Want to do your part for the environment while you also save energy and money?

Change the World, Start with ENERGY STAR. Join the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the fight against global warming by taking the ENERGY STAR Pledge.

When you pledge, you are making a commitment to save energy and money, and fight global warming by taking energy-saving actions in your home, such as changing a light to an ENERGY STAR qualified model.

To date, nearly two million people across the nation have pledged to take small, energy-saving steps that can change the world. If every American household took part in the pledge, we would save more than $18 billion in annual energy costs and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 18 million cars. TCP has set a goal of reducing 12,460,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions.

Take the ENERGY STAR Pledge now, and join with millions of Americans who are taking small steps that make a big difference in the fight against global warming. Once you’ve taken the pledge, share your energy-saving stories to inspire others. Together, we can all make a difference.

Please go to the link below and support ENERGY STAR and TCP in achieving their Greenhouse Gas Emissions for 2009-2010 by taking the ENERGY STAR Pledge. You can also find the link on www.tcpi.com/Energy_Star.aspx.

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=globalwarming.showPledge&cpd_id=7338

Thank you for your support!

TCP is proud to have participated in the rennovation of  one of Boston, Massachusetts’, most notable landmarks – the Paragon Carousel.  TCP supplied the light bulbs for this project.  According to the Partners in Preservation web site,

“The Carousel, built in 1928 as part of Paragon Park, is one of just 150 hand-carved historic carousels left in the U.S. Now the centerpiece of Nantasket Beach, the carousel is the only ride from the Park left in Massachusetts”.

Web site visitors have from now, until May 18, 2009, to cast their vote for the landmark they think should be the recipient of a grant.  As of this date – the paragon Carousel is in 1st place!  So cast your vote today!

Creating energy efficient upscale homes is the focus in an article by Fine Homebuilding Magazine.  In a special publication titled Energy-Smart Homes, the magazine addresses many home products that can be used for the home building trade.

The magazine has an article focused on energy efficient lighting, in particular the CFL.  The article addresses three concerns of the homeowner about the use of fluorescent lighting in their homes.  Using industry information, they have a great summary about the dangers of mercury that is needed to use the fluorescent lighting.  They state that there is mercury in many products used in the home, besides fluorescent lights and that the CFL has the mercury contained in the bulb.  Also that the mercury in the bulb is less than what is emitted into the atmosphere when energy inefficient lighting is used.  Secondly, the article also reports the steps to follow if a bulb is broken, without the need for a hazmat team to arrive.  And finally it addresses the range of color of the light that is emitted by the modern fluorescent lights.

Modern fluorescent lighting has come a long way from the flickering harsh light that were first introduced in the mid 50s.  The industry has worked hard to reduce the hazards and produced a variety of light colors to enhance our indoor environment.  It also has created more efficiencies by creating more variety and pleasing replacements for our standard incandescent lights.

It has reached an age of maturity that even the finest of homes are using them to reduce cost and save the environment.

There’s a new web site – loseyourexcuse.gov – aimed at getting tweens and teens to actively look for ways to help save energy around their homes.  It’s cute, check it out.

We found another fun web site on Planet Green – part of the Discovery Channel’s network – called Battleground Earth.  Battleground Earth is an online game – the objective is to shoot as many incandescent lightbulbs as possible.  Good luck – it’s kind of addictive! 

TCP was recently featured in a Residential Lighting Magazine article on TCP’s energy efficient lighting sponsorship of MTV’s The Real World:Hollywood house.

And finally, for those of you old enough to remember Schoolhouse Rock, you’ll enjoy this :60 second video for Gulf Power.  This nostalgic piece encourages viewers to switch to CFLs.  Enjoy!

Find more videos like this on AdGabber

Two weeks from today on Wednesday, October 1st, ENERGY STAR kicks off it’s annual “Change-A-Light” campaign, which encourages people to switch from inefficient incandescent light bulbs to more efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).

This year the folks at ENERGY STAR have made some changes to the program, and are calling the campaign “Change the World – Start with ENERGY STAR“.  While October 1st is still “Change a Light Day”, the new program is more robust and expands beyond lighting to include the all kinds of ENERGY STAR products that reduce energy and result in a carbon reduction.

