That’s an advertisement that I’m told is running in Washington, D.C., media markets from the nation’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart.
If you missed it, here’s the voiceover:
Since 2006, Wal-Mart has sold over 260 million compact fluorescent light bulbs, eliminating the need for 3 coal-fired power plants.
I knew that Wal-Mart was making a big push to sell CFLs part of its “green” public relations campaign. But I didn’t realize they were specifically targeting coal.
On its Web site, the retail giant says:
Did you know that by converting just one light bulb in your house to a compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) you can prevent more than 110 pounds of coal from being burned, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 450 pounds, and save up to $30 in electric costs over the life of the bulb?
They continue:
At Wal-Mart we envisioned the cumulative effect of each of our customers taking this simple step. And we decided that we needed to do what we could to help bring these bulbs into the lives and homes of our customers. In our stores, we established displays to educate shoppers about the energy and cost-saving benefits of CFLs, and we also introduced a private label CFL bulb to make them more affordable for customers.
Last year we sold 137 million CFLs, surpassing our goal to sell 100 million bulbs. We expect that this will save our customers $4 billion in energy costs and prevent almost one billion incandescent bulbs from reaching landfills. Moreover, we will prevent 25 million tons of carbon dioxide from being released. That’s the equivalent of taking 1 million cars off the road.
I’m not aware that the ads mentioning reduced coal use are running in media markets here in West Virginia, where Wal-Mart has 42 stores. By the way, they also have more than 100 stores in Kentucky and 13 in Wyoming, the nation’s other two top coal producing states.
You think the coal industry will call for a boycott of Wal-Mart?
I made a call to Wal-Mart’s PR department, but I haven’t heard back from them yet.
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I was so excited by the idea of CFLs that I replaced all the incandescent bulbs in house with them. Then I found out they contain mercury, and now I’m not so excited. My dog broke a lamp with a CFL in it the other day, and it gave me the willies, wondering about what might be left behind in the carpet as I was cleaning it up. Icky. Now, I’m thinking of getting rid of them all…
Dee,
I wouldn’t recommend that.
The concerns about mercury in CFLs have been greatly overblown. Some folks have wrongly tried to paint that as a reason not to use them — that CFLs put more mercury into the environment than coal-fired power plants. I wrote a story a while back about an Environmental Working Group report that concluded:
Coal-fired electrical plants are a major source of mercury emissions, totaling 104 tons of mercury across the U.S. annually. Energy Star calculates that each CFL bulb generates 70 percent less mercury pollution than a comparable incandescent bulb.
On the other hand, the mercury from broken bulbs is a concern, and EWG offers some helpful hints on buying bulbs with less mercury and on cleaning up after broken bulbs. I recommend their buying guide, which is available online here:
http://www.ewg.org/greenlightbulbs.
Ken.
All fluorescents lamps (bulbs)–not just CFL’s–have some mercury. New conventional lamps (the long tubes in used in offices and businesses) generally meet standards for reduced mercury content. Those lamps have the green ends. The mercury content in CFL’s varies a lot and industry has resisted standards that would reduce mercury.
Here are two good web sites for CFL’s–one is for CFL’s with low mercury content, the other to help find the appropriate lamp.
http://www.ewg.org/node/27220
http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagid=608
Keep in mind that the mercury content in these lamps–even in the cheaper ones–is much lower than the amount of mercury in an old thermostat or in a thermometer. Most mercury in the environment comes from coal-fired power plants. Used properly, CFL’s significantly help keep mercury out of the environment by reducing the need for coal-fired electricity.
You can help even more by recycling your used lamps. Home Depot and (probably) Wal-Mart accept used lamps.
Over the past 3 years I’ve had 5 CFL bulbs to burn out. I have them in the entire house. I just put them back in their box, mark it with a big red X and will save them in the garage until Greenbrier Co has a disposal site. They really won’t take up much room.
Cat knocked the lamp off, bulb broke, swept it up and put it in a bag then into the box. No biggy.
My mother worked for the local dentist when I was a kid. She’d bring home a small vial of mercury for us to use in our chemistry set. We’d get the biggest kick out of pouring it into our hands and watching it run through our fingers. I wouldn’t let my kids do that now, knowing what we know. But as I look back I realize that it didn’t cause us kids any harm. So I don’t think the CFL’s are going to hurt us nearly as badly as the coal fired emissions.
Just my thoughts.
Wal-Mart is definitely NOT taking on coal. See this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ostaff1/3459721566/
Courtney,
Thanks for posting that. And, it actually makes these ads all the more curious.
Check out this from the WV Coal Association:
http://tiny.cc/JUPZa
Apparently, Wal-Mart and coal industry groups are getting together on some things in coalfield communities, which is great, since they’re helping charity organizations like a food bank.
But you have to wonder — are they doing that in the coalfields, and then talking a different story in other places like Washington, D.C.?
It wouldn’t be the first time that someone told the people of the coalfields one thing and folks in a big city something else, would it?
Ken.
Well, you also have to wonder about the disconnect from higher up corporate and the local managers…
I’ve installed several CFL’s. The ones I have are slow to reach full power but are still a good idea. Don’t know if that’s typical.
I wonder what % of buyers are recycling the old CFL’s as recommended or simply throwing in the trash. Also if you use CFL’s in your kitchen so you can see to cook beef, you might have a net environmental loss since cows have two sources of greenhouse gases.
Walmart’s advertising is just like most other companies, oil and coal included, that promote their green initiatives. In Walmart’s case their private label CFL’s probably have a nice profit margin.
Courtney, Ken -
Um, guys, Consol is big on Natural Gas – as a matter of fact, they removed the Coal boss and replaced him with the NG boss. If it was Massey, yeah, sure, I mean that would be something, but Consol – Wal-Mart can still be against Coal and ally with Consol.
“Recycle” sounds good, but what we do with used CFL bulbs is disposal. At present, as far as I know Home Depot is the place to take CFLs for disposal. Also: when business does something good for the environment, is there something wrong with making a profit while they’re at it?
Jim,
I agree that’s there is nothing wrong with green profit. My point is that Walmart is touting green ONLY because of the profit motive, not that they are necessarily against coal. I’m sorry that CFL’s with mercury are not recycled. I know your recycling business is under water. We need more incentives to make recycling an economic necessity, and a plan to reduce litter.