The Power is in the Switch!

If you are looking for an easy way to help the environment and save money, consider getting involved with Graceland University SIFE’s Edison Project! SIFE students form teams that serve their communities by developing projects that take what they are learning in classrooms and use it to solve real world problems.

Graceland SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) created the Edison Project, hoping to develop a nationwide movement to save energy and money by switching out incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). CFLs last eight to ten times longer than incandescent bulbs while using two-thirds less energy. This change equates to a relief on the environment as well as your pocketbook. Every CFL saves an average of $35 on your energy bill over its lifetime. In addition, every CFL saves half a ton of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere.

Graceland SIFE’s goal for the Lamoni, Iowa, community was to switch out one light bulb per person, equating to 2,500 bulbs. Thanks to a community-wide effort, that goal was successfully surpassed by February 11. This has excited SIFE for the future of the project in other locations.

You are invited to take initiative in your congregations and homes, switching out incandescent light bulbs to CFLs. Calculate potential energy savings at www.energystar.gov/ia/business/bulk_purchasing/bpsavings_calc/Calc_CFLs.xls.

Please e-mail andy.simpson@graceland.edu with any questions or comments. Visit www.graceland.edu/sife/ to learn more about this and other Graceland SIFE projects. More about the national movement to change out bulbs is at www.18seconds.org. Thank you for partnering with us and remember: the power is in the switch!

—Stephen Donahoe reporting