The blue and white of Georgia Southern will “go green” on Monday as the university seeks to “relamp” the entire campus. Starting Monday, a team of GSU students will exchange traditional incandescent bulbs with new compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) in office, desk and accent fixtures in 19 different campus buildings. It’s the first initiative of its kind in the University System of Georgia.
Lissa Leege, director of the Office of Sustainability in the Allen E. Paulson College of Science and Technology, said the project gives student the opportunity to be part of the solution o energy waste.
“We’re excited about it because it’s an action project,” said Leege “It’s not every day when you get to do something as easy as hanging a light bulb that really is going to make a difference in terms of impact on the planet.
“This is a great step towards a green Georgia Southern.”
As part of his visit to the campus Monday, actor and activist Ed Begley Jr. will participate in the re-lamping. He will join GSU President Bruce Grube, university staff, and Georgia Power representatives for a 2:15 p.m. kick-off ceremony at the Marvin Pittman Administration Building. Begley Jr.will speak Monday and present his theme,“Live Simply So That Others Can Simply Live,” as part of LivinGreen Month. The speech will be held at GSU’s Performing Arts Center starting at 7 p.m. Georgia Power donated the CFLs that will be installed all over campus.
According to Georgia Power spokesperson, Konswello Monroe, CFLs not only use two-thirds the energy and last eight to ten time as long as incandescent bulbs, but they also put off significantly less heat.
GSU’s Sustainability Coordinator Monique Dipple, who coordinated the donation from Georgia Power, said, “If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an Energy Star CFL bulb, we would save enough  energy to light more than three million homes for a year, save more than $600 million in annual energy costs and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.”
For additional information about CFLs or to get an energy efficiency guide, call Georgia Power at 1-800-524-2421 or visit the Web site at www.georgiapower.com.

Phil Boyum may be reached at (912) 489-9454.