for the EU's low - carbon extravaganza
EU pushes for energy-saving light bulbs - Yahoo! News
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"We need to give people a little time to change all their bulbs. We are not saying they should throw out all bulbs in their house today, but everybody should start thinking about what's in the shops," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who led the summit talks.
"Most of the bulbs in my flat are energy-saving bulbs." But "they're not quite bright enough so sometimes when I'm looking for something that's dropped on the carpet I have a bit of a problem," she acknowledged.
Some leaders looked amused when, in the middle of questions on climate change, they were asked by reporters about the light bulb plan.
"I assume the light bulbs in the presidential palace are energy-saving but I don't know — I'm not in charge of that, really," Polish President Lech Kaczynski said with a smile.
The
European Commission already has called on Europeans to turn off energy "vampire appliances" such as TVs, phone chargers and modems that drain electricity when in standby mode — a move that would save consumers up to $110 a year — and replace white bulbs with energy-efficient alternatives.Switching over to "green" bulbs alone would mean a 60 percent cut in the electricity used to light up a household, the Commission said last year.
"Banning old-fashioned light bulbs across the EU would cut carbon emissions by about 20 million tons a year," said Caroline Lucas, a British Green party member of the European Parliament.
In Chile, the government has launched an energy efficiency plan to save 1.5 percent of power annually by encouraging, among other proposals, more efficient appliances and low-consumption light bulbs.
Oil-rich Venezuela is handing out energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs to every home and planning to invest oil dividends in manufacturing solar panels as an alternative energy source.
Cuba's
Fidel Castro launched a similar program two years ago, sending youth brigades into homes and switching out regular bulbs for energy-saving ones to help battle electrical blackouts around the island.Australia's government has announced a plan to phase out incandescent bulbs and replace them with more energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs across the country, which could help reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions by 4 million tons by 2012, according to Environment Minister Malcom Turnbull.
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