democrats favor high gas prices:

“They want Americans to take transit and move to the inner cities. They want Americans to move to the urban core, live in tenements, [and] take light rail to their government jobs. That’s their vision for America.”

Yes, Al Gore, dressed a la Dr. Evil, is trying to scare us all in to using light rail. Oh the horror of it all! It’s just too convenient. I mean all of it, if the planet is all saved thanks to Super Jesus then why do I keep getting copies of the Watchtower? Just let the guy do his job, already - no one likes to be micromanaged.

But that’s the rub. We’re not saved. He did not save us. None of it is okay. We must stop denying it like that mom in the jaw-dropping Jesus Camp movie?  We cannot lend ourselves to distractions like the plight of the incandescent bulb. There is no time. Accountability is our only salvation, not Jesus.

So I pray. I pray for Congresswoman Bachmann. I also pray for that crazy mom in the movie. I pray that for whatever bulb they choose, they themselves won’t remain perpetually dim.

Related Posts:

Saving More Than Souls: Religious Groups Seek “Renewal” for the Environment
You’re Either with Us, or You’re with the CFLs : Red, Green, and Blue
Jesus Unplugged: Religious Groups Participate in Earth Hour 2008

Image source: Asemta at Flickr

The technology works by using accelerated electrons to stimulate a phosphor coating on the inside of the glass bulb. In contrast, incandescent bulbs run a current through a filament inside the bulbs, and LEDs stimulate semiconductors to create light.

The first ESL prototype is expected to output 40 lumens per watt with a 6,000 hour lifetime.

So why is the ESL bulb any better than CFLs or LEDs?

Read more of this story »

People give you this whole rap about how easy saving the planet is. Change a light bulb and save the world. Yes and no. How about we consider it a start rather than an end destination?

Lighting accounts for about 20% of our electric bills. Traditional bulbs burn heat rather than light, so are extremely inefficient. Compact florescent light bulbs (CFLs) are 80% more efficient and can last up to 10 times longer than a traditional bulb. Last December, Congress voted to phase out the inefficient incandescent. By 2012, the 100-watt bulb will be history.

In the interim, environmentally-minded folks of all ilks are heralding the bulb. The virtual Stop Global Warming march reminds us swapping out three incandescent bulbs for CFLs will save us 300 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $60 a year. The Coalition On the Environment and Jewish Life suggests installing CFLs for Hanukkah as a way to redefine “energy-stretching light” and reflect environmental stewardship. Students in Pennsylvania sell light bulbs instead of candy to raise money for their schools. (Simran prefers candy.)

Read more of this story »

Putting those two together, Llamadas Heladas, a  company that offers among other things a phone booth on wheels, partnered up with TecnoSol, a local renewable energy company, to promote the use of CFLs during Earth Month. Yes month, they don’t mess around  down there. The joint campaign was called No Apagones. Basically, it’s reframing these lights to be a source of less blackouts, due to reduced energy use. They may cost four times a regular lightbulb, but they last 10 times as long, and use less energy, saving you both money and the headaches of power outages. A simple, compelling argument. Watch the video on their site. No Espanol needed, the message is clear.

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If you follow the conservative punditry, online or off, it’s a tough call. Today’s (April 24) “Mallard Fillmore” comic strip is just the latest example of conservatives taking aim at these energy-saving bulbs, focusing primarily on the fact that CFLs contain mercury.

So, for Mallard Fillmore author Bruce Tinsley, Thomas Sowell, Rush Limbaugh (whose content is not publicly available) and the crowd at WorldNetDaily, let’s review the facts:

Read more of this story »

The EcoGeek calls Huddler “The Finest Green Shopping Community So Far“. What is Huddler?

Launched in March of 2008, Huddler is a network of niche product review communities. By focusing each “Huddle” on specific areas of interest, Huddler hopes to provide a home for the most knowledgeable, passionate consumers to meet one another and share what they know in an interface that even novice internet users can take advantage of. By integrating custom built discussion forums, wikis, product reviews, image hosting, and more, Huddler not only helps you decide what to buy, but how to better use what you already own. Huddle together. Shop Better.

