>>Sure there's marketing hype.
>>
>>But even with your stats above there's a simple hole - "energy" is not the same as electricity.
>>
>>Someone who heats with gas or oil or wood (or solar or geo-thermal) and doesn't own an air conditioner in the first place might well have half or more of their electricity consumed by lighting.
>>
>>Why can't you see that if you save yourself 75 watts per bulb on 5 bulbs you've saved yourself 375 watts per unit-time of use (from 500 to 125) and that 10 million households doing the same has to have a major impact on consumption, thus production, thus the environment (especially in the U.S., where coal is still king). 10,000,000 X 500 is a whole lot bigger than 10,000,000 X 125.
>
>Regarding coal, see China. Regarding the rest, see my reply to Dragan.

Coal is still king in the U.S. for generating electricity.

I agree China has much more dependence on coal (they heat/cook with it too) but since when does one being worse than me get me off the hook?