Piece image

Your Light Bulbs Waste Energy

Series: Your Choice; Your Planet series
From: The Environment Report
Length: 00:04:05

Your incandescent light bulbs waste 95-percent of the energy they use. Read the full description.

Lightulb_small It's been 125 years since Thomas Edison introduced his incandescent light bulb to the world... and we're still using that old, inefficient technology in our homes. Light bulbs waste 95-percent of the energy they consume. There are more technologically advanced alternatives, but we insist on incandescent lights... and the trend is toward more light, more energy wasted. This piece is part of the 'Your Choice; Your Planet' series. It was first offered to Great Lakes Radio Consortium stations on March 14, 2005.

To hear the full audio, sign up for a free PRX account or log in.

More from The Environment Report

Piece image

Burning Barrels Trash Environment (00:05:07)
From: The Environment Report

People in rural areas still use burning barrels, but the pollution contaminates the food grown on farms.
Piece image

How Long Do You Keep a Polluting Heap? (00:04:19)
From: The Environment Report

What to do when you're the biggest polluter you know.
Piece image

No-Water Urinals (00:04:16)
From: The Environment Report

No flush, no water urinals make sense to stadiums, airports and universities.
Piece image

Packrats Hooked on Freecycling (00:04:46)
From: The Environment Report

New ways to get rid of stuff
Piece image

Documentary - Coal: Dirty Past, Hazy Future (00:58:30)
From: The Environment Report

Brew the coffee, turn on the radio, and check your electronic mail – you’re on your way to burning 20 pounds of coal for the day. That’s how much coal the average American ...
Caption: Imerman Park sits on the flood plain of the Tittabawassee River.  Signs along the trail warn visitors about dioxin contamination in some of the park's soil., Credit: Shawn Allee

Part 5: The Science Behind Dioxin Delays (00:03:37)
From: The Environment Report

Shawn Allee looks at a dioxin and soil study and how the science might influence other clean-ups around the country.
Caption: Fish advisories dot the banks of the Tittabawassee and  Saginaw Rivers.  Various forms or pollution, including historical dioxin pollution from Dow Chemical, have led to warnings to avoid certain species of fish and limit consumption for them.  Pregnant w, Credit: Shawn Allee

Part 4: Hunters Warned After Dioxin Delays (00:03:29)
From: The Environment Report

Shawn Allee finds old dioxin pollution from a Dow chemical plant poses a health risk today.
Caption: Mitch Larson lives in Saginaw's Riverside neighborhood,  which saw a large dioxin removal project last year.  His home is on the  banks of Tittabawassee River., Credit: Shawn Allee

Part 3: Living With Dioxin Delays (00:03:38)
From: The Environment Report

Shawn Allee talks with residents about living with Dow and dioxin.
Caption: The southeast corner of the Dow Chemical plant, from the vantage  of Midland's Whiting Overlook Park, which features an homage to and  history of the company and its founder., Credit: Shawn Allee

Part 2: Foot Dragging Produces Dioxin Delays (00:03:17)
From: The Environment Report

Residents are asking why it's taken so long to clean up the dioxin. Shawn Allee looks for an answer.
Caption: Valdus Adamkus, Credit: This photograph was produced by Agência Brasil, a public Brazilian news agency.

Part 1: A Long History of Dioxin Delays (00:03:40)
From: The Environment Report

Shawn Allee meets a man who took the Dow and dioxin issue to Congress years ago and is shocked it hasn't been dealt with.

Piece Description

It's been 125 years since Thomas Edison introduced his incandescent light bulb to the world... and we're still using that old, inefficient technology in our homes. Light bulbs waste 95-percent of the energy they consume. There are more technologically advanced alternatives, but we insist on incandescent lights... and the trend is toward more light, more energy wasted. This piece is part of the 'Your Choice; Your Planet' series. It was first offered to Great Lakes Radio Consortium stations on March 14, 2005.

Broadcast History

First offered to Great Lakes Radio Consortium member stations March 14, 2005.

Transcript

LEDE: Many of us say we want to be good environmentalists. But we often make choices based on other desires. One of those choices is lighting. Most of us use lights that are very inefficient, and the trend in home lighting is moving toward using more energy, not less. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham takes a look at light bulbs and starts at the beginning:

We’re getting a behind the scenes look at a pretty significant historical artifact. Marc Gruether is pulling back a plastic tarpaulin that covers a row of file cabinets.

Gruether: “We are in one of the storage areas in the Henry Ford Museum. And drawer eleven has this light bulb in it which I will very carefully remove. It’s certainly one of the oldest Edison light bulbs that’s in existence. This is one of the lamps that was used in the December 1879 demonstration at Menlo Park.”

Graham: "Now, looking at it,...
Read the full transcript

Related Website

http://www.glrc.org/story.php3?story_id=2583