Did you know that if every American took part in the ENERGY STAR pledge we would save $18 billion in energy costs and save green house gas emissions equivalent to 18 million cars by simply switching your incandescent light in for and ENERGY STAR CFL, or installing a programmable thermostat or enabling your computer to power down automatically?

TCP, Inc. has joined with millions of Americans in the flight against global warming by encouraging individual actions that can make a big difference in reducing energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions. TCP, Inc is the leading manufacturer of Compact Fluorescent light bulbs.

Lighting still remains the easiest and most cost effective change people can make.  TCP, Inc has set a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 38,985,000 pounds by for Earth Day 2009. Help us exceed this goal by taking the ENERGY STAR Pledge today.  You can also share your energy-saving story to inspire others to take the pledge.

Together we can make a difference!

In the September 2008 edition of Public Power Magazine, there is a great article on CFLs, “Getting Customers to Embrace Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs.”  The article provides insights and quotes from employees of several utility companies throughout the country, and TCP’s own Melanie Painter, Director of Utility Programs.  The article highlights the benefits of CFLs in comparison to incandescent bulbs, the need for consumer education, and which areas of the country are making the switch  to CFLs.

Earlier this week, the EPA announced the launch of a new ENERGY STAR tool that will help peoiple ”bring their green to work”.  The illustrated module highlights areas around the office environment for employees to help conserve in order to fight global warming.

In the news release, the EPA shares some of the tips contained in ENERGY STAR @ Work.  They include:

• Replace the bulbs in desk lamps with Energy Star qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs. These light bulbs use about 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer. Energy Star qualified lamps and light fixtures also are available for even more energy savings.
• Use a power strip as a central “turn off” point when you are done using office equipment to completely disconnect the power supply. Even when turned off, electronic and IT equipment often use a small amount of electricity when plugged in.
• Remember to turn off your lights when leaving conference rooms and your work space, especially at the end of the day.
• Use Energy Star qualified battery chargers or power adapters which, on average, use 30-35 percent less energy than conventional models. Don’t forget to unplug battery chargers or power adapters when equipment is fully charged or disconnected from the charger.
• Get involved! Create a Green Team with your co-workers, help reduce office waste, and set a goal to earn the Energy Star label for your building.

 The ENERGY STAR Bring Your Green to Work web page also allows visitors to download tip cards and provides information on how your office can start a Green Team.

Here’s something cool for a Friday – We came across this interesting idea for a CFL cover earlier in the week.  This comes from a post at MAKE.

Last Friday we told you about Ed Hammer, inventor of the CFL, being featured in Consumer Reports.  In one of the questions, Mr. Hammer brought up that until recently, bending of the familiar “spring” lamp shape was done by hand. 

TCP is proud to be the first in the industry to develop a machine that automates the bending of CFLs into their familiar spring shape.   

We can manufacture as many as 1.5 million CFLs every day – a majority of the CFLs on the U.S. market. Each automated machine will allow TCP to produce an additional 5,500 CFLs every day, nearly five times as many as produced by the company’s manual bending process.  Currently, the automated machines make up 15 percent of total CFL production. 

This is a major milestone for the lighting industry with automation enhancing the quality of CFLs and making it easier and faster to fill the rising global demand for energy efficient lighting. 

Today the Consumer Reports Blog featured TCP’s friend Ed Hammer, the father of the Compact Fluorescent Lamp, on their bimonthly segment “10 Questions for…” . In this segment of the blog, a Consumer Reports’ editor presents different leaders in their fields with you guessed it – 10 questions.

In this interview Ed explained how the energy crisis in the 70’s led him to design the first CFL, which is on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

Ed also discussed other hot topics relating to CFLs including why it took so long for CFLs to reach stores, mercury concerns when a CFL breaks, and if CFLs here to stay.

To hear more from Ed Hammer about his revolutionary invention you can visit www.drop-the-hammer.com to listen to podcasts sponsored by TCP, Inc.