MEDIA RELEASE

The Kohala Center, Blue Planet Foundation, and Hawaii Energy are seeking twenty community organizations or school groups that are interested in participating in a Compact Florescent Light (CFL) bulb exchange fundraising program that will run through April 2011.

Each partnering organization will work under an agreement with the Blue Planet Foundation to exchange up to 1,000 incandescent bulbs for CFLs. The Blue Planet Foundation will pay 40 cents for each old incandescent bulb exchanged, up to a total of $400 (or 1,000 bulbs) per group.

Energy-saving CFL bulbs are being provided to the groups as a community service by Hawaii Energy, and there is no cost to Hawaii residents who participate in the exchange. CFL bulbs use only about one fourth of the electricity of an old-style bulb, and they can last up to ten times longer.

Replacing just eight 60-watt incandescent bulbs with 13-watt CFLs could save your family about $140 per year at current HELCO electric rates. By replacing 1,000 60-watt incandescent bulbs with 13-watt CFLs, Hawaii Island can save 750 barrels of oil from being burned to produce electricity.

The Kohala Center and Blue Planet will host a presentation for each participating group on Hawaii’s clean energy future and the impacts of climate change on the Earth. Along with CFL bulbs, groups will also distribute free information about how residents can save money by consuming less energy in their homes.

The CFL Light Bulb Exchange Fundraiser Project is a partnership between Blue Planet Foundation, The Kohala Center, and Hawaii Energy. 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.

Hawaii Energy is a ratepayer-funded conservation and efficiency program, administered by R. W. BECK (an SAIC Company) under contract with the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, serving the islands of Hawaii, Lanai, Maui, Molokai, and Oahu.

For more information on the bulb exchange, e-mail bulbexchange@kohalacenter.orgor cflexchange@blueplanetfoundation.org, or contact Caroline Neary at 345-0238. Participation is on a first-come, first-served basis.