Huddler is holding a contest to celebrate its launch. Simply join Huddler, share you knowledge of the green products you use, and win! “From hybrid vehicles to solar arrays, CFL bulbs to green cleaners, efficient appliances to geothermal heat pumps, Huddler wants to know about your experiences and help you learn from like-minded peers.” You could win a green prize pack containing:

Read more of this story »

Update 3-19-08: Rumors of an outbreak now spreading to schools in Florida and Maine. Visit Treehugger for the latest news on this crisis!

Recently, schools across the country have been experiencing increased absences due to a nasty strain of the flu. It appears that children and teachers aren’t the only ones falling ill, but school office equipment has succumb to a different, common disease.

Read more of this story »

Tip of the hat to Dave over at e-Strategy blog.

This story contains additional media. Click here to view the media.

In a collaborative effort for public environmental awareness, electronics giant Philips and news station SKAI are giving away 50.000 compact fluorescent lamps in Greece. When compared to incandescent lamps of the same luminous flux, CFLs use less energy and have a longer rated life, saving thousands of tons of CO2 and other greenhouse gases.

On January 26th, Philips and SKAI representatives will be giving away CLFs in the city of Athens, Piraeus, Marousi, Thessaloni and Ptolemaida. A week after, on February 2nd free CLFs will be given away in the city of Ag. Paraskevi, Koridallos, Kallithea, Ilioupoli, Patra and Aliveri.

The momentum of the effort is so great that the Greek Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs decided to mimic the initiative and suggested [.doc] the nation wide replacement of all incandescent lamps found in schools with CLFs. Feedback from the general public is also positive but some people are concerned about the mercury in CFLs.

Disclaimer: I work for SKAI Radio 100,3

Part of the answer might be South Korea’s high usage of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).

It took me almost two months of living in Korea before I saw my first incandescent (”old fashioned”) light bulb. All of the others were energy efficient CFLs, like the one pictured here at this outdoor market.

Read more of this story »

An http://www.greenprinteronline.com dispatch.

LATEST in CFL Debate: No Actual Data on CFL migraine scare in The Daily Green

Conservative bloggers denounce US Congresses’ move to CFLs as a mercury health hazard and a “High Priest Al Gore of the Church of Global Warming of Modern Day Idiots (MDI)” falsity while of course, sourcing the “science” behind their claim as, what else, another conservative blogger’s opinion.

Read more of this story »

Although I am a right-brain, creative type, I enjoy measuring results as much as the next person. This past year, It seemed like everywhere I went, someone was handing me a Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb (CFL) and explaining how this 15-second change will remove CO2 from the air and fight global warming. That is why I got a kick out of One Billion Bulbs.

Altough there are other sites that will calculate your savings if you switch to CFLs, One Billion Bulbs lets you form a group and measure the results of making the switch.

Read more of this story »

December 28th, 2007 by Jim Gunshinan

Broke Your CFL? Don’t Panic!

The typical dose of mercury in a CFL is about the sizeof a pen tip 

(circled in red), and these doses have been getting smaller and smaller. 

(Photo provided by EPA.)

Australia has already begun to phase out the incandescent light bulb,

and the energy legislation recently signed by President Bush has

begun that process in the United States. Every time I turnaround,

it seems, someone is handing me a brand new

compact fluorescent light (CFL) to advance the cause of energy

efficiency and help save the planet. CFLs are becoming ubiquitous

in households all over California. We taught them in the pages of

Home Energy all the time. And that’s a goodthing, right?

Brandy Bridges, of Ellsworth, Maine may not think so. A cleaning

company quoted her a price of $2,000 to clean her house after

she broke a CFL.The benefits of CFLs are many–they use about75%

less energy than incandescents and last up to ten times longer.

Replacing a 75W incandescent with an 18W CFL will save you about $46

in electricity costs over the life of the bulb, and thatis at current

electricity prices, which no doubt will go up, making today’s CFLs an

even better deal. Energy Star CFLs (www.energystar.gov/cfls) won’t

flicker, give warmer light, and there area variety of them, from

the ubiquitous A-line bulb, to candelabras.

But, and it’s a big but, CFLs won’t give light without mercury.

