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TALLAHASSEE – To encourage Floridians to conserve energy and money as
well as protect the environment, Governor Charlie Crist and the Florida
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) are recognizing today as “Change a
Light Day.” Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,
“Change a Light Day” encourages Americans to pledge to change one light in their
home to an energy-efficient, ENERGY STAR® product.
“Using energy efficient technologies like ENERGY STAR® lighting are simple
actions that Floridians can take at home and at work to conserve energy and
reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said DEP Secretary Michael W. Sole. “Florida
is becoming a national leader in the movement to reduce harmful emissions and
protect our natural resources.”
Florida joins the federal government and states across the country to
recognize “Change a Light Day,” calling attention to the importance of using
energy wisely at home. Today’s celebration kicks off the 8th annual ENERGY STAR®
Change a Light, Change the World Campaign, a national challenge to encourage
every American to take a simple action to help preserve energy resources and
protect the environment – switch to energy-efficient lighting. During last
year’s campaign, more than 500,000 people throughout the U.S. took the ENERGY
STAR® Change a Light Pledge by Earth Day 2007, committing collectively to change
more than one million lights.
With nearly 20 percent of the nation’s residential electricity used to light
homes, a switch to ENERGY STAR® qualified light bulbs reduces energy
consumption, generates less air pollution and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
If every household in Florida changed just one light to an ENERGY STAR® product,
savings would total more than $37 million in energy costs annually. In addition,
Florida could save up to 351 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year,
which is enough energy to light all the households in Tallahassee for nearly
three years, and prevent almost 540 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions
each year.
A government-backed program, ENERGY STAR ® helps businesses and consumers
identify energy-efficient products and conservation measures for homes and
offices. Lighting with the ENERGY STAR ® label uses one-third of the energy of
standard lighting products and lasts up to ten times longer. Light fixtures or
bulbs that have earned the ENERGY STAR ® label prevent greenhouse gas emissions
by meeting strict energy efficiency criteria set by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy.
On July 13, 2007, at the “Serve to Preserve: A Florida Summit on Global
Climate Change” event held in Miami, Governor Crist signed three executive
orders initiating state energy-use policies and encouraging energy conservation.
The Summit was a bold first step to explore groundbreaking technologies and
strategies that will place Florida at the forefront of the growing world-wide
movement to reduce greenhouse gases.
To take the “Change a Light Day” pledge, visit
www.energystar.gov.
For more information
on energy in Florida, visit
www.dep.state.fl.us/energy.
View the
Governor’s proclamation.
For more information on recycling CFLs, visit
www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/mercury.
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