Lighter on the environment

Sometimes solutions to large problems can be fairly simple. Take the energy problem. Solutions focus on redesigning the automobile, boosting the use of nuclear and other clean energy and so on.

Sometimes solutions to large problems can be fairly simple. Take the energy problem. Solutions focus on redesigning the automobile, boosting the use of nuclear and other clean energy and so on. But we could make a simpler start, says Matt Prescott, a British environmental scientist. He wants a complete ban on the traditional light bulb. The cheapest way for developing countries to make optimum use of limited energy supplies, and for developed countries to achieve cuts in their carbon dioxide emissions, says Prescott, is to augment energy efficiency. As a first step, he suggests making light bulbs — a major source of waste in energy consumption — museum pieces. This could even encourage people to ‘aim higher’ in increasing efficiency in everything from hot water systems to home insulation, thereby cutting Green House Gas (GHG) emissions.

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After all, it is domestic energy consumption that causes more than 25 per cent of the global GHG emission of carbon, sulphur and nitrogen dioxide. Recent research indicates that the wider use of ‘green lighting’ can cut this dramatically. Compact fluorescent light bulbs, for instance, use only about a quarter of the energy of incandescent bulbs to produce the same number or more lumens. That they also last about ten times longer than regular bulbs is a bonus. Compact fluorescents may be more expensive initially, but the long-term savings would surely offset this. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) also offer an excellent alternative to the light bulb.

It makes sense in energy-starved countries like India to have regulated energy-efficiency campaigns that could reduce waste and pollution, and stimulate innovation. Let’s start with light. The public should be made aware of concepts like ‘task lighting’: concentrating light only where it’s needed. This avoids waste of energy and since task lighting uses lower watt bulbs, you don’t annoy others in the area either with an intrusively bright light. The government could kick off the process by providing tax incentives to manufacturers to market more efficient fluorescent bulbs.