The average CFL on the shelf at your local hardware store has about

4 mg of mercury in it. Mercury vapor is harmful to humans,and there

is enough mercury accumulated in some of the fish we eat

to make this Californian think twice about ordering salmon for dinner.

Thankfully, there are ways to clean up a broken CFL thatdon’t involve

an overly frightened and/or greedy cleaning company

(www.epa.gov/CFLcleanup), and recycling centers are available, if not

yet ubiquitous (that word again!) (www.lamprecycle.org).

Even if the worst happens and you break a CFL bulb, the EPA estimates

that at most only 6.8% of the 4 mg of mercury will be released, or about

0.27 mg, since most of it is in the glass, electrodes, and in the phosphor

coating on the inside of the glass. Incinerating a bulb willpotentially

release more mercury vapor, if there are no pollution controls on the incinerator.

But even if the CFL released all of it’s mercury–according to Richard Benware,

a graduate student at Cornell who researched CFLs last summer for EPA’s

Energy Star program–it would still be a better choice than an incandescent,

because over its lifetime, the 15W CFL will have preventedthe release of 5.67 mg

of mercury from an average power plant.

Of course, recycling is best, and that is still a problem. Alan Meier,

Home Energy’s senior executive editor, admits to turning

part of his garage into a “temporary hazardous waste holding facility” to

hold his family’s used CFLs, since the nearest CFL recycling center is

13 miles away from his home in Berkeley, through “one of the worst traffic

jams in the United States.” There is help in finding those recycling centers,

near and far (www.earth911.org).

But we need to put the same effort used in making CFLs ubiquitous into making

disposing of them in a clean safe manner just as ubiquitously easy.

You know what I mean.

Turning off the lights depends on the bulb. If you still have incandescent bulbs, it is always best to shut the light off when no one is in a room or if you aren’t using the light. Fluorescent lights are a little different, since constantly switching them on and off will make them less efficient. For CFLs and other fluorescent bulbs, if you know you won’t be using it within the next 15 minutes, shut it off.

Maximize the day light. Opening curtains to let in natural light is the best way to do this. However, since a lot of heat can escape through windows, especially older windows, close up the curtains after dark to avoid using more energy to heat your home.

Use directional lights. If you’re sitting at a desk or occupying only part of a room, you may not need to illuminate the whole space. Use smaller lamps to better utilize light in a room.

Install sensors. If you’re redoing a space or constructing a new home, consider installing light sensors that will automatically shut off when no one is in the room.

Department of Energy Home Lighting Information

More from Green Options:

Daily Tip: Lights Out

Better Daylighting

Besides the agreement by utilities to invest in energy efficiency, and besides Florida Power & Light’s major new commitment to solar energy, the Clinton Global Initiative is also partnering with the Joint U.S.-China Cooperation on Clean Energy (JUUCCCE) on efficiency efforts in China.

The China Lighting Conversion program will distribute 10 million free energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) to customers. CFLs use one-third the energy of traditional bulbs, but are still cost-prohibitive to many Chinese. According to JUUCCCE, the CFLs would save about 3.7 million tons of CO2 over 4 ½ years — enough to avoid having to build one typical U.S.-size coal plant. While I tell myself it’s encouraging to see the start of another clean energy commitment in China, I’m still disheartened by the multiple coal plants they’re building each week. But change has to start somewhere.

The other JUUCCCE program is the Energy Efficient Urban Design Tools for Mayors. This is an interactive, multimedia curriculum to train hundreds of Chinese mayors on technology and best practices that can make their cities more energy efficient. Mayors will learn about green building programs, for example, and will connect with vendors, service providers and financial advisors to help them implement what they learn. The key with this program will be rigorous follow-up and support to ensure that the information learned isn’t forgotten or lost in the bureaucracy one the mayor returns to the city.

The first phase will begin with the CFL program in April 2008, with the training for mayors to start in October of next year.

Joint U.S.-China Cooperation on Clean Energy

Making the switch to CFLs (compact flourescent lamps) will result in noticeable savings in your electricity bill. Plus, they last longer, produce more light, and emit less heat.

