Christ Episcopal Church
	Riverton, New Jersey
	HOW MANY CHRISTIANS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHTBULB? Episcopalians: 3 One to call the electrician, one to mix the drinks and one to talk  about how much better the old one was. A parishioner recently sent me the list of denominational responses to the question posed at the top of the page. Even though I had seen it before, it left me roaring. Since I am studying at Drew Theological School, I also enjoyed the answer for the United Methodists: Undetermined -- Whether your light is bright, dull, or completely out, you are loved. You can be a light bulb, turnip bulb, or tulip bulb. Bring a bulb of your choice to the Sunday lighting service and a covered dish to pass. We can joke in part about light bulbs because they are both everywhere and taken for granted, at least until they burn out. For we New Jerseyans, the incandescent bulb has a particular pull, as its first practical application was invented right here in the Garden State. Indeed, we have a monument to it in the Menlo Park section of Edison Twp., where Thomas Edison’s labs once stood. However, our use of the lowly light bulb can be far more important than we may realize. In fact I am willing to claim this: Change a light bulb, change the world. As I have been writing this column, the media has been commenting upon the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an agency of the United Nations. This group, representing thousands of scientists and 113 governments reported that: v There is more than 90 percent certainty that global warming is caused by the burning of fossil fuels and will be unstoppable for centuries. v Temperatures will rise between 2 and 11.5 degrees Fahrenheit by the year 2100. v Sea levels will rise between of 7 to 23 inches by the end of the century. An additional 3.9 to 7.8 inches are possible if recent, surprising melting of polar ice sheets continues. v It will create far less predictable and more violent weather with major changes in precipitation patterns world wide. v As many as 200,000,000 people around the world could be displaced by more intense droughts, sea level rise and flooding by 2080. v This is a conservative scenario. It is not good news. And I also do not believe that this is what scripture had in mind when God said to the first humans "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." (Genesis 1:28). Since “the earth is the LORD's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it” (Psalm 24:1), I feel that our dominion is predicated upon an understanding that we are caring for something that does not belong to us. Rather, we have been entrusted to care for, to be stewards of, that which God has given for us to use. And that trust, as Jesus states in his parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), is placed both individually and corporately and gauges how well we use that which has been given to us by the Father of lights. So what can we do? Enter the humble light bulb. I have been a fan of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) for years. While they are initially more expensive (although the price has been dropping for several years), they use far less energy per watt of light produced, and they last up to seven times longer. In All Saints’ Church in Lakewood, which has dozens of hard to reach bulbs, we reduced electric use by 8% in one year. We had 60-60 watt incandescents and replaced them with 20 watt CFLs, which gave 75 watts of light. We increased illumination by 20%, reduced our electrical use by 2/3, and we didn’t have to change the lights (35 to 45 feet from the floor) twice a year anymore. In Christ Church’s Rectory, I have been replacing burned out incandescents with CFLs. Electrical use in the house is down 3%, and I don’t have to drag out a ladder every few months to change the lights on our very high ceilings. I encourage you to do likewise, for this is one area where each of us can do something significant. Recently the U.S. government calculated that if every home in the country replaced just one incandescent bulb with a CFL, it would save enough energy to light 2.5 million homes a year and prevent the equivalent of the greenhouse emissions of almost 800,000 cars! Change a light bulb and save the world? It’s no joke! See you in church? For further information, call the church office or check http://www.energystar.gov/.