SWITCH Lighting, a maker of Light Emitting Diodes lights to replace incandescent light bulbs, is now retailing at over 350 participating Batteries Plus stores across the U.S. The company’s LED lights, a more sustainable lighting alternative to incandescent bulbs, save up to 80 percent energy compared with traditional lights.

Another innovation behind SWITCH LED bulbs is that (more…)

Like in cartoons, sometimes a brilliant idea appears in the shape of a light bulb. This is because solar lights are some of the most brilliant ideas being developed to make the world a more sustainable place and to promote inclusion for those people living in remote areas. (more…)

We all know someone who always seems to have it before you can buy it. My best friend, Joel, is a prime example. From backpack-sized car phones and the Turbografx 16 (although the gaming system was an epic fail, Bonk’s Revenge was the jam) to Reebok pumps and a portable mini-disc player, Joel has been first in line for a lot of stuff. Joel is a classic example of (more…)

U.S. light bulb manufacturers are displeased that Republican lawmakers have delayed efforts to introduce more efficient bulbs, a move that was supposed to have taken effect January 1.

According to the Web site Politico, manufacturers like General Electric, Philips, and Osram Sylvania have (more…)

Am I average?

That’s the question that often hits me when someone quotes an ‘average’ statistic. The ‘average’ business or household seems almost mythological. Few of us fall right on that point on the line.

The same is true when it comes to often quoted (more…)

I recently downloaded a new app to my iPhone called Bulb Blasters. (OK, full disclosure: it’s a game created by Xcel Energy that involves using a powerful laser-equipped CFL to blast incandescent bulbs that descend the screen a la Space Invaders.)

When I showed it my brother, he rolled his eyes. I’m (more…)

I have to agree with the Tea Party; the US government should not choose the light bulbs I use in my home. And fortunately, it does not.

Yet that’s the spin being pushed by those who want to roll back federal lighting performance standards. An odd mythology is developing around the standards. (more…)

Another Bad Week, Or a Really Good One? Good news grows as slow as a tree, but bad news spills as fast as a broken oil main. That seems to be the lesson from this week as BP, the U.S. government and an armada of ships and volunteers tried but mostly failed to contain the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Though BP had some success at slowing the spigot, oil is pooling in the wetlands of the Mississippi Delta and resides at unmeasured quantities in the deeps. There it has joined the Loop Current with a probable next stop in Florida.

Meanwhile, 1,500 miles north, an equally momentous event drew little attention: an agreement to curtail or end logging on 72 million acres of Canada’s boreal forest, an area roughly the size of France. An unlikely consortium of logging companies and Greenpeace agreed to halt the chainsaws altogether for three years in an area as big as Montana, and to develop a sustainable-forestry program for the remainder. The accord might be the forerunner to permanent protection for an area that encompasses two-thirds of Canada’s logging concessions. (more…)

The US Environmental Protection Agency has some suggestions on how we can save energy this summer, and reduce our emissions of Green House Gasses. The energy used in an average home costs more than $2,200 a year and contributes more greenhouse gas emissions than a typical car. Looking at the Energy Star ratings on home appliances, cooling equipment, computers and entertainment devices can, collectively, make a large difference.

Here are some tips from EPA to save energy and help protect the environment at home and at work:

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