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Glossary of Terms

CFL Lightbulbs
CFL stands for Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb. They are very energy-efficient – they use much less electricity than traditional incandescent lighting. Since electricity is produced mainly by burning fossil fuels (which produces greenhouse gas emissions like carbon dioxide that contribute to climate change), saving electricity helps fight global warming. If every US household replaced their five highest-use fixtures with CFLs, we would prevent the emission of greenhouse gases equivalent to the annual emissions from more than 8 million cars.

Incandescent lights are not energy efficient. They use only 10% of the electricity the bulb draws for lighting – the rest is wasted as heat. EnergyStar-qualified CFLs (check for the EnergyStar label on the packaging) use 75% less energy than incandescents, and last up to 10 times longer. They save you about $30 in electricity over the life of the bulb. They also produce 75% less heat than incandescents, so they are safer.

For information how to purchase and use CFLs, see the EnergyStar Guide to CFLs.
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“We have a very brief window of opportunity to deal with climate change… no longer than a decade at most.”
- James Hansen, NASA climate researcher
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