One of the things that shocks me is that not everybody uses florescent lighting in their housing. Both the rich and the poor still have fixtures in their houses that aren't florescent. There may be some fixtures and uses where florescent lighting might be impractical but there countless examples where florescent lighting could be used and isn't being used.

In my house, almost every light is florescent with some notable exceptions. The outdoor light along with barn lighting, and the dim-able chandler fixture with little candler bulbs in kitchen are exceptions. These uses would be costly or difficult to upgrade, but everything else is florescent. Using florescent shouldn't be notable but for many private households it is still a rarity .

This is shocking. Electricity isn't cheap anymore, and even a single fixture that is on for more then a couple of hours a night can quickly consume an enormous amount of electricity. This can add up to a significant amount of money – as much as $10 per bulb per year at 17 cents a kWH that many people are paying locally for electricity.

It doesn't seem like a lot of electricity to run a single 60-watt or 100-watt electric bulb. Yet, when you consider you probably have dozens of them in your house it adds up. Moreover, with most people using lights for 4-8 hours per night times 365 days a year, it can add up to a big savings when you replace those lights with 14-watt or 22-watt compact florescent bulbs. 14-watt compact florescent bulbs equal 60-watt incandescent bulbs and 22-watt compact florescent equal 100-watt incandescent bulbs.

Poverty is no excuse. You can go to Home Depot or Walmart and buy a pack of six 14-watt or four 22-watt compact florescent bulbs for a price of about $10. That's nothing compared to all the energy your going to save, to say nothing of all the extra incandescent bulbs you won't have to buy and then pay for somebody to haul to a landfill.

The less energy you use the less air pollution is produced. Less coal and oil is consumed to keep the lights on, regardless of the primary local source of electricity happens to be. Power generation is one of the biggest polluters, and when you can save money to boot by thinking a little when shopping then why not? Everybody should use compact florescent, and you can be part of that change.