release of greenhouse gases from natural gas heating. Ivanco, Karney, and Waher estimated that "If all homes in Quebec were required to switch from (incandescent) bulbs to CFLs, there would be an increase of almost 220,000 tonnes in CO2 emissions in the province, equivalent to the annual emissions from more than 40,000 automobiles." Use and adoption CFLs are produced for both alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) input. DC CFLs are popular for use in recreational vehicles and off-the-grid housing. Various aid agency initiatives exist in developing countries to replace kerosene lamps, which have associated health and safety hazards, with CFLs powered by batteries, solar panels or wind power generators. Due to the potential to reduce electric consumption and pollution, various organizations have encouraged the adoption of CFLs and other efficient lighting. Efforts range from publicity to encourage awareness, to direct handouts of CFLs to the public. Some electric utilities and local governments have subsidized CFLs or provided them free to customers as a means to reduce electric demand; and so delay further investments in generation. In the United States, the Program for the Evaluation and Analysis of Residential Lighting (PEARL) was created to be a watchdog program. PEARL has evaluated the performance and Energy Star compliance of more than 150 models of CFL bulbs. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP)/Global Environment Facility (GEF) initiative has developed "The Global Efficient Partnership Program", which focuses on country-led policies and approaches to enable the implementation of energy-efficient lighting, including CFLs, quickly and cost-effectively in developing and emerging countries. In the United States and Canada, the Energy Star program labels lamps that meet a set of standards for efficiency, starting time, life expectancy, color, and consistency of performance. The intent of the program is to reduce consumer concerns due to variable quality of products. Those CFLs with a recent Energy Star certification start in less than one second and do not flicker. Energy Star Light Bulbs for Consumers is a resource for finding and comparing Energy Star qualified lamps. There is ongoing work in improving the "quality" (color rendering index) of the light. In the United States, new standards proposed by the United States Department of Energy could result in LED lamps replacing CFLs. In the opinion of Noah Horowitz of the Natural Resources Defense Council, most CFL bulbs would not meet the standards. In the United Kingdom, a similar program is run