Were you to visit a store in Sicily you might see the proprietor switch on the ceiling light as you enter, and turn it off before you get out the door. Europeans aren't cheap or impolite. They are energy conscious.

In Portugal, Spain and France many people are using fluorescent lighting where one might expect to see a standard household bulb. Even the track-lighting fixtures in some homes are filled with candle-shaped fluorescent bulbs.

You might not want to switch lights on and off as your guests travel from room to room, but you can do something else to save on the light bill.

Energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs are unique because each bulb has its own starter as opposed to the tube type where the starter is in the fixture. Fluorescent bulbs are more readily available than ever before and they provide soft, even lighting. Though they're more expensive, they last ten-to-twenty times as long as conventional incandescent bulbs. In the long run, you save by using fluorescent bulbs.

One type of fluorescent bulb we're familiar with uses 20 watts of energy and provides light equal to that of a conventional 75 watt bulb. That's an energy savings of 73% for the same amount of light. And, it's light that's easier on the eyes.

The average life of a $2 incandescent bulb is about 1000 hours. With fluorescent bulbs, $14 gets you at least 10,000 hours and in some cases 20,000 hours or more.

Do your eyes and your pocketbook a favor. Try fluorescent bulbs.