Edison Rolls Over. Bush Bans the Incandescent Light Bulb.
Politics January 10th, 2008
I hate those energy efficient CFL light bulbs for the same reason I hate going to the DMV and the Post Office. They can make any room cold, gray, blue and the nasty light they put out doesn’t even kick in until its been on for a few minutes.
Well thanks to our president you can kiss the incandescent light bulb goodbye. Thats right, this is not a joke, you will no longer have a choice. Your government has decided whats best for you. Starting 4 years from now there will be no more old school incandescent on the shelf. And lets not forget what these earth friendly humming bastards are filled with: MERCURY. Not so good for the old gray matter activity. I can’t wait to find out I can’t drink water from my tap because the local landfill has been enundated with crushed CFL bulbs whose mercury has seeped into the ground water supply.
Thanks Bush. Thanks John Dingell. You’re all starting to look a lot like Mr. Chavez. Whats next? Planning to ban hamburgers because cows emit too much methane? Perhaps you should just ban private homes because government owned mass housing will be far more energy efficient.
The Libertarian party isn’t looking so wacky anymore.
January 11th, 2008 at 11:38 am
I’m stocking up now, for the next million years. When we called our local solid waste deptarment to find out how to dispose of CFLs and regular FLs, we were told, “there is no problem, just throw them away! Great.
January 11th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Apparently, people with light sensitivity can’t use CFLs because they can cause rashs to form on their skin.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7170246.stm
February 26th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Unfortunately there is some misinformation. First, there are currently three main types of CFL bulbs (at least, in Home Depot). I have tried two of them. One type is the brightest, and I used it once in error: it casts a bluish light that is quite bright, and that could bother some people. I have that bulb in a place where it is not used a lot.
The same wattage bulb in the natural light version, in a green package, casts a light that appears indistinguishable from incandescent light. It is terrific. The third type of light, which I have not tried, I believe they call “soft light” - I wish I had the packages, but I am only the commenter, not the author of the article. As far as mercury - I have repeatedly read that burning coal, our major source of electricity, releases significantly more mercury into the environment than the CFL bulbs (based on the electricity saved vs average bulb lifetime). And finally, yes, they SHOULD be disposed of specially, to avoid even the very small amount of mercury being released.