ROGOWSKY INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TODAY TO BAN
INCANDESCENT LIGHT BULBS IN COUNTY BUILDINGS
Legislator Says Local Efforts Needed To Fight Global Warming
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 20, 2007
Contact: Sally Schecter, Legislative Aide
Tel: (914) 995-2832
SallyS@westchesterlegislators.com
County Legislator Martin Rogowsky (D, IN, WF – Harrison) today proposed legislation that will ban all incandescent light bulbs in Westchester County-owned facilities after December 31, 2007. The legislation would also ban incandescent light bulbs from being sold in the county after December 31, 2009.
Rogowsky, currently serving on the County’s Global Warming Task Force, said that the light bulb served as a good metaphor for what was needed to get our environment back on track. “Most of us go through the day in the dark about how our individual habits contribute to global warming,” said Rogowsky. “We need to turn on the light, so to speak, in all of us and get to the point where everyone is aware that simple, painless measures, like switching what kind of light bulb you use, are the kinds of battles that will win the war on global warming.”
Rogowsky said that using compact fluorescents would help to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are to blame in elevating global temperatures and altering the earth’s environment. Rogowsky noted that because a compact fluorescent bulb, which emits the same light as an incandescent bulb, costs more up front, part of the challenge is to convince people that the greater up-front cost is more than worth it.
“A compact fluorescent bulb may cost $3 to $5 versus the 25 to 50 cents cost of an incandescent bulb, but it lasts for about five years and uses 75% to 80% less electricity,” said Rogowsky. “In other words, using a compact fluorescent translates to a personal savings of $40 per year on an electricity bill and a tremendous collective savings if the bulb had widespread use.”
Rogowsky noted that if each of the 110 million households in the United States replaced one 60 watt incandescent bulb with a 15 watt compact fluorescent bulb, the energy saved would power a city of 1.5 million or be the equivalent of taking 1.3 million cars off the roads.
“We know what we have to do to reduce global warming,” Rogowsky said. “Using compact fluorescent bulbs is just one example of how local efforts can help that cause tremendously.”
