Obama Gets It: Changing Light Bulbs Alone Will Not Stop Global Warming

Newsweek has published a multi-part project called Secrets of the 2008 Campaign, where some very interesting behind the scenes tidbits are being made public. One particular comment about global warming from Barack Obama caught my eye, because it showed me that he not only gets it (which I already knew), but that he is human. When he was preparing a televised debate during the Democratic primaries, Obama was recorded saying:

“I don’t consider this to be a good format for me, which makes me more cautious. I often find myself trapped by the questions and thinking to myself, ‘You know, this is a stupid question, but let me … answer it.’ So when Brian Williams is asking me about what’s a personal thing that you’ve done [that's green], and I say, you know, ‘Well, I planted a bunch of trees.’ And he says, ‘I’m talking about personal.’ What I’m thinking in my head is, ‘Well, the truth is, Brian, we can’t solve global warming because I f—ing changed light bulbs in my house. It’s because of something collective’.”

I couldn’t agree more. While important, changing your ‘f—ing light bulbs’ to the more energy efficient compact fluorescent ones is not going to solve global warming/climate change. Personal choice is part of what got us into this problem and collective action is what has to get us out.

Image: © Narcisa | Dreamstime.com

Tags: 2008 presdential election, barack obama, cfl, Climate Change, compact fluorescent, global warming, newsweek

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This post was written by: Timothy B. Hurst

Tim Hurst is the founder/editor of ecopolitology and executive editor of LiveOAK Media. Tim mostly covers energy and environmental politics, renewable energy and green business; but seems to write more about music festivals in the summer for some reason. When not reading, writing, thinking, or talking about environmental politics to anyone who will listen, Tim likes to ski, hike with his aging labrador, and toil in his Colorado vegetable garden. He's on twitter at @ecopolitologist.

12 Responses to “Obama Gets It: Changing Light Bulbs Alone Will Not Stop Global Warming”

Tim Coyne says:

November 8, 2008 at 9:14 am

Great stuff Tim!

I often felt this way during some of the debates. Like when Jim Lehrer was acting like a junior-high instigator.

“Come on. Tell him. Tell him to his face. Tell him to his face what you think about him. Come on.”

I hope Obama really commits to the environmental issue. I think he will.

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Timothy B. Hurst says:

November 9, 2008 at 1:55 pm

It was almost painful at times, wasn’t it? If Obama et al., can successfully link clean energy and the environment to the core imperative of the state (economic development and security) we may see some real transformation.

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Lishster22 says:

November 10, 2008 at 8:24 am

It’s nice to hear an example that Obama gets it… the way his environmental platform got watered down during the campaign I wasn’t sure.

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Max Gladwell says:

November 12, 2008 at 8:55 am

I read that quote in the Newsweek piece and have quoted it extensively already. It does really demonstrate that Obama gets it. Back in f—ing July, we wrote that greens tend to be penny wise and pound foolish: http://www.maxgladwell.com/2008/07/are-greens-penny-wise-and-pound-foolish/

“We’re sorry to break the news, but small changes add up to nothing more than making us all feel a little better about ourselves. We’re just shuffling chairs on the deck of the Titanic.”

Another great example of why Obama is candidate of f—ing change.

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Chris Prelitz says:

July 5, 2009 at 12:18 pm

True, changing your lights alone won’t stop climate change, but it’s a critical step. I’ve lived off-grid, where you can’t waste a f-*-ng watt of electricity. You get real fast and good at figuring out where you’re wasting energy. Incandescent Lights and Power Vampires can suck your batteries dry in a heartbeat.So, it has to be Both-And…..Efficiency, conservation, And clean renewables on a smart-grid.

Many folks think solar’s the answer until they find out that one 200 watt panel costs over $1,000 installed & only makes about $4- $5 of electricity a month.

Changing out 6 lights to CFL’s will save way more than $5 a month for only $30 or so. And, LED’s are on the way! Shameless plug . .if you want to find dimmable and 3 way cfl’s in a great warm white color: http://www.NewLeafAmerica.com

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Caroline says:

September 8, 2009 at 11:36 am

Sure, changing light bulbs won`t solve global warming if on the other hand you don`t change your consumption habits, as an example. Yet when your are making such things for the environment as Obama do, how not to be annoyed when one ask you if you change your lights bulbs ?
However, if changing your light bulbs still interest you, I suggest you to visit Green Meetup Website.

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natural daylight lamp says:

January 5, 2010 at 2:12 pm

This post can really open up some thoughtful discussion. Thank you for putting forth the effort to put it together.

Reply
matt nathanson music fan says:

January 24, 2010 at 12:31 am

Hey, thanks for this!

Reply
Isabel Tomasson says:

February 7, 2010 at 10:51 am

Your blog is awesome! I found it on Yahoo and couldn

Reply

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