Austin King's and the Sierra Club's Energy Efficiency and Safety Ordinance proposed at Tuesday's city council meeting sounds like a win-win proposal. Not only would the proposed ordinance fight global warming and the ATC lines attempts at coming into Dane County, but the ordinance would also save money for student renters. Student renters who are paying their own electricity bills will save $20 per year for every CFL they use for 12 hours a day. Both students and landlords will reap the financial benefits of the ordinance. As students, we should encourage the University and the broader Madison community to shift toward cleaner, more efficient CFLs which use one-fourth of the electricity of old-fashioned incandescent light bulbs.

The Herald underestimated the great environmental benefits of this ordinance–it would actually cut 35,000 TONS of global warming pollution, not 35,000 pounds. 35,000 tons of CO2 is equivalent to taking more than 6,000 cars off the road! Austin King and the Sierra Club are on the right track. I would like to also say a big thank you to the eleven alders that co-sponsored the ordinance.

Here in Wisconsin, we are plagued by our reliance on dirty, old, inefficient coal-fired power plants. We must work on fighting global warming both on the broader scale of finding cleaner methods for electricity generation as well as energy conservation. We as individuals can make a difference! We can start by changing our light bulbs, and encouraging our landlords to do the same. It is such a simple way to make a big difference.

Sincerely,
Susie Levy
UW-Madison Senior
History and Environmental Studies