Super Eco

Photo credit: Dano, flickr

Live in Los Angeles? Then you can get a little greener—for free! The Los Angeles Department of Power and Water (LADWP) is handing out compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) to LA residents, 1.2 million households all told.

The program, part of the GREEN LA  initiative, estimates a projected savings of up to 240 GWh of energy and 131,000 metric tons of CO2 each year, enough to power 40,000 homes for a year or take 24,000 cars off the road. (LA could use fewer cars on the road, but 24,000 hardly makes a dent in our opinion.)

The free CFLs, two per household, will be distributed door to door to residents over a period of several months. Hold on. Two measly bulbs? You have more than two light bulbs in your home, right? Thought so. With the obvious cost of going door-to-door throughout a 500 square mile city, we'd think LA could pony up more than two bulbs per household. The main cost is in the distribution; what's a few more bulbs per household?

And yes, one day the bulbs will burn out, and they'll need to be recycled. Disposal centers equipped for special handling of the mercury-containing CFL bulbs are being set up across the city.

Want to know how else Los Angeles is going greener? Check these out:

• Cash rebates for purchase of energy efficient appliances
• Planting trees
• Conserving water (check the link to the 14-gallon challenge!)
• Cash rebates for water effciency
• Recycling, composting, and reusing
• Allowing residents to purchase renewable energy

It's a start, LA. Keep us posted, will you? Every little bit helps.