How Many Queens Does It Take to Change a Light Bulb? 1

Britain's Queen Elizabeth studying how to green her palaces

Word on the street is HRH the Queen of England Her Majesty With the Breath of Baby's Breath Elizabeth is looking at ways to lessen the impact of her palaces. Proposals being floated include switching Buckingham Palace's 40,000 lights to efficient bulbs, building a turbine in the Thames to generate power for Windsor Castle, cooling the royal wine cellars with boreholes instead of air conditioning, and flying less. Last year, Lil and Prince Phil took 425 plane trips, including 45 overseas; they used the royal train (!) just 14 times. Reportedly the household carbon footprint of the Queen -- who is rumored to wander corridors turning off lights, maybe the best image ever -- is 3,751 tons a year. That's just a skosh above the English average of 10 tons per person. "The management of energy has been an integral part of royal households for many years and we are now taking a look at where we are at," said a spokesperson. Here's one idea: fewer palaces!

• Comments