Want more good news about CFLs? They come in more than one variety. There’s a CFL for many different types of light fixtures, and you can choose your shape: spiral, or a more conventional ‘bulb’ look. Some manufacturers even offer CFLs that radiate that warm glow of an incandescent so many of us have grown accustomed to. But before you buy, check the label to make sure the CFL will work with your lamp or lighting fixture, and that it corresponds to the appropriate wattage. (For more facts about CFLs, Natural Path has some great answers to some CFL basics.)

However, all CFLs contain mercury - about 5 milligrams each (equivalent to the tip of a ballpoint pen.) On the upside, many CFL manufacturers are working on reducing that amount to no more than 2 milligrams per bulb by 2008. No matter which CFL you buy, always check with your local waste management company to find out how to properly dispose of your CFLs. (Smart HomeOwner has additional facts on mercury in CFLs and safe disposal information.)

If you live in California or Australia, you may not even have a choice soon, as regulations are in the works to ban the incandescent bulb altogether.

So get on that CFL bandwagon. Make the switch and start saving energy today.

Amy says: My roommate and I seem to have inadvertently stockpiled some 60w bulbs and haven’t run out yet, but the second we do I’m buying the CFLs.

More on CFLs from GO:

Tip o’ the Day: A Bright Idea

Environmental Defense: Why Today’s CFLs Are So Much Better

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

Daily Tip: A Bright Idea

Naturalpath Asks "CFLs — What’s the Deal?"

Smart HomeOwner: Safer CFLs

New Lighting Technology?

Kenny Luna: The Pied Piper of CFLs

Popular Mechanics Puts Efficient Light Bulbs to the Test

People don’t want a few stories thoroughly investigated, they want a lot of stories barely mentioned.
–John Stewart of The Daily Show

In our line of work (read our mission statement), it is very difficult to get, and impossible to retain, the media’s attention, especially when what you are advocating isn’t always all that sexy. You try saying the words "net metering" without yawning. It can’t be done.

Here is what most media outlets want: A real crisis with two major elements: A villain and a hero. The hero will come wielding one powerful silver bullet.

Fortunately for all of us a crisis is exactly what we have in global climate change. And this crisis is not in retreat:

• In 2004 China was projected to surpass the United States in CO2 production (one area where the United States is NOT envious of Chinese production) in 2024. China outperformed in this arena as well, and surpassed in CO2 production earlier this year. (Data from the International Energy Agency in Paris)
• This would be fine if it meant that the United States was being surpassed because it has cut production of greenhouse gasses. This is not so. Since 1990 the United States has increased greenhouse gas production by 16 percent. (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Bonn, Germany).

We have a big task on our hands, to be sure, but do we have a silver bullet wielding hero?

Unfortunately, it is not a silver bullet that is going to save us. There is no one answer. No golden wind turbines, nor magic carbon sequestration practices.

What we need is an ambitious re-thinking of our national energy policy that will diversify our fuel/power mix, cut energy demand, and is founded on the principles of conservation.

You try selling this to generation Xbox. All the journalists out there stopped reading the last paragraph somewhere around the words "there is no one answer."

Diversity, mix, multiple: these words do not fit into the neatly-packed story arc of sinister scheming villain vs. altruistic shining hero. In fact, the idea of villain and hero does not fit, because both the hero and the villain winds up being the same person: US, we selfish consuming individuals.

None of us meant to kill the popular cute cuddly polar bears from Al Gore’s movie. It is not as if when we leave a room and do not switch off the lights, we are thinking sinister global warming thoughts. Or when we participate in NIMBY-ism by protesting against "destructive" wind turbines, we aren’t thinking "Gee, you know, I really hate my grandchildren." It’s just that we are not thinking very much at all.

Confronting global climate change and crafting meaningful solutions is a bit like eating an elephant. The problem fills the room and then our brains switch off, not feeling up to the task.

But that’s what we’re here for, to show you how to take small strategic bites so you play the part of the hero MORE than you play the part of the villain. People make mistakes, but we do not want a system that rewards these mistakes.

Because let’s face it, we all (and I include us know-it-all environmentalists) are going to play the part of the villain at times. Most of us will forget to turn off the lights at least once in the next month, but it would be a lot better if the lights we forget to turn off are, say, energy (and money) saving compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). So do one thing this week. Go to a store that carries CFLs, and buy one for every fixture in the house.

