Shine a Light on Service - Save the World One Light Bulb at a Time
Let’s Shed Some Light on this Topic
We're sure you have turned on a light once or twice in your life. Most of us use lights after the sun goes down to avoid bumping into things and getting hurt! Lights are everywhere; in your house, on the street, on billboards, in stores . . . you get the idea. Lighting contributes to about one-fifth of the electricity consumed by the United States. The use of electricity causes more energy put out by power plants which can damage the environment through emissions that pollute.
If you switch your light bulbs at home to fluorescent light bulbs, you will be reducing your electric consumption. A fluorescent bulb lasts for about 75,000-10,000 hours, which is about 100 times longer than an incandescent bulb. That’s a lot of light!
How Can I Help?
The easiest thing you can do to start out with is to change your light bulbs! However, the best way to help the environment is to change to fluorescent lights once your old light bulbs burn out. There is no sense in throwing away perfectly good light bulbs! Switching to fluorescent lights saves you time (from having to change light bulbs as frequently) as well as money (from having to buy light bulbs as frequently)!
Some places to specifically put fluorescent light bulbs include places where lights are typically kept on for long periods of time or for places that are hard to reach!
Encourage your family members, roommates, professors, and friends to also switch to fluorescent lighting. If we all switched to fluorescent lights, image the difference we could make!
Still Want More?
If you would like to volunteer for more than 15 minutes to help the environment, check out the Douglas-Hart Nature Center (217-235-4644) and Embarrass Volunteer Stewards (217-345-6476). Both organizations are committed to the education, enjoyment and conservation of the world we live in. If you have any more questions about fluorescent lights or other volunteer opportunities, please contact us at 217-581-6048 or volunteer@eiu.edu.
