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California may ban conventional lightbulbs by 2012
Reuters on Yahoo ^ | 1/30/07 | Bernie Woodall

Posted on 01/30/2007 6:54:26 PM PST by NormsRevenge

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California lawmaker wants to make his state the first to ban incandescent lightbulbs as part of California's groundbreaking initiatives to reduce energy use and greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

The "How Many Legislators Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb Act" would ban incandescent lightbulbs by 2012 in favor of energy-saving compact fluorescent lightbulbs.

"Incandescent lightbulbs were first developed almost 125 years ago, and since that time they have undergone no major modifications," California Assemblyman Lloyd Levine said on Tuesday.

"Meanwhile, they remain incredibly inefficient, converting only about 5 percent of the energy they receive into light."

Levine is expected to introduce the legislation this week, his office said.

If passed, it would be another pioneering environmental effort in California, the most populous U.S. state. It became the first state to mandate cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, targeting a 25 percent reduction in emissions by 2020.

Compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) use about 25 percent of the energy of conventional lightbulbs.

Many CFLs have a spiral shape, which was introduced in 1980. By 2005, about 100 million CFLs were sold in the United States, or about 5 percent of the 2-billion-lightbulb market, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

That number could more than double this year. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. alone wants to sell 100 million CFLs at its stores by the end of 2007, the world's biggest retailer said in November.

While it will not give opinion on the possible California law, the EPA recommends CFLs.

"They save money and energy," EPA spokeswoman Enesta Jones said. "They are more convenient than other alternatives and come in different sizes and shapes to fit almost any fixture."

Also, CFLs generate 70 percent less heat than incandescent lights, Jones said.

About a fifth of the average U.S. home's electricity costs pays for lighting, which means even if CFLs initially cost more than conventional lightbulbs, consumers will save, Jones said.

A 20-watt CFL gives as much light as a 75-watt conventional bulb, and lasts 13 times longer, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit group studying energy issues.

Southern California Edison, an Edison International subsidiary and one of the state's biggest utilities, runs a program that cuts the cost of a CFL by $1 to $2.50. In the past year, SCE has helped consumers buy 6 million CFLs, it said.

California Energy Commission member Arthur Rosenfeld said an average home in California will save $40 to $50 per year if CFLs replace all incandescent bulbs.

While not commenting specifically on Levine's likely legislation, Rosenfeld, winner of the Enrico Fermi Presidential Award in 2006, said the switch from incandescent bulbs became feasible about five years ago when CFL performance improved.

"This is clearly an idea whose time has come," he said.

Levine, a Democrat from Van Nuys in Los Angeles, last year introduced a bill that will become law in July that requires most grocery stores to have plastic bag recycling.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: california; cfl; conventional; dimbulbs; fluorescent; incandescent; lightbulbs; lloydlevine
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To: NormsRevenge
ban

I am SOOOOO tired of that word.

21 posted on 01/30/2007 7:02:54 PM PST by teenyelliott (Soylent green should be made outta liberals...)
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To: zarf
So what's going to go off when a person gets a great idea?

I was having trouble with that image, too.

22 posted on 01/30/2007 7:03:16 PM PST by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly.)
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To: NormsRevenge
Very simply put if the fluorescent bulbs last 10 times longer than the incandescent, and sell at only 1/9 the rate of the incandescents, it'll take just a few years before they totally displace the incandescents.

The article says the 5% background sales level for the fluorescent bulbs could DOUBLE this year.

So, the elimination of the incandescent bulb can already be scheduled without the use of pesky nuisance laws as proposed by the Alpine gnome running California.

23 posted on 01/30/2007 7:04:02 PM PST by muawiyah
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To: NormsRevenge
I just wish California would secede from the United States.
24 posted on 01/30/2007 7:04:29 PM PST by ChildOfThe60s (If you can remember the 60s......you weren't really there)
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To: Ramius
The new CF bulbs are much better than before, and they really do work well.

They don't fit antique light fixtures, of which there are an enormous number. My guess is that I would have to replace virtually every fixture in my home. It would cost me thousands.

25 posted on 01/30/2007 7:04:37 PM PST by Carry_Okie (Grovelnator Schwarzenkaiser: Making fascism fashionable in Kaleeforia, one charade at a time.)
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To: NormsRevenge

I'm not a fan of banning much of anything, preferring instead to let the market drive demand.

