Al Gore has yet to convince me of anything. My opinion of global warming is lukewarm at best (no pun intended), especially in light of the current winter we have been having in the North, especially Michigan. That being said, we are expected to be good stewards of the earth on which we live. While I completely disagree with government mandates about light bulbs, I can understand where the politician is coming from.

Technology has progressed to a point to be significantly more energy efficient, but in our spend-hungry lives, we often forget to consider the types of advancements available to us. Consider the relatively-new Compact Flourescent light bulbs. Designed to use less energy, the bulbs themselves cost more money than traditional incandescent bulbs. But they have longer estimated lives, plus the wattage comparable is significantly less (a 20w CFL bulb, for example, replaces a standard 75w bulb). Take a few moments and calculate what your energy savings could potentially be and you might be inclined to buy a few CFL bulbs the next time you are at the store.