Bright Ideas in the Lone Star State

States have official mottos, flowers, birds, even rock songs. And at the Texas Energy Conservation Summit, the mayors of Dallas, San Antonio, El Paso, Houston and Austin voiced their support for naming an official lightblub for Texas: the compact fluorescent.

In an effort to conserve energy, the mayors are starting a campaign to make the bulbs widely available. Texans are being encouraged to give the bulb as gifts.

The Mayors said use of compact fluorescent bulbs may help reduce electric demand from power plants that emit carbon dioxide, a gas blamed for global warming. And citizens can save on energy bills at the same time.

El Paso Mayor John Cox said if every Texas household converted a single lightbulb to a compact fluorescent, the air-pollution reductions would equal removing 55,000 cars from the street.