102-Year Old Institution Reduces Carbon Footprint by 1.5 Million Pounds and

Removes 1.4 Million Kilowatt Hours from Grid

    NEW YORK, Oct. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Commemorating its ongoing commitment
 to environmental responsibility and conservation, The New York Public
 Library gathered today with lighting manufacturer TCP, Inc.; Consolidated
 Edison Company of New York (ConEd) and Quality Conservation Services (QCS)
 to celebrate the collaborative installation of more than 5,300
 energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) throughout the
 historic Humanities and Social Sciences Library at 42nd Street. The switch
 from traditional incandescent bulbs reduces nearly 1.5 million pounds of
 carbon dioxide and removes more than 1.4 million kilowatt hours from the
 New York power grid annually.
     (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071003/CLW056 )
     Director of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library Heike Kordish,
 alongside Steve Mysholowsky, Manager with the Targeted Demand Side
 Management Program of ConEd; James Maitilasso, President of QCS; and Ellis
 Yan, President and CEO of TCP Inc., shared their hopes for increased
 environmental responsibility and action throughout New York as well as the
 entire country during the morning's event. The group closed the celebration
 by flipping the main switch together; activating the facility's 5,311 new
 CFLs.
     "Today we are thrilled to begin a new era of energy efficient and
 attractive lighting at the Humanities and Social Sciences Library," said
 Heike Kordish, Director of The New York Public Library's Humanities and
 Social Sciences Library. "It was clear that for the benefit of the
 environment it was worth converting to lights that were more energy
 efficient, but it is also saving hundreds of man-hours per year in
 maintaining the lights. This project is just one of the Library's green
 initiatives. We feel that illumination of knowledge is our key mission, and
 we're pleased to be participating with ENERGY STAR's national "Change a
 Light, Change the World Day."
     Added James P. Maitilasso, "Though certainly an immense undertaking, it
 is almost difficult to believe that something as simple as changing a light
 bulb can help save this planet."
     "Today's event honors ENERGY STAR's national 'Change a Light, Change
 the World' Day," explains Ellis Yan, CEO of TCP. "If every person in
 America changed just one of the average 50 light bulbs per household to a
 CFL, it would save enough energy to power more than three million homes
 annually and remove the equivalent of 800,000 cars from the roads. For
 those that believe individual effort cannot make a difference, it's
 important to remember that collectively, we can make a positive impact."
     TCP, Inc., headquartered in Aurora, Ohio, drives lighting innovation
 for commercial, industrial and residential applications. As the leader in
 energy efficient lighting, TCP manufactures one million compact fluorescent
 lamps (CFLs) per day, offers one of the largest number of ENERGY STAR
 approved products and distributes them throughout North America and abroad.
 Although only a fraction the size of its competitors, TCP produces 70% of
 the CFLs on the U.S. market sold under a variety of name brand, private
 label and other lighting manufacturers (OLM). The company's extensive
 product line also includes cold cathode, linear and high bay systems, exit
 and emergency lighting, HID, energy efficient fixtures, and LED lighting
 products/solutions. For more information, visit us at www.tcpi.com or call
 (800) 324-1496.
     The New York Public Library was created in 1895 with the consolidation
 of the private libraries of John Jacob Astor and James Lenox with the
 Samuel Jones Tilden Trust. The Library provides free and open access to its
 physical and electronic collections and information, as well as to its
 services. It comprises four research centers - the Humanities and Social
 Sciences Library; The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts; the
 Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; and the Science, Industry
 and Business Library - and 87 Branch Libraries in Manhattan, Staten Island,
 and the Bronx. Research and circulating collections combined total more
 than 50 million items. In addition, each year the Library presents
 thousands of exhibitions and public programs, which include classes in
 technology, literacy, and English as a second language. The New York Public
 Library serves over 16 million patrons who come through its doors annually
 and another 25 million users internationally, who access collections and
 services through its website, www.nypl.org .
 
 

SOURCE TCP, Inc.