That said, LED lights are absolutely amazing. The amount of energy to be saved is incredible.


26 posted on 01/30/2007 7:05:14 PM PST by ndt
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To: muawiyah
So, the elimination of the incandescent bulb can already be scheduled without the use of pesky nuisance laws as proposed by the Alpine gnome running California.

This mechanical engineer says that is absolute nonsense.

See post 25.

27 posted on 01/30/2007 7:05:37 PM PST by Carry_Okie (Grovelnator Schwarzenkaiser: Making fascism fashionable in Kaleeforia, one charade at a time.)
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To: Dog Gone
You mean your folks aren't already using LED Christmas Tree Lights?

How quaint.

28 posted on 01/30/2007 7:05:59 PM PST by muawiyah
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To: NormsRevenge
A ban on white males by 2015, a ban on heteros by 2018 followed by a ban on flush toilets and indoor plumbing by 2020 and they'll have a paradise.
29 posted on 01/30/2007 7:06:29 PM PST by MrBambaLaMamba (Buy 'Allah' brand urinal cakes - If you can't kill the enemy at least you can piss on their god)
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To: teenyelliott
I am SOOOOO tired of that word.

It does seem to be a favorite of the socialists....I never hear them offer anything as an incentive to change behavior other than fines and imprisonment. Joe Stalin, call your office.

30 posted on 01/30/2007 7:07:06 PM PST by relictele
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To: Carry_Okie

I have compact fluorescent bulbs that FIT in antique sockets. Bought them at the Safeway neighbor!


31 posted on 01/30/2007 7:07:40 PM PST by muawiyah
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To: RebelBanker; NormsRevenge
"Are you SURE this wasn't from The Onion?"

The onion should be the official publication organ of the California legislature.

32 posted on 01/30/2007 7:08:07 PM PST by editor-surveyor
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To: relictele; dalereed
Hate to break this to y'all, but....

Thomas Edison's company---namely, General Electric---is the leading manufacturer and marketer of compact fluorescent light bulbs.

Check it out: GE Consumer & Industrial Lighting FAQ on CFLs.

33 posted on 01/30/2007 7:08:09 PM PST by Vision Thing (Mister Democrat is a Son of a Vichy)
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To: Carry_Okie

"My guess is that I would have to replace virtually every fixture in my home. It would cost me thousands."

Yes but think of the energy and natural resources you will save.

/sarc


34 posted on 01/30/2007 7:08:15 PM PST by driftdiver
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To: NormsRevenge

You have to look around, because there are some cheapo energy saving bulbs out there that make everything look sickly. But if you get the right kind, they look pretty much like regular incandescent bulbs, and they only use a quarter of the power.

I have long since replaced every bulb in the house with GE spiral bulbs. In our area, at least, they are bringing out a new line of GE bulbs that are 13 watt instead of 15 watt (to replace a 60 watt bulb), and the local hardware store is selling the 15 watt bulbs for 99 cents apiece. You can't do better than that.

On the other hand, forcing people to use one product rather than another is just plain wrong. There are other ways to encourage their use rather than impose a probably unconstitutional law.


35 posted on 01/30/2007 7:09:04 PM PST by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: Carry_Okie
They don't fit antique light fixtures, of which there are an enormous number. My guess is that I would have to replace virtually every fixture in my home. It would cost me thousands.

If you fail to comply you will be evicted from your built-with-natural-wood home and placed in a non-rainforest-destructive building provided by the state, you polluter. /sarc

36 posted on 01/30/2007 7:09:17 PM PST by relictele
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To: NormsRevenge

Earth changes may ban all life on earth on 2012 (according to Mayan calender)


37 posted on 01/30/2007 7:09:39 PM PST by taxed2death (A few billion here, a few trillion there...we're all friends right?)
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To: Ramius

Florescent light is difficult to read by, or do detail work like machining.


38 posted on 01/30/2007 7:09:53 PM PST by editor-surveyor
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To: NormsRevenge
Does that mean this one too?

Longest burning Light Bulb in history.

39 posted on 01/30/2007 7:09:54 PM PST by Delta 21 ( MKC USCG - ret)
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To: NormsRevenge

You have GOT to be kidding.


40 posted on 01/30/2007 7:10:03 PM PST by RockinRight (What I want in '08: Gingrich's politics, Reagan's appeal, and Tancredo's immigration stance.)
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