Neighbors for 20 years, Sei Ebert, left, and Greg Spencer, walk out of Urban Options, 405 Grove St., with energy efficient lightbulbs sold by Ace Hardware. Spencer said that by his reasoning, using energy efficient lightbulbs is simple logic.
East Lansing could be glowing with environmental efficiency as an initiative to sell energy efficient lightbulbs at a reduced cost kicked off Monday.
Urban Options, 405 Grove St., an East Lansing environmental services nonprofit organization, and Lansing-area Ace Hardware stores are selling energy efficient compact fluorescent light, or CFL, bulbs at 99 cents each as part of the Change a Light, Change Michigan campaign.
Aileen Gow, executive director of Urban Options, estimated that 4,000 CFL bulbs had been sold so far as part of the effort.
Showing people that the bulbs are both environmentally friendly and cost-saving was a driving force behind the effort, Gow said.
The bulbs, which typically cost around $2 to $3, use up to 75 percent less energy than regular lightbulbs and last up to ten times longer, Gow said.
Those efficiencies can translate into a savings of up to $30 for each bulb’s life span, Gow said.
“Let’s reduce the amount of energy we’re using by screwing in a bulb,” Gow said.
“We would like to see these light bulbs become the model we see statewide.”
East Lansing Mayor Sam Singh, who spoke at the kick-off event, said the effort is an example of businesses and government working together to push for environmentally friendly policies.
“We’re trying to work with businesses to help residents make a change in their day-to-day lives,” Singh said.
“It will not only have a savings for consumers but it will also help the environment.”
The effort could contribute to less greenhouse gases being emitted from East Lansing, Singh said.
That’s a goal of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, which Singh signed in 2006.
The agreement, which is nonbinding, includes the goals of developing environmentally friendly land-use policies and curbing climate change.
Therom Smith, an employee at Vet’s Ace Hardware, 2416 N. East St., in Lansing, said since the program kicked off Monday, his store has sold 600 CFL bulbs.
The store’s first supply of 400 sold in about two hours, and the second batch of 200 sold in about an hour and a half, Smith said.
Before the bulbs were reduced in price, Smith said his store didn’t sell very many lightbulbs.
The event’s advertising and the reduced cost of the bulbs was a big part of the demand that has surfaced so far, Smith said.
“It was really a takeoff,” he said. “Reducing your light bill — that’s a big deal.”
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