MEDIA RELEASE

Help Hawaii Island homes use less energy and earn your group some money!

The Kohala Center and Blue Planet Foundation are looking for 10 community organizations or school groups to help exchange a total of 5,000 incandescent bulbs for energy-saving Compact Florescent Light (CFL) bulbs by the end of May.

Each group participating in the fundraiser can earn up to $500 by exchanging old-style bulbs with CFL bulbs at no cost to residents. Groups will receive $1 for each old bulb exchanged. CFL bulbs help people save money and energy, using only about one fourth of the electricity of an old-style bulb and they can last ten times longer. This bulb exchange will support the environment by reducing carbon emissions from burning oil and coal to make electricity. The program will also inform the public on other ways to save energy and money at home.

“CFL bulbs need less electricity to produce the same amount of light,” said Guy Kaulukukui, exchange project coordinator for The Kohala Center. “Replacing five bulbs in a Hawaii Island home could save a family $103 per year at current electric rates. And replacing 500 60-watt incandescent bulbs with our 13-watt CFLswill keep over 375 barrels of oil from being used to make electricity. That means avoiding the air pollution from tons of carbon dioxide. Plus, compared to incandescent bulbs, CFLs, when used properly, last up to ten times longer and produce 90 percent less heat, while producing more light per watt.”

Community or school groups interested in participating may e-mail The Kohala Center, bulbexchange@kohalacenter.org. Please include dates and times when the group coordinator is available to meet with bulb exchange project coordinators. Participation is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Participating groups will work under an agreement with the Blue Planet Foundation to exchange a minimum of 500 incandescent bulbs for CFLs. The Kohala Center and Blue Planet will present to each group an educational slide show on Hawaii’s clean energy future and the impacts of climate change on the earth. The project includes distributing information to the public about the cost savings associated with consuming less energy.

“This CFL bulb exchange program is taking place now all over the state,” said Gary Gill, program director of the Blue Planet Foundation. “School groups have earned hundreds of dollars for their club, learned about important energy issues, performed a valuable community service and saved residents thousands of dollars on their power bills. We are excited to be working with The Kohala Center to expand our program on the Big Island.”

“The Kohala Center and Blue Planet Foundation will work with groups to exchange bulbs through an in-school or in-community program,” Kaulukukui said.

He suggested groups sponsor a “Bulb Exchange Day,” print fliers about the event for students to take home or to distribute in the community, and place a table on campus or in the community where bulbs can be exchanged at a scheduled time and date.

“Groups can hold bulb exchange events as many times as necessary through May 30 to complete the 500 bulb exchange,” he said. “Any student, teacher, or community member will be able to exchange up to five bulbs at no cost. Only old-style incandescent bulbs may be exchanged for the new CFLs.”

The CFL Light Bulb Exchange Fundraiser Project is a partnership between Blue Planet Foundation (located in Honolulu) and The Kohala Center, a not-for-profit organization whose offices are located in Waimea.

Blue Planet Foundations’ mission is to end the use of fossil fuels in Hawaii and replace them with clean, renewable, and indigenous sources of energy. The mission of The Kohala Center is to respectfully engage Hawaii Island as an extraordinary and vibrant research and learning laboratory for humanity.

For more information, contact Kaulukukui, 887-6411, or e-mail bulbexchange@kohalacenter.org. See also www.blueplanetfoundation.organd www.kohalacenter.org