“Local Light Bulb” effort in Lovell is a bright idea for other towns to follow.

Have you seen “An Inconvenient Truth” yet?

No matter how you feel about Al Gore, this may be the most powerful and important film you will ever watch. I helped to organize a showing of the film, in Bethel, a few months ago. During discussion afterward, I was struck by the unmistakable impact the film had on an audience of about 50 people. Some were energized at a discussion about saving energy, but many were clearly overwhelmed after watching dramatic, and unimpeachable, evidence of global climate change.

After all, what could any of us do to reverse this?

About a month ago, a “light bulb” went off in my head about something all of us can do – on a local level – to save energy: talk to our local town leadership about switching to energy efficient light bulbs. I call this “The Local Light Bulb Project” because, for all of us, it’s something we can do on a local level and, if all of us act locally, the impact will be measurable.

When I discussed the idea with the selectmen in Lovell, where I live, they readily agreed. Taxpayers want government to save money at every level, and they saw this would save money. At Lovell’s Town Meeting, March 3, selectmen announced they were going to replace all worn out bulbs with energy-efficient bulbs in public buildings supported with taxpayer dollars: the town office, fire station, library, etc.

They raised this during a discussion of street lighting, the cost of which has been a sore point with Lovell taxpayers in the past, but I noticed a distinct feeling of empowerment in the room. We were “thinking globally and acting locally” about an issue no one can afford to ignore.

We also addressed the need to recycle the bulbs, because they contain a small amount of mercury. It’s difficult for the individual user like myself to address this, but a municipality can easily recover the bulbs and send them to facilities capable of treating, recovering or recycling them. Lovell is a small town, only about a 1,000 year-round residents, but it already recycles paper, tin cans, No. 1 and No. 2 plastic and has begun collecting fluorescent bulbs, so this will not be an issue.

Today, basic recycling isn’t beyond the reach of any municipality. Eventually, I believe, big-box retailers like Wal-Mart and Home Depot that are selling a lot of these bulbs will institute recycling programs within their stores making it easy and convenient for society, as a whole, to save energy.

Last week, I learned that more than 160 towns throughout New Hampshire would discuss a warrant item, at their town meetings, called “The Carbon Coalition,” essentially a citizen’s petition to the federal government to address climate change. The resolution also encourages towns to find ways they can save energy and reduce emissions.

Among the innumerable effects of global warming could be a loss of maple trees and an effect on foliage, both of which are critical to New Hampshire’s economy. How many ways could global warming negatively impact Maine? As a coastal state, I think we need to be concerned about rising ocean levels, just for starters.

I’m talking to friends elsewhere about “The Local Light Bulb Project” and posted information about it at: www.sustainablewesternmaine.org. Maybe, after reading this, others will talk to their local leadership. If you live in a large town, Efficiency Maine makes it easy to start saving money at the point of purchase with retail coupons and, in larger quantities, by enlisting wholesalers who will provide additional breaks.

You can call them for a list of participating wholesalers at 1-866-376-2463.

On March 2, the Sun Journal reported, “Public Utilities Commission marked the sale of the millionth compact fluorescent light,” which saved “more than $46 million in electricity costs” and eliminating “194,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.”

I think this is great, and I bet we can double it even faster.

When his film was awarded an Academy Award, Gore said; “This is not a political issue. This is a moral issue.” I agree. How you vote isn’t at issue here.

The future of our planet is.

Toni Seger lives in Lovell.