Next time you’re at a night game or in a big box store, look up—if you see bright white lights housed in dome-shaped fixtures, you’re probably looking at metal halide lights. Strong new energy efficiency standards for metal halide lamp fixtures proposed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) would save businesses and consumers money, and would be a step toward meeting President Obama’s goal of reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) greenhouse gas emissions by 3 billion metric tons by 2030 through efficiency standards. (See related post: “U.S. Bids Farewell to the 75-Watt Incandescent Light Bulb.”)

DOE estimates that the new standards would yield $3 billion in net savings for businesses and towns and would reduce CO2 emissions by 15–17 million