18 Seconds

Eighteen seconds is the amount of time it takes for one person to have a positive impact on global warming by changing an inefficient incandescent bulb in their home or business to an ENERGY STAR labeled compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL). The 18Seconds movement is a diverse network of organizations, corporations, individuals, government agencies and elected officials working together to raise awareness about energy efficiency by promoting CFLs. This group sees an opportunity to empower, educate and motivate every person in the United States with the feeling that each small act matters because of the sum of its parts.

With an initial, aggressive goal of making ENERGY STAR labeled CFLs the light bulb of choice for America, this growing network of public and private sector partners created a tool to inspire individuals to take action – www.18Seconds.org. This dynamic Web site is designed to track CFL purchases at national, state and local levels, ranking each city and state based on per capita sales. Updated daily, the site shows the equivalent dollar, energy and greenhouse gas emissions savings of CFLs bought across the country. The site represents the sales of many retailers, with more anticipated to participate in the coming months to improve accuracy of the data. A downloadable badge also allows any organization to easily syndicate this content onto their Web site as a tool for driving grassroots activity.

To make ENERGY STAR labeled CFLs the light bulb of choice, the 18Seconds movement would like to see every American swap at least one incandescent bulb for an ENERGY STAR labeled CFL. This seemingly small change would collectively save more than $8 billion in energy costs, prevent burning 30 billion pounds of coal, and remove 2 million cars worth of greenhouse gas emissions from the environment. Since tracking on www.18Seconds.org began on January 1, 2007, we have registered sales of 24,234,667 CFLs nationwide (as of March 30, 2007). That means consumers have saved at least $715,538,237 on their utility bills, 2.5 billion pounds of coal have not been burned, and 10.8 billion pounds of CO2 have not been released. So far, our campaign has seen direct a correlation between favorable media attention to the 18Seconds campaign and increased bulb sales.

In addition to the Web site, the 18Seconds movement plans to launch a series of public service announcements on the benefits of CFLs, to begin a viral marketing campaign to help people see how their individual actions are part of a larger nationwide movement, to continue to secure commitments from companies and elected officials, and to educate consumers about the benefits of CFLs.

We believe the CFL is the Trojan horse into the minds of the American public because once a person feels good about making a difference and at the same time saving money, they begin wondering what else they can do to live better and protect the planet. Every ENERGY STAR labeled CFL represents an opportunity for ordinary people to take a stand for energy efficiency and make a difference.

CHANGE A BULB, CHANGE EVERYTHING.