Scarier With The Lights On
Postcard from Environmental Defense
Give friends and family a real good scare this Halloween by sending them one of Environmental Defense’s ghoulish e-cards, because “nothing is scarier than old, inefficient light bulbs.”
Then, shoo them over to the non-profit’s guide to energy-efficient light bulbs for all types of fixtures. Just plug in your search criteria and the Web site will draw up a list of light bulbs to match your needs, along with user reviews from staff members.
I was planning to paint my pile of burnt-out incandescents (replaced with compact-fluorescent bulbs, of course) and make little jack-o-lantern ornaments ala Glitterville, but the only non-toxic acrylic paint I’ve been able to find in the right colors so far come in vinyl squeeze bottles OF DEATH. You could almost hear the violin soundtrack from Psycho zinging as I turned a bottle over to find the tell-tale plastic-code 3 and the letter “V” emblazoned on the bottom. (I had to explain to the overly chatty checkout guy why I had changed my mind about that purchase, so hopefully it wasn’t a total wash.)
Thinking WAY ahead, why not join the Holiday Lights Campaign and pledge to give out some CFLs as holiday gifts—with an explanation card so your recipients don’t think you’re cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs—for the holidays instead of succumbing to that insatiable black hole of conspicuous consumption? You can get 18-watt (75-watt incandescent equivalent) Energy Star-rated CFLs at Taraluna, an online purveyor of eco-friendly, fair-trade goods, for only $3 a pop (regular price is usually between $6-$12). Taraluna will also throw in one for free with purchases of $50 or more.
Related articles:
1. The Unbearable Brightness of Being
2. Bulbs for Birds
Mark Caserta said,
October 27, 2006 at 9:57 am
Good find! Im going to post about this too, if you don’t mind. I’ll mention that i got it from you, im out of ideas today.
By the way, i noticed that Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell isnt on your site anymore as your book. Did you finish it? Like it? I loved it!
Dustywheat said,
October 27, 2006 at 10:41 am
I was just thinking about the whole holiday lights thing yesterday. I’m definately still going to pass. It’s too hard to convince DH to risk his life to hang some little white lights that WE don’t get to enjoy. I’ll just decorate inside again, like every year, and i can turn on and off my little white lights as I please.
thissinglespark said,
October 27, 2006 at 12:02 pm
The great thing about being a Scrooge AND a Grinch (both the Halloween and the Christmas versions of…) is that I don’t have to worry about things like little lights. In fact, Halloween is usually a particularly good time for saving energy and I sit in the dark in my bedroom cursing the little beggers ringing the doorbell.
Christmas finds me a bit more social, but still no lights. And really trying to get away from gifts. Have a growing number of people that I just give love to.
Laura said,
October 31, 2006 at 1:56 am
So I really, really wanted to like CF. I bought a whole bunch of them at IKEA and some more at the hardware store. We started putting them in as the incandescents burned out and I began to panic. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t see to read, to knit, nothing. I checked the little wattage equivalant chart, saw that they were the same, and made an eye doctor’s apt. Actually, made a big hairy fuss, that my vision had changed dramatically, etc. So he sees nothing new in my well examined and deteriorating vision and sends me home. I change the lightbulbs back. I can see again. WTH? Is this a known thing? that people with bad vision can’t use these CF? Did I buy the wrong brand? The wrong watt equivalent? Any ideas? I would really like to be able to use these.