Personally, I think it is best to wait until your old, incandescent bulbs burn out. (Are we trading some energy efficiency for more consumer waste? You decide). We have a complete consumer guide to CFLs: A Compact Fluorescent Truth (one story, thoroughly investigated).

Okay, so CFLs are the silver bullet of this article. What can I say, I needed a hook and I’ve got some Xbox to play.

A typical CFL contains about 5 milligrams of mercury – roughly equivalent to the tip of a ballpoint pen, according to GE. But new low-mercury CFLs from such companies as GE, Philips and Osram Sylvania contain 4 milligrams or less, and some, such as the 16-watt A-Shape bulb from Philips, contain as little as 1.2 milligrams of mercury.

Even better, manufacturers have committed to reducing even further the amount of mercury in CFLs. Osram Sylvania, for instance, says it will reduce mercury in all its CFLs to 2.5 milligrams by the end of 2008, and Lights of America expects all its bulbs to have no more than two milligrams of mercury by the end of 2007, according to Wal-Mart, which is working with manufacturers to reduce the amount of mercury in the CFLs it sells.

Homeowners concerned about mercury should be aware that all CFLs are safe if used properly, and no mercury is released when the bulb is in use. If a bulb breaks, there’s no immediate hazard, but don’t vacuum it up, as that could disperse the mercury. Instead, sweep up all the glass fragments or use damp paper towel to clean it up. Place the broken pieces and paper towel into a sealed plastic bag.

Finally, all CFLs should be properly recycled. Do not place them in your trash can or standard recyling, as they can break. Instead, check with your local municipality or waste management company to find out how to properly dispose of the bulbs. Some areas have local recycling programs for CFLs, and some retailers, such as IKEA, will recycle the bulbs for you. For other recycling options, check Earth 911 at www.earth911.org or call their toll-free hotline at 800-CLEANUP to find out more about recycling options your area. Additional information is available at www.lamprecycle.org.

When I was a young lad, my father sat me down for two minutes of the most awkward conversation I have ever had the misfortune to be a part of; in the end I was left with a shaky sense of fear, and a healthy dose of confusion. This isn’t that kind of talk.

If you have a parent, or grandparent (or for that matter brother, sister, or friend) that displays all the outward signs of intelligence, but doesn’t seem to be doing any of the many simple things to make this world a better place, it is up to you to help them understand why they should start. My advice: start small.
Try and get them to alter one portion of there life. I would start with recycling. Most places have curb side recycling, or a recycling center close by. If they aren’t into all that "hippy crap," then try the tactic of showing how much financial sense it makes to keep waste out of landfills. They will have to deal with the problems of what to do when the local landfill is full, so it’s a good idea to keep it from filling up. Explain that recycling makes the local government money, and hence provides funds for other services they enjoy (parks, schools, whatever).

Enable there choices by providing the tools needed to make the change. Get them the recycling bin as a gift, buy that programmable thermostat, or bring over a couple compact fluorescent light bulbs. Let them drive your fuel efficient car, and show them it won’t kill them. Take them for a walk in the woods. Most importantly, don’t be confrontational. Make suggestions, not demands. My mother used to tell me "you catch more bees with honey than with vinegar."

Most people don’t think much about the kind of light bulb they buy, or the kind of potato they get from the store. Talking to your parents about this will get them to stop and consider the choices they make. The biggest influence in our lives is our friends and family. The opinion of trusted loved ones can do more to change our behavior than a million Al Gores telling a million inconvenient truths.

Most importantly, make sure to praise and reward any changes they do make. If someone is very set in their ways ("I have been doing it this way for 45 years…"), it can be very hard to suddenly change. Once you have them doing something small (recycling, new light bulbs), start dropping hints about insulating the attic, or buying that new energy efficient washer dryer combo. Before you know it your mother will be showing off her new hybrid and reminding you to recycle your pop can. Good luck!

As always, we’re grateful to Naturalpath for sharing their content with us. Don’t forget to look and see which of our blogs posts the NP team has chosen to feature on their site.

And, if you were looking for the second part of NP interview with the authors of Skinny Bitch, you can find it here.