Pope Goes Green - And So Goes Italy

Early morning, warm November, hmmm.



I couldn't believe my eyes. What a statement this makes. Here we are at St. Mark's Square, Venice, perhaps one of the the largest plazas in the world, home to ancient religious customs and amazing human works of art and low and behold, a sign of modern environmental concern. The not-so-attractive tubular CFL (compact fluorescent lightbulb) ready to go in a gracious pink glass lantern.

I had already noticed during my trip the more-than-I-was-used-to green living behaviors such as rain barrels, recycling, outdoor laundry hanging, and CFL's. In fact, I did not see one old fashion incandescent at all. So what gives?

Are we that behind the eight ball that a quick trip to Italy smacks me to realizing that we have a lot more work to do? Is our country still in denial about climate change or is getting Americans to do something en mass sort of like herding cats? Or is it that the highest religious, most notable position on earth is demanding that the citizens of this planet take notice and action?

I had heard that the Pope had gone green. In fact he talks about our responsibility to the planet a lot. He calls it a "moral issue" and "a grave responsibility to preserve [the earth's] order for the well-being of future generations". I like that idea. You go Pope Benedict XVI.

The Vatican is actually the world's only sovereign state that can claim to be carbon-neutral. That is so cool. The city, country, or what ever it is, just installed solar panels, lots of them. Talk about setting an example to the world!

So my theory is that this is an example of trickle down Popeness. Whatever you want to call it, and what ever it takes, Italians have made a big dent in their carbon footprint. The birthrate in Italy is one of the lowest on earth, down to 1.2 per woman. I don't think the birth rate is a function of the current green Pope, but it is an interesting coincidence.

I applaud the Italians and the Pope for doing such a good real green job. Maybe we can actually learn from others, so ... change your light bulbs, please.

CFL's and Fox News

Early morning fog is nestled in the valleys and slowly disappearing.

Fox news did another one of their silly rants and picked on CFL's (compact fluorescent light bulbs). The woman reporter introduced those evil funny looking light bulbs as "really expensive" which right off the bat tells you a couple of things - either she never goes shopping (not!), is using last century's information (so much for "news") or they accidentally lie to add fuel to the fire. They sell for only one dollar each at most stores.

Yes CFL's contain mercury and they always have. Those long office ones (FOX probably has them all over their studio) have always contained mercury, for decades, and no one jumped up and down before. It was common practice to smash them in order for them to fit into the garbage. Perish the thought and now illegal.

Fox was right in that there was not enough good information on the package telling the consumer how to clean up a broken bulb or how to dispose of them properly. They also explained how to properly clean it up even though they did it back handedly as they made fun of it. You know how they jump up and down and yell at you? (Some times I think they are satirical and wonder if all this drama isn't planned sarcasm as they snicker in the back room because they can't possibly think of themselves as professionals.)

What they did leave out was the fact that leaving in your old incandescent light bulb spews out more mercury than what is in a CFL. And since I am personally a receiver of bad air and acid rain funneling from the country's coal burning plants over my house, I would appreciate it everyone would change their light bulbs.

So for the environment's sake, each light bulb uses 75% less energy. If every household in the entire USA changed only one light bulb, that would save the amount of energy to power the entire State of New Hampshire. That's how important changing your light bulbs is. The idea is to save energy so the electricity producing plants spew out less CO2.

Now for the pocket part. You guessed it. For each light bulb you change, you save 75% of your hard earned cash. And, the light bulb will last a lot longer than regular ones (there is a 1-10% failure rate so take it back to the store if it burns out too early). Your return on your investment is pretty darn quick.

How many Fox news reporters does it take to change a light bulb? You tell me.

You Haven't Changed Your Lightbulbs Yet?

The far peak is finally in view after days of fog and rain. Very hazy, which means a muggy day in New England.

I had a conversation with a good friend, a person who is outdoorsy, thoughtful and someone I thought had embraced the green movement. So I jokingly said, "Have you changed all your light bulbs yet?" His answer "No" shocked me and so here we are talking about it.

It seems the number one reason, and his, why folks have not gotten around to changing their light bulbs to CFL's (compact florescent lights) is..."My other ones haven't burnt out yet." My friend took it one step further and said he had some extras he still needed to "use up." Come on!

Now I know we Yankee frugal types do have a really hard time throwing things out, especially when they still work. It just goes against our grain. But if you look at the numbers, the cost savings of CFL's far exceed keeping those dinosaur of a light bulbs.

The math is really simple: A CFL uses only 25% electricity of a regular incandescent bulb. If you want the bottom line, your regular bulb costs you $1. compared to your CFL at only 25 cents. With these facts, why on earth would someone keep waisting their electric money continuing to burn a regular light bulb at 4 times the cost? Throw those darn things out! Remember, saving electricity use means saving money too. (yes I know it's about saving the planet but some people have to save it in their pockets too.) So here's another fact: If every American household changed only one of their regular bulbs to a CFL, that electrical savings would be enough to power the entire State of New Hampshire.

What other excuses do people have? The second biggest reason is the mercury content in a CFL. You know long office type fluorescent bulbs, that people have over their work benches and in closets? They have been around for decades and they have always contained mercury and no one seemed to be concerned about those. One CFL has about 1/6th the mercury of a watch battery. Okay, so a CFL can break more easily. Let's look at it another way. The electricity produced to burn your regular light bulb spews out more mercury into the air than than the difference in the mercury contained in the bulb. Since we have a major mercury problem in a our New Hampshire waters, I will continue to cast my vote with the CFL.

Those are the two major reasons why people have not changed their light bulbs. Here is a list of 10 reasons I have come across why people have not yet changed their light bulbs:

1- My regular light bulbs have not burned out yet.
2- I have to use up all my old light bulbs first.
3- I don't want mercury in my house. (try LED's)
4- CFL's are expensive. (not anymore! down to a buck)
5- CFL's are ugly. (to paraphrase our V.P. "So")
6- They don't fit my socket. (try a socket extender)
7- They are too big. (they come mini now)
8- I need dimmables and 3-ways. (they make them)
9- They flicker. (not the new ones)
10- I don't like the light. (try different types)

If you have come across any other reasons please let me know as I would love to add to this list.
Though this seems about money, it really isn't from an environmental standpoint. This is about being able to make a major impact in reducing CO2 emissions but it can only happen with power in numbers. That means we all have to change all the light bulbs we can if we are going to quickly reduce the numbers the experts say we must in order to avoid planet failure.

So what's your excuse?