Wal Mart weighs in on Global Warming: Push to replace 100 million bulbs

Simple change. Big results. Gospel of Global warming coming to
middle america.
Say what you like about WalMart, (hey, I get my CFL bulbs at the
local hardware..)
this is big...



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A bulb a day keeps the climate at bay: Wal-Mart to push CFLs
12:22 PM on 30 Aug 2006

We've heard scads about Wal-Mart turning over a big, fat green leaf (here and here and here and probably lots of other places, too).

Well, here's another one reported by Fast Company that really left my jaw hanging open:

In the next 12 months, starting with a major push this month, Wal-Mart wants to sell every one of its regular customers -- 100 million in all -- one swirl bulb. In the process, Wal-Mart wants to change energy consumption in the United States, and energy consciousness, too.

Of course they've got the old self-interest motive going:

It also aims to change its own reputation, to use swirls to make clear how seriously Wal-Mart takes its new positioning as an environmental activist.
But that's still a s**tload of energy saved. It's a doubling of CFL sales in 1 year! In terms of energy savings, it stacks up like this:

<110,000,000 60 watt replacements are> enough electricity saved to power all the homes in Delaware and Rhode Island ... one bulb is equivalent to taking 1.3 million cars off the roads.

http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2006/8/30/114642/765?source=daily
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http://www.fastcompany.com/subscr/108/open_lightbulbs.html
Sitting humbly on shelves in stores everywhere is a product, priced at less than $3, that will change the world. Soon. It is a fairly ordinary item that nonetheless cuts to the heart of a half-dozen of the most profound, most urgent problems we face. Energy consumption. Rising gasoline costs and electric bills. Greenhouse-gas emissions. Dependence on coal and foreign oil. Global warming.


Every swirl sold will eliminate demand for six to eight regular bulbs.

The product is the compact fluorescent lightbulb, a quirky-looking twist of frosted glass. In the energy business, it is called a "CFL," or an "energy saver." One scientist calls it an "ice-cream-cone spiral," because in its most-advanced, most-appealing version, it looks like nothing so much as a cone of swirled soft-serve ice cream.

I give them kudos for this one.

...when there are primetime TV ads advocating Compact Flourescent.

In the meantime, COSTCO has had a huge inventory of CF bulbs for years now.

All these chain stores should have cardboard cutouts in the aisles saying "save on your electric bill" or something. For that matter, they should be stocking solar panels so people can poke and prod at them and get used to the idea that yes, they may want one. The best I've seen is small self-contained marker lights at COSTCO, and some slightly-more-serious motion-sensor outdor spots with a respectable dedicated panel at Home Depot, which are both neat products, but it's time to take it up a notch. Rumor has it COSTCO had a travelling gazeebo with their larger mail-order panels this summer, and that's good, but energy saving products need to be on shelves where people are forced to see them every time they shop.

They save money several ways. They usually last longer than a regular bulb. They use less electricity to make the light with. And they don't make heat so they don't add to the A/C load.

Also, I like the light. Instead of the harsh yellow, it is a softer white.

I also like the new LED flashlights that are out now.

We did the same a few years ago, replacing old incandescent bulbs as they failed with fluorescent ones. We even use one in our refrigerator! (Note: fluorescent bulbs don't pop on instantly in the fridge because of the cold, but give it a second or two and voila. Been in there over a year, no problem.)

It's easy to get warm-colored fluorescents if the yellow incandescent look is what one wants. And they do last much longer on average. Most of the ones in our house are two years old...and we live at night so they get a lot of use. We also noticed a reduction in our energy costs.

They had them for 2 for $5, so half my bulbs are now swirls.

I can't handle the cold white flourescent light for reading, and it's depressing on those winter days when twilight is early and long. I have a few CFLs in places I don't spend much time or use much, but I'm waiting until they get a true mimic of the incandescent light spectrum to change my "cosy place" bulbs.

wistfully,
Bright

Look for "soft white" or "warm white" for that incandescent type yellowish light. Avoid "day light" or "cool white" if you don't like white light (I don't). I've had three soft whites burning for a few weeks and can't tell the difference.

We're all still a community in the end. If Walmart continues to do this...

rather than waste what I have. The question to ask however is has Wal Mart shifted to more efficient bulbs and fixtures in it's stores, distribution centers and offices? It's nice of them to preach to the masses generating sales for themselves, but let's find out what they have done. When the time comes to buy more bulbs I will certainly not buy them at Wal Mart for all the obvious reasons.

Great for the environment, certainly; no one gets any argument from me there. One of the paragraphs in the OP talks about 60-watt replacements:

One bulb for "less than $3.00"?? Probably $2.79...stores love those ".09"s.
For the average Wal-Mart customer, who supposedly shops there for the great prices and/or because they can't afford to shop anywhere else, this would seem to be a big education issue.

I just happened to buy a four-pack of generic 60-watt bulbs at the A&P today, four bulbs for $1.99. I don't see people who know the price of light and whose pocketbooks don't or can't take the environment into account, ponying up close to $3.00 for one bulb. A bargain is a bargain, unless you you're living on minimum wage from one meager paycheck to the next. Then a bargain is a bargain, unless you can't afford it.

I hope it succeeds, I really do; I just think there'll have to be a tremendous education effort to make the masses adopt this.

they are FINALLY come to the realization that they will not make money when the planet is dead. Chimp and his gang can deny it all they want but that doesn't stop global climate change from happening.x(

"According to the Environmental Protection Agency, if every U.S. home changed 5 bulbs to efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) in high traffic areas — like your kitchen and living room — it would make a noticeable difference in your energy bill and prevent enough emissions to equal tailpipe gases from eight million cars!"

We swapped out all our bulbs starting three years ago, even in our refrigerator, and we ain't never going back.