Fluorescent Light Bulbs

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs: Change a Light Bulb and Change the World

If you want to change the world, start by changing a few light bulbs. It is one of the best things you can do for the environment—and your budget. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, if every U.S. household replaced just one regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb, it would prevent 90 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, the equivalent of taking 7.5 million cars off the road. And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that by replacing regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs at the same minimal rate, Americans would save enough energy to light more than 2.5 million homes for a year.

Reasons to Switch to Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

On top of that, replacing one regular light bulb with an approved compact fluorescent light bulb would save consumers $30 in energy costs over the life of the bulb. Compact fluorescent light bulbs use at least two-thirds less energy than standard incandescent bulbs to provide the same amount of light, and they last up to 10 times longer. Compact fluorescent light bulbs also generate 70 percent less heat, so they are safer to operate and can also reduce energy costs associated with cooling homes and offices. The only real drawback to using compact fluorescent bulbs is that each one contains about 5 mg of mercury, a toxic heavy metal that can cause serious health problems if inhaled or ingested over a period of time or in large enough doses. As a result, many environmentalists and other experts recommend recycling compact fluorescent bulbs to make sure they don't end up in landfills.

How Much Can You Save by Using Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs?

For most people, switching from incandescent to compact fluorescent bulbs offers a lot of opportunity for energy and cost savings. Lighting accounts for 20 percent of the electric bill in the average U.S. home, and the average home has approximately 30 light fixtures. (Calculate your personal energy and cost savings with this handy online calculator, and find out how much you will be helping the environment.)

To save the most energy and money by using compact fluorescent light bulbs, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends replacing standard bulbs in areas where lights are used frequently and left on for a long time, such as family rooms, living rooms, kitchens, dining rooms, and porches.

Choosing the Right Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

To make sure you get the same amount of light when replacing standard bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs, check the lumen rating on the light you are replacing and purchase a compact fluorescent light bulb with the same lumen rating. (A lumen rating is the measure of light the bulb puts out.) Wattage varies greatly between standard light bulbs and compact fluorescent light bulbs. Compact fluorescent light bulbs typically use about one-quarter of the wattage used by standard bulbs to produce the same amount of light. So to replace a traditional 60-watt bulb, look for a compact fluorescent light bulb that is about 15 watts. Compact fluorescent light bulbs are available in many different sizes and shapes to fit in almost any fixture—from three-way lamps to dimmer switches—for both indoor and outdoor use. Compact fluorescent light bulbs also come in a variety of color temperatures, which helps determine the color and brightness of the light each bulb provides. (Learn more about the brightness,color and light quality of compact fluorescent light bulbs.)

Keeping It Simple

None of this is as daunting as it may seem. But to make it really simple, the environmental group Environmental Defense has put together an easy-to-use web site that lets you search for the compact fluorescent light bulbs according to where you want to use them or by shape, brightness, color of light or other features. The site also features user reviews of specific bulbs, and side-by-side photos of energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs with incandescent bulbs to help you determine whether the fluorescent bulbs will fit your light fixture. With all of the choices now offered by compact fluorescent technology, saving energy, saving money, and protecting the environment is as easy as changing a light bulb.

Incandescent

Emitting visible light as a result of being heated.

Glowing or white with heat.

Causes of global warming, Effects of global warming:

Global warming and climate change are phrases that have been around for some time now, and refer to the warming of Earth's atmosphere resulting in higher world temperatures. Each chapter in this book deals with a specific and relevant aspect of the problem, from the Amazon Rainforest to How do hurricanes form. Earth's atmosphere comprises many gases, collectively called Greenhouse gases. The greenhouse effect created by these gases maintains the Earth at a comfortable 15 degrees Celsius. Without the greenhouse effect the Earth would be a chilly minus 18 degrees Celsius.

Since the industrial revolution we know from ice core records that carbon dioxide levels were about 280 parts of CO2 per million parts of air (ppm). As a result of industrialisation resulting in deforestation for agriculture and settlements and burning fossil fuels levels of greenhouse gases have increased by 37% to about 385 ppm.

Solar variation

Variations in solar output have been the cause of past climate changes, but solar forcing is generally thought to be too small to account for a significant part of global warming in recent decades. Greenhouse gases and solar forcing affect temperatures in different ways. While both increased solar activity and increased greenhouse gases are expected to warm the troposphere, an increase in solar activity should warm the stratophere while an increase in greenhouse gases should cool the stratosphere.

Observations show that temperatures in the stratosphere have been cooling since 1979, when satellite measurements became available. Radiosonde(weather balloon) data from the pre-satellite era show cooling since 1958, though there is greater uncertainty in the early radiosonde record.

