A bright idea

Australia may become the first country to phase out incandescent light bulbs in favor of the more environmentally friendly compact fluorescent bulbs.
Fluorescent bulbs use 20 percent or less of the energy needed to produce the same light from incandescent bulbs, and they last 5 to 10 times longer, according to studies.
An article in the New York Times in January reported that if all the households in the United States switched to fluorescent lights, there would be no need to build additional power plants to accommodate future growth.
Wal-Mart has set a goal to sell 100 million fluorescent light bulbs a year by 2008, compared to the 40 million sold in 2005. And the light bulb maker Philips plans to stop producing incandescent light bulbs by 2016 because of the damage they do to the environment.
I replaced most of the lights in our house with compact fluorescent bulbs last month.
They cost more initially, but they last longer. The biggest reason they haven’t caught on is because people find the light unflattering.
But with greenhouse gas emissions rising and polar ice caps melting, this may not be the time for vanity.

Mission Accomplished

The squirrel was determined this afternoon to get at the birdfeeder hanging from a pole in the backyard. Twice it lunged at it, landing near the top of the pole and sliding down to the ground as though the fire bell had just rang. Next, it assessed the situation from a nearby tree. Unhappy with that angle, it climbed the fence on the other side of the feeder. It looked like it wanted to jump, but didn't. Instead, it scurried up a neighbor’s tree, crept onto a branch overhanging my yard, and jumped onto the top of the feeder.
Pretty good problem-solving skills for an animal that has a brain the size of a walnut.