Green Light New Orleans Recently reached a milestone: 60,000 compact fluorescent bulbs installed for free in local homes since October 2006. The headline-making 60,000th CFL was installed earlier this month at the Jeannette Street home of Irene Green.
Established in 2006 after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Green Light New Orleans is the brainchild of Swiss-born musician Andi Hoffmann, who’s now a resident of the Big Easy. Hoffman started the program first as a way to offset the greenhouse gas pollution he and his band b-goes generated during their tours to Europe. It’s since taken on a greater goal: to reduce New Orleanians’ energy costs and help fight climate change.
As Green Light New Orleans’ Website puts it, ” Global warming is the most significant environmental challenge of the day, and New Orleans is one of the most at risk cities.”
The organization estimates that, since it started installing CFLs across the city, it has (over the life of each bulb) helped residents save $2.7 million in electricity costs and reduced the region’s carbon dioxide emissions by 26 million pounds. It aims to install another 300,000-plus compact fluorescent light bulbs throughout the Crescent City in 2008.
Hoffmann says the effort has grown rapidly, to the point where Green Light New Orleans volunteers are now installing about 15,000 new CFLs each month.
“We currently receive about 40 applications per day and have a waiting list of 1,800 homes, which equals about 55,000 CFLs,” Hoffmann says. “With the help of grants, the business community and the volunteers we should be able to put CFL light bulbs in every home within four years.”
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