Mythbusting the lights on/lights off controversy: just turn the lights off!

Yesterday at our GreenGroup we were talking about how powerful messages stick with us, whether we really believe them or not. We were debating if "milk does a body good" as the cowmilk producers and lobbyists would have us believe, or if it's all just marketing spin to get us to buy more milk. I'll let you ponder that one on your own. I've got no answers to relay.

But I do have an answer to something that has troubled me for a while. Sometime when I was little, from somewhere I remember being told it takes more energy to flip the lights on, so it's really better to just keep them lit. Where this came from, I really have no clue. Thank you EnviroMom reader Tracy for telling me about the "Ask Umbra" section of Grist.org. I am learning so much, and really trust (and enjoy the humor) of her column. According to Umbra, turn the lights off unless you're planning to come back in less than 2 minutes. I can live with that.