Thanks for the link Bryan. Having a thermometer showing progress towards the 100 milion bulb goal sounds like a good plan. If people see that others are doing it, they might join in. Of coarse it works the other way if the chart doesn't show much movement.
Rumers are that Wal-Mart has put out a request for proposals (RFP) to several large solar outfits. The TreeHugger site hints that Walmart might install 300 Megawatts of solar panels. Depends on the bids though. Being green is becoming fashionable.

Most fixtures in our house are fitted with compact fluorescent bulbs. Some of them do give weak light, and I can't figure out what the commonality is, but I agree: it's annoying. I haven't had any problems with them burning out quickly, though.

This article, from a magazine called Fast Company, says:

"In the early 1990s, you would step into a room in a business traveler's hotel, flip on the lights by the door and between the beds, turn on the desk lamp and the floor lamp, then stand in the gloom looking around and thinking, "There must be another switch somewhere that actually turns on the light." Every one of the bulbs flickering to life was a compact fluorescent--and five of them together didn't provide enough light to read the card listing the lineup of cable-TV channels.

For two decades, CFLs lacked precisely what we expect from lightbulbs: strong, unwavering light; quiet; not to mention shapes that actually fit in the places we use bulbs. Now every one of those problems has been conquered. The bulbs come on quickly; their light is bright, white, steady, and silent; and the old U-shaped tubes--they looked like bulbs from a World War II submarine--have mostly been replaced by the swirl. Since 1985, CFLs have changed as much as cell phones and portable music players.

One thing hasn't changed: the energy savings. Compact fluorescents emit the same light as classic incandescents but use 75% or 80% less electricity.

What that means is that if every one of 110 million American households bought just one ice-cream-cone bulb, took it home, and screwed it in the place of an ordinary 60-watt bulb, the energy saved would be enough to power a city of 1.5 million people. One bulb swapped out, enough electricity saved to power all the homes in Delaware and Rhode Island. In terms of oil not burned, or greenhouse gases not exhausted into the atmosphere, one bulb is equivalent to taking 1.3 million cars off the roads."

It goes on:

"The single greatest source of greenhouse gases in the United States is power plants--half our electricity comes from coal plants. One bulb swapped out: enough electricity saved to turn off two entire power plants--or skip building the next two.

Just one swirl per home. The typical U.S. house has between 50 and 100 "sockets" (astonish yourself: Go count the bulbs in your house). So what if we all bought and installed two ice-cream-cone bulbs? Five? Fifteen?"

And on:

"Swirl bulbs don't just work, they pay for themselves. They use so little power compared with old reliable bulbs, a $3 swirl pays for itself in lower electric bills in about five months. Screw one in, turn it on, and it's not just lighting your living room, it's dropping quarters in your pocket. The advantages pile up in a way to almost make one giddy. Compact fluorescents, even in heavy use, last 5, 7, 10 years. Years. Install one on your 30th birthday; it may be around to help illuminate your 40th."

But the mercury in them is a problem, once the bulbs do finally die. And obviously they aren't ideal for every application. (Christmas lights? A chandelier?) Still, it makes sense to try and use them where you can.

According to the Department of Energy, appliances (including refrigerators and lights) consume 2/3 of all electricity used in US homes. Refrigerators use the most electricity--14% of total electricity use for all purposes--but lighting comes in second at 9%. And overall, lighting consumes 22% of all electricity produced in the US. Switching entirely to compact fluorescents (which isn't practical, but for the sake of argument...) could drop home consumption of electricity by lighting to 2.25%, and overall consumption to 5.5%.

Don't count out LED bulbs... And, easiest and most efficient of all, TURN OUT THE LIGHTS when you leave the room! :)

Many stores here in the Twin Cities couldn't keep LED Christmas lights in stock last year. The colors are deep, the lights are bright, and they cost a lot less to run (although they're more expensive up front). Bet they'll be hot sellers this year, too...

I think that a ban on incandescent lights would be going a little far. It might be a bit of a protrusion on personal liberty. But, I do think that those compact-flourescent lights are a great thing, and I have installed many in my home. I think that a major step that can be taken would be if the federal, state, and local governments could install these in their offices. That would be a good first step. Major businesses like casinos and hotels could also take action.

They are little heating devices that happen to also give off visible light.