Lawyer Sanders says to pledge to change out one CFL for old incandescent light bulb and save energy and money.

Today’s compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) use 50 to 80 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs. If every U.S. household replaced just one incandescent bulb with a CFL, the U.S. EPA estimates we would reduce global warming pollution by an amount equivalent to taking more than 800,000 cars off the road. CFLs last up to 10 times as long as incandescent bulbs, but because frequent on/off cycles can reduce their useful life, target high-usage areas of your home first (that is, where lights stay on for long periods of time). This will ensure you get the most energy savings right away.

CFLs do contain a small amount of mercury, so they should not be thrown out in the trash. However, the average coal-fired power plant emits 3.2 milligrams of mercury for each CFL running six hours per day for five years. The same power plant emits nearly 15 milligrams of mercury for an incandescent bulb running the same amount of time, according to research by the Union for Concerned Scientists.

With all due respect to Al Gore, let’s crawl before we run in making American less dependent on fossil fuels. Make a pledge to change out one incandescent light bulb in your home or office in the next 30 days.