NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
December 2, 2010
CONTACT: Catharine Lo, 808-782-3733

Moanalua High School wins Blue Planet's Better Bulbs Blitz

Moanalua students exchanged 6,344 CFLs during National Energy Awareness Month

HONOLULU—The students at Moanalua High School swapped a whopping 6,344 CFL bulbs during the month of October, making them the winners of Blue Planet Foundation's 100,000 Better Bulbs Blitz. Because they exchanged more bulbs than all the other participating schools—40 in total—Moanalua High School receives a $1,000 bonus on top of the money they raised ($0.40 per bulb for $2,537.60!) by helping Hawai‘i residents improve their energy efficiency.
 
In addition to changing out all the old incandescent bulbs on campus, the students also canvassed neighborhoods and held exchanges at residential condominiums. The school's MeneMAC group will use the funds raised to travel to the national convention of the Student Television Network this coming spring.
 
"The CFL exchange program was an awesome 'win-win' for our students!" said advisor Lynne Sueoka. "They were initially motivated by the chance to raise funds for an upcoming trip to a national media convention, but after the presentation about the value of CFLs, they were galvanized by the chance to help their community achieve energy savings for our wallets and for our environment. They could easily see the benefits of CFL conversion and were excited by the chance to 'be the change' with Blue Planet's help."
 
Kamehameha Elementary finished the contest as runner-up, exchanging a total of 5,667 bulbs. These bulbs alone will save residents a total of $645,000 in electricity costs over the bulbs' lifetimes. The students coordinated the swaps with parent-teacher conferences and also replaced the school's inefficient bulbs.
 
More than two dozen community groups took part in the Bulbs Blitz, too, and special recognition goes to the AYSO Kailua U19 Girls soccer team for their outstanding effort in exchanging 5,000 bulbs.
 
Blue Planet congratulates all the participating organizations for making the 100,000 Better Bulbs Blitz a smashing success. Together they helped Hawai‘i residents achieve $12 million in energy savings, displacing 67,000 barrels of oil and preventing 38,000 tons of carbon pollution.
 
To date, Blue Planet Foundation's CFL campaign has replaced more than 287,000 inefficient light bulbs. Groups that are still interested in hosting a C.F.L. fundraiser can still sign up to earn $0.40 for each bulb they swap at blueplanetfoundation.org. The campaign is made possible through support from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, and Hawaii Energy.
 
High-resolution photos are available. Please contact catharine@blueplanetfoundation.org or call 782-3733.

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