Report: States Should Turn Off Lights to Save Money

State governments facing major budget problems are being urged to look for ways to trim their bottom line. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports that some say simply flipping a switch will save taxpayer money:

Transcript

State governments facing major budget problems are being urged to look for ways to trim their
bottom line. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports that some say
simply flipping a switch will save taxpayer money:


Most state governments not only have deficits for the current fiscal year, they also face deficits
for the coming budget cycle. Environmental groups say the states can patch a bit of their budget
hole by switching to more efficient light bulbs and turning off lights and computers when no
one’s in govenment office buildings. In Wisconsin, the Public Interest Research Group says the
state could save between nine and eighteen million dollars a year. Group director Kerry
Chumann admits that some conservation moves require changing people’s behavior.


“But I think we haven’t even done first step of putting a policy in place to say let’s do this. Let’s
cut our energy costs by doing simple things.”


For the longer term, Schumann also backs energy saving ideas that may take some major up-front
investments. Those include getting rid of gas guzzling state cars and switching to alternative
fueled vehicles.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Chuck Quirmbach reporting.