A blog on light bulbs to brighten the last day of 2007

In a perfect world, I would be posting my absolutely brilliant Top Something-Or-Other Predictions for Green Tech list today. Because I know every human being LOVES lists.

But, I woke up this morning in Cape May, New Jersey, and it's beautiful outside and I haven't finished writing up that post yet. Plus, the last thing you want to do on the last day of the year is have me getting all heavy on you. So, I'm defaulting to a pointer to some customer-created home videos about compact fluorescent light bulbs that Southern California Edison is using in some of its local television commercials. Click on the "Winners' List" link that's on the left-hand navigation pane and you get a YouTube-link viewing pane. You've gotta watch "Fluorescent Man" and "Max's Light Bulb."

The video submissions were part of the "Change a Light, Change the World" campaign being cosponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Energy Star. As part of that effort, Southern California is running a pledge campaign encouraging its customers to switch at least one light bulb to a compact fluorescent bulb. It's slightly less than halfway to its goal of 100,000 pledges.

Here are some stats that Southern California Edison is touting about compact fluorescent bulbs: - They use about a quarter of the energy and last about 10 times as long as their incandescent cousins. - They cost from $1 to $15 per bulb, but have the potential to save up to $30 per bulb in energy costs over their lifespan. - If every household in California switched out five incandescent bulbs for five compact fluorescent ones, the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions would be equivalent to taking 400,000 cars off the road.

There is a downside to compact fluorescent bulbs in that they contain mercury and need to be disposed of properly. Here's some more information on that aspect of this technology.

Off for some fresh ocean air. Have a safe and Happy New Year's Eve and let your resolutions include plenty of green. I'll be sharing mine tomorrow. What's on your list?

E-mail your comments and ideas to hccollins@mac.com.