A related hypothesis, proposed by Henrik Svensmark, is that magnetic activity of the sun deflects cosmic rays that may influence the generation of cloud condensation nuclei and thereby affect the climate. Other research has found no relation between warming in recent decades and cosmic rays. A recent study concluded that the influence of cosmic rays on cloud cover is about a factor of 100 lower than needed to explain the observed changes in clouds or to be a significant contributor to present-day climate change.

How to implement simple steps against global warming

Global warming already disrupts millions of lives daily in the forms of destructive weather patterns and loss of habitat. What is already happening is only the tip of the melting iceberg, for it is our children and grandchildren who may suffer most from the effects of global warming. Hundreds of millions of people may be exposed to famine, water shortages, extreme weather conditions and a 20 - 30% loss of animal and plant species if we do not reduce the rate of global warming and reduce GHG emissions.

On the other hand, having warmer winters means longer growing seasons in temperate and subarctic climes, sometimes allowing an additional crop to be planted and harvested each year, or simply making the existing crops more productive. This article outlines some ways that you can act to help prevent the Earth from warming further. While humankind has the ability to destroy the planet, we can also help protect and sustain it.

Reducing your carbon and greenhouse gas emissions will not only make your personal living space more sustainable but it will also save you money in both the short- and long-term. Global warming is occurring more rapidly than it was originally expected to -- only forty years ago, the big worry was global cooling. Even if you remain a cynic, however, and disagree with the consensus of scientists, you will benefit from reduced pollution, a more healthful lifestyle and increased savings from enacting these simple activities that will not reduce the quality of your life.

Get educated.

Educate yourself about global warming. The more facts that you have as to what mainstream science says about it, the more you can persuade others to make simple yet effective changes in daily behavior. Energy-saving techniques either are initially expensive (for example, solar power) or take extra time (for example, recycling), so many people need to be convinced that their efforts matter. Always keep in mind that you are aiming to demonstrate the benefits of these activities and highlight how each person can play a vital role in helping to reduce global warming. Remember that "civil society does not respond at all well to moralistic scolding." Use education to enlighten, not frighten.

But now I will do something about it. I pledge.

I will use CFLs, not incandescent bulbs.

I will set the AC to 25, not 22.

I will take a train or bus instead of a car.

I will use less energy that heats up the earth.

I will use bicycle always for short distance

Meaning of Global warming:

Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) between the start and the end of the 20th century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that most of the observed temperature increase since the middle of the 20th century was very likely caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases resulting from human activity such as fossil fuel burning and deforestation.

The IPCC also concludes that variations in natural phenomena such as solar radiation and volcanic eruptions had a small cooling effect after 1950. These basic conclusions have been endorsed by more than 40 scientific societies and academies of science, including all of the national academies of science of the major industrialized countries.

Climate model projections summarized in the latest IPCC report indicate that the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 1.1 to 6.4 °C (2.0 to 11.5 °F) during the 21st century. The uncertainty in this estimate arises from the use of models with differing sensitivity to greenhouse gas concentrations and the use of differing estimates of future greenhouse gas emissions. Most studies focus on the period leading up to the year 2100. However, warming is expected to continue beyond 2100 even if emissions stop, because of the large heat capacity of the oceans and the long lifetime of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

An increase in global temperature will cause sea levels to rise and will change the amount and pattern of precipitation, probably including expansion of subtropical deserts. Warming is expected to be strongest in the Arctic and would be associated with continuing retreat of glaciers, permafrost and sea ice. Other likely effects include changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, species extinctions, and changes in agricultural yields. Warming and related changes will vary from region to region around the globe, though the nature of these regional variations is uncertain.

Political and public debate continues regarding global warming and what actions to take in response. The available options are mitigation to reduce further emissions; adaptation to reduce the damage caused by warming; and, more speculatively, geoengineering to reverse global warming. Most national governments have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The temperature is rising. Ice is melting.
Sea levels are rising, leading to coastal areas getting washed over.

The issue of global warming

The above scenario is not science fiction but a reality which global warming could cause. Global warming is the increase in the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere caused by greenhouse gases like water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane and ozone. There has been growing awareness and concern among people about this phenomenon. It has become a global issue although it is hotly debated in international circles. It has a fair share of supporters and critics. Its proponents warn that if immediate preventive steps are not taken it will have a disastrous effect on future humankind. Its detractors argue that the problem is grossly overestimated and nothing should be done. They also argue that the steps to tackle the problem will hinder economic progress.