Did you ever think that the incandescent light bulb, the symbol of a great idea, would be going the way of the kiwi bird? Well, it’s not extinct yet but it is moving in that direction and for good reason – it’s an electricity hog.

Energy usage in the United States continues to rise year after year. Power plants are keeping up with demand only by dipping into their “reserve” capacity, a resource that we’ve almost used up. Consumers in colder climates are facing staggering heating bills because of high natural gas prices driven by the electrical utilities increasing use of natural gas.

Conservation efforts are underway for each of the many uses of electricity, but lighting stands apart as one of the single biggest energy consumers (over 30% of the electricity in buildings goes to lighting).

So here’s what you can do – change all your incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescents. I did. My electric bill dropped by 2/3rds – I was astounded and an instant believer!! And an added benefit – they last longer – so less waste!