Green Light : Spolight Tony Anderson

“People have been very positive and receptive” says Tony C. Anderson, 26, Morehouse College alum who is taking the environmental movement by storm. Since graduating in the spring of 2008, Anderson has managed to familiarize himself with the who’s who of the environmental world. He has become a fellow with the Compton foundation, a fellowship that affords him the opportunity to have Nia Robinson, director of The Environmental Justice Climate Coalition and Van Jones , president of Green for all and senior fellow with the center for American Progress as mentors.
Majoring in political philosophy, Anderson has managed to put his degree to use by creating the “Lets Raise A Million”(LRAM) campaign. LRAM is an Environmental Justice organization that circulates compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) or smart bulbs as Anderson so affectionately calls them. LRAM plans circulate to households of a modest income. The money being are saved can be applied to other areas where funding is vital. Saving money and energy can show people how inclusive the green movement really is.
When asked what the inspiration for his campaign is, he enthusiastically responds “Hearing Nia Robinson speak at a conference about Compact Florescent light bulbs.” He goes on to explain that when it came time to choose a gift that his mother could really use he gave her light bulbs. After hearing his mother praise clean energy light bulbs with her friends it became apparent that if you could get clean energy light bulbs to households of a modest income throughout Atlanta there would be a dramatic impact in the energy usage and money spent on light bulbs.
Anderson plans to reach the million mark and take his campaign to a national level. Through his work with the Barack Obama Campaign, he gained practical political experience. Anderson had this to say of Obama’s recent achievement “The most qualified man won, but one thing that is scary is Obama’s talk of clean coal.” While there is talk of “clean coal”,Anderson has managed to generate a buzz of his own through for Florescent light bulbs. Kari Fulton, National Campus Campaign Coordinator for EJCC, says, “Tony’s work has been very instrumental in engaging college students in concrete ways, he is showing us how to save money and the planet.”