April 25, 2008—In honor of Earth Day, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the US Department of Defense (DOD) launched a new Energy Star campaign called “Operation Change Out,” which will challenge military bases across the country to install Energy Star-qualified compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) in their on-base housing.
Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman announced the new campaign at Camp Lejeune—a Marine Corps base near Jacksonville, North Carolina—as he screwed in the last of the 17,500 CFLs that have been installed in the camp’s military houses. Over their lifetime, the new CFLs at Camp Lejeune will prevent more than 7.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, while saving nearly 5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and at least $500,000 on energy bills, says the government. Energy Star is a joint program of DOE and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
There are more than 200 military facilities located across the United States, and changing one incandescent light bulb to a CFL in every on-base housing unit could prevent the emissions of more than 95 million pounds of carbon dioxide and would cut nearly $7 million in energy costs over the lifetime of the bulbs, the government says.
For more information, see the Operation Change Out Web site.
