I was grocery shopping in the Navy Commissary recently (a store for military folks), when I noticed a big sign with a picture of a Compact Fluorescent Light bulb (CFL) that said “Change your light bulb, save the world”.  The sign is part of a promotion to raise environmental awareness among military personnel, and I was excited to see it. The U.S. military has historically been one of the worst polluters and, as one of the country’s largest bureaucracies, it is often resistant to change.

Digging into the campaign, I discovered that the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCa) had partnered with General Electric to offer discounted CPLs to military families with the goal of selling 1 million in 2008. CPLs are typically more expensive than regular incandescent light bulbs, but they last up to 10 times as long and use 75% less energy than typical bulbs. I was skeptical that military families would buy these bulbs, but when I did some research, I found that DeCa easily surpassed its goal, selling 1 million CPLs by August, 2008.

This is awesome news. If every American family swapped out five regular bulbs for five CPLs, in one year we would prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the output of 10 million cars, and we would save $8 billion in energy costs. There are roughly 3 million personnel in the US military; when their family members are counted, that number rises closer to 10 million. If the military commits itself to “going green”, the global impact would be phenomenal, not only pulling 10 million people into the environmental movement, but also greening the ships, vehicles, housing, and construction processes wielded by this powerhouse.
DeCa’s campaign is truly inspiring. If DeCa can convince military families to change out 1 million light bulbs in 8 months, I know that the Privacy Council can do the same for 1 million trees.  Environmental change is coming, people!

-Emily Paterson