The days of President George W. Bush may seem far away, but the bills he signed during his presidency are still affecting Americans. The latest example can be found in our homes and offices, where those pear-shaped, incandescent light bulbs will slowly phase out in the next year or so.
Bush’s Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 was supposed to pave the way for more energy-efficient light bulbs. Incandescent light bulbs will still be around, but in the form of candelabra bases for chandeliers, 150-watt, and three-way light bulbs.
Once stores and manufacturers run out of their last standard incandescent light bulbs, Americans will have to read the labels a little more carefully as they instead purchase exclusively CFL and LED bulbs.
“You’re used to buying that 60-watt bulb and knowing what it looks like and everything else,” Cordell Blackmon, manager of the Batteries + Bulbs store in Ohio told the Times.
Some of these bulbs may not emit the type of lighting your office is looking for or even be compatible with the desk lamps at individual work stations.
Despite the confusion, this is a step toward more sustainable working and living environments. Noah Horowitz, director of the National Resources Defense Council’s Center, recently wrote on his blog that this environmental office solution has “led to more lighting innovation over the past five years than we saw during the 100-plus years since Edison invented the light bulb.”
However, a light bulb is not enough to reduce waste and greenhouse gases. Business owners who wish to become more green while saving money can benefit from lightly used quality office furniture. Such business furniture was carefully selected to ensure long-term use. Purchasing pre-owned furniture is the purest green solution to sustainability for commercial office furniture.
