Carter, our 10-year-old son, had a great idea a few nights ago: give Compact Fluorescent (CFL) Bulbs back to grown-ups who hand out candy this Halloween. We were talking about costumes, and Carter wanted to be a cactus, then a man dressed in duct-tape clothing (he can make anything out of duct tape!), but then … a wind turbine Halloween costume! Hmmm, we thought — a wind turbine would be a great, simple and really fun Halloween costume. We talked about other alternative energy costumes (solar panels, hydro-electric plants, etc.). but the wind turbine is now in progress. I’ll post a picture when it’s all done.
But then came the idea about giving each neighbor a CFL in exchange for the candy, and that struck a chord. So we thought about helping fund this venture. So let’s say he has a great outing, and goes to 30 or more houses. We got a full case of 60 13w spiral CFLs (60W Equivalent) at $1.99 each, about $120. This seems like a pretty direct way to use money for good things.
I think this idea is more than just a lark — Carter really, really cares about the environment (yes, the brainwashing really does work, parents). So I am going to write our local newspaper and see if they would take his picture and get him on the front page. And I have a friend who is a doctor who is regularly contacted by a local TV station for medical stuff — maybe he can hook us up and get the boy some regional attention. Anyone know anybody from the national news?
It will be interesting to see how people react — another couple of weeks until Halloween!