Making Green While Going Green

Published July 15, 2009 at 1:48 p.m.

Consider the lowly, traditional, incandescent light bulb, circa Thomas Edison.

Yeah - - buy them by the four-pack, screw ‘em in, toss and replace them when they burn out, which, by the way, seems to happen pretty quickly, right?

You might have seen the newer-generation light bulbs - - with that squiggly shape, and the heftier price tags - - called compact fluorescents.

Not for you, you say. Too expensive. Odd-looking. And you hear they have mercury in them, so how could they be good for consumers and the environment?

Here’s why: These bulbs are now better-made, come in a wide variety of sizes and wattages, can be disposed of safely at numerous drop-off collection points at hardware stores and government sites, and because of frequent discounts and rebates from manufacturers and utility companies are now a solid, money-saving alternative.

Federal government data shows that a compact fluorescent bulb will last about ten times longer than its incandescent cousin. That means that while it is more expensive on the front end, the fluorescent compacts save you a lot of money over their lifespan.

Ten years is common. In our Milwaukee house, along with compact fluorescents we have in nearly every lamp and fixture, are two we bought in 1993.

Can you say anything close to that about your incandescents?

The government estimates savings above $30 per bulb over a compact fluorescent’s ten-year life span, so while saving you money, the new generation bulbs place less demand for electricity on your local utility because these bulbs’ technology throws off more light with less energy:

For example, a 23-watt compact fluorescent provides the same light given off by a 75-watt bulb.

You multiply those savings in both money spent, and coal or natural gas burned to light up thousands and millions of bulbs across your city, state and beyond, and you begin to see how environmentalism can produce green, and vice-versa.

Here’s another example - - actually a host of them - - thanks to the federal government’s expanding availability of tax credits for numerous household, personal and business purchases.

Because the government is pushing energy conservation as a way to reduce power plant usage and, in particular, coal-burning that pollutes the upper atmosphere and your lungs’ interiors, too, the feds have created a program to cut your taxes if you purchase certain products - - from appliances to home construction and remodeling materials to automobiles.

I know, I know, the economy is bad, and who’s out there buying cars, you ask?

Well - - there are times that people and businesses have to buy or replace a vehicle. Sales are about half what they were a couple of years ago, but that still means that millions of vehicles are being sold.

The same is true with homes: sales are down, but sales are taking place, and home improvements are being made, whether it is a new water heater, added insulation, replacement windows, or roofing.

What is available to the buyer are valuable tax credits - - money right off your 2009 income taxes - - as opposed to a deduction from your taxable income, and the credits are nothing to sneeze at.

For home improvement or appliance purchases, and depending on what you buy, a total tax credit of $1,500.  For many people, that’s a decent chunk of their tax bill, and it lessens the pain of making the improvements by putting real money back in their pockets.

Here is a website that explains how the program works. - -

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_tax_credits

Plus: some utilities give cash rebates for the purchase of certain energy-efficient appliances and home remodeling purchases - - and these rebates are on top of the tax credits - - so one’s bottom-line cost can really go down.

Same story for the purchase of certain automobiles - foreign and domestic - with hybrid engines. Depending on the vehicle, the credit can be more than $3,000.

Some examples from the 2009 vehicle tax credit list:

Chevy Malibu - - $1,550

Ford Escape 4-door - - $3,000

And yes, even one model of the Cadillac Escalade, a two-wheel drive hybrid - - $2,200

One personal story: In 2006, and completely without planning, we bought a Honda Civic hybrid on the recommendation of a relative when we absolutely needed a car and wanted an economical model. Up to that point, I had never driven in a hybrid.

The $3,000 tax credit that year on the Honda Civic was a pleasure to receive, and compensated somewhat for the car’s purchase price, which was about $22,000, as I recall, and getting more than 40 miles per gallon in the city, and more on an occasional short drive to Madison was also great.

Within a year, we had to make two long trips because of family medical emergencies. Air fares would have been astronomical, given the locations and immediacy needed.

So we took the hybrid and drove close to 5,000 miles - - and at 50 miles-per-gallon (peak, 52), saved a great deal of money.

Then we later drove round-trip from Milwaukee to New Mexico, which, when all was said and done, put another 4,000 miles on the hybrid. For that trip, we bought 90 gallons of fuel at a time when prices were around $3 per gallon, so our fuel bill for that trip was under $300.

I remember talking to a guy with a pickup truck about gas prices at a filling station in Colorado during that trip. He was unhappy about the increase in gas prices because his truck got something like 15 mpg.  He pumped more than $100 into his truck - - somewhere around 35 gallons or so.

I pumped about nine gallons for about $27, and I knew we would drive about the same distance, give or take a few miles, on what we each put in our tanks.

Later, when gas went past $4 per gallon, I felt like we were getting it for half-price.

I know not everyone is in the financial position to buy a new car. We weren’t rolling in dough, either, and I know the interest on the loan ran up the total cost and reduced our savings.

But the hybrid has saved us a lot of money on fuel costs we probably would have made, regardless, and we have put less carbon into the air because of the engine’s efficiency and battery assist.

My point is that there are personal and social benefits to going as Green as you can, and the green that stays in your pocket can make the practice and mindset even better.