Did You Know? The New Year's Eve Ball is Green (INFOGRAPHIC)

Though it may not look it, as you watch the New Year’s eve ball drop in Times Square at midnight this year, celebrate a greener 2013!

A few years ago, Philips Electronics started providing LED lights (32,256 of them to be exact) to light the ball as it drops to commemorate the passing of another year. These LED lights use up to 80 percent less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs and, according to Philips Electronics, if every American household switched to energy-efficient lighting, 87.5 million tons of carbon dioxide would be reduced by consumers, saving $15.8 billion in energy costs.

That’s no small chunk of change. Feeling inspired to install some LEDs in your home to replace your traditional bulbs?

If not, read on to the infographic below to see just how green the New Year’s Eve Ball has become.

Photo Credit: James Russo, Earth911

published December 30, 2012

About Marissa Gawel

Some might call it stubborn, others might see it as an innate environmentalism, but Marissa grew up passing on the meat at dinner and choosing to bike instead of drive whenever possible. After volunteering on farms in the Gambia and Hungary, she began to see her habits in a global scope and started to actively work to inspire others to do the same. When she stumbled across Greenster one day, it just felt right. Since then, she's become committed to spreading Greenster's message and culture of sustainability.