The Three Amigos Of Climate Change

The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) ^ | 25 Feb 2007 | Miranda Devine

[Kitten Festival]

YOU KNOW Australia has lost its mind on the green front when the conservative Howard Government starts emulating the communist dictatorship of Cuba.

Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull's plan, foisted without warning on the nation last week, to ban incandescent light bulbs from 2010 and force us to replace them with more energy-efficient fluorescent ones, was hailed almost unanimously around the world as a bright idea.

While the Government billed the switch as a world first the Associated Press soon pointed out that Cuba's dictator Fidel Castro launched a similar program two years ago to make citizens swap incandescent bulbs for fluorescents. His protege, Venezuela's socialist president Hugo Chavez, soon followed suit.

You might say Turnbull, Castro and Chavez are the three amigos of the climate change nanny state.

[TheHound]

Fluorescent light bulbs contain mercury. The standard fluorescent lamp contains approximately 20 milligrams of mercury. While there are no known health hazards from exposure to lamps that are intact, improper disposal of fluorescent lamps can contaminate the environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that over 800 million lamps are produced each year to replace 800 million lamps that are then disposed. Since 1 gram of mercury is enough to contaminate a 2-acre pond, there is enough mercury in those lamps to contaminate 20 million acres of water.

Mercury is toxic to the human nervous system. Chronic breathing of mercury vapors can cause a range of physical symptoms, including inability to coordinate body movement and impairment of hearing, speech and vision. Exposure to mercury in other forms can lead to skin rashes and kidney damage.

Elemental mercury that is released to the environment can be deposited into lakes, rivers, and the oceans where a biological process takes place in which the mercury is converted into methylmercury, a highly toxic organic form of mercury. The methylmercury is then consumed by various animals in the food chain where it bioaccumulates, concentrating to higher and higher levels in larger animals. Consumption of larger mammals could cause elevated levels of methylmercury in humans, resulting in neurological damage to unborn children. According to estimates by the National Wildlife Federation, 85,000 U.S. women of childbearing age in a given year are exposed to elevated methylmercury levels sufficient to affect the brain development of their babies.

[Rane _H]

I heard recently that flourescent bulbs can contain mercury. I think eventually we'll go back to using fire instead of elctricity. :^D

[Rane _H]

Doh! You people with quick fingers! lol

[Publius6961]

While the Government billed the switch as a world first the Associated Press soon pointed out that Cuba's dictator Fidel Castro launched a similar program two years ago to make citizens swap incandescent bulbs for fluorescents. His protege, Venezuela's socialist president Hugo Chavez, soon followed suit.

Well, I am happy with the certainty that I did the same long before Castro and Chavez came aboard...

And I must out myself... Hitler loved lettuce, too, and I eat the stuff all the time...

[Nip]

Actually the push to use fluorescent light bulbs (and their associate mercury disposal problems) is very old hat. In fact it is pushing an old (60 plus years) technology as the “latest and greatest”.

Look into the yachting world and various military applications and you will find something called “LED”s - light emitting diodes. The maritime versions works on either 12 or 24 volts and the estimated time to failure, in marine usage (salt air, corrosion, etc.), is 10,000 hours. That is slightly over 416 days of continuous use.

Some of the newer, high-end, flashlights are pushing LED lights and use either single AAA or AA batteries. That configuration puts out more light than the current triple D systems and is much less susceptible to shock and storage damages.

LEDs first appeared on the market over a decade ago. Because they generated light at very low voltages and with zero heat generation the military found immediate use for them. In the last 12 - 18 months I have seen advertisements in various boating magazines talking about LED lights for marine use.

Me, before I go from a 120 year old piece of static technology to one that is 60 years old (and equally static) for a “savings”, I am going to look very hard at an emerging decade old technology that is still expanding and offers even more “savings”.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

CF light bulbs will probably save energy, and reduce CO2 emissions in Australia, or other warm climates. That doesn't excuse forcing people to use them.

In cold climates, like Canada, and much of the northern U.S. -- CF lights won't save nearly as much. For half the year, it's cold and dark -- incandescent bulbs are very efficient infrared heaters, and using them simply reduces your need for other heat sources. During the warm parts of the year, the sun's shining most of the day and you don't need to turn on the lights. When the lights are turned off, how much more energy does an incandescent bulb use compared to a CFL bulb? Despite these facts, a lot of people want to make incandescent bulbs illegal in Canada. It's insanity.

[generalhammond]

Since 1 gram of mercury is enough to contaminate a 2-acre pond, there is enough mercury in those lamps to contaminate 20 million acres of water...

But at least the dead fish won't stink as much in the cooler water due to the slowing of global warming - ain't that good? Turnbull is a millionaire lawyer - maybe he fancies himself as the Aussie Edwards. Seems to have the right intellect.

[pissant]

The three: ALgore, Schwarznegger, and Rudy.

[taxed2death]

...regarding the flashlights....they're crap.
I have one made exactly like a Mag light...or Stream light...just like the cops use except it had about 15 little LED's up front....They don't take shock very well at all....after a few weeks of use with normal kicking around I think that two or three of those little LED diodes are left working. A match is now brighter than this thing...

[WOSG]

LEDs would be great but are far from cost-competitive for standard home use.

[LowCountryJoe]

Does anyone make these bulbs to run in an AC system. Ther would have to be some kind of tranformer either on each individual bulb or on each lighting circuit and, in that case, no circuit could have both lights and outlets on it.

[xcamel]

FReepmail me to get on or off
Click on POGW graphic for full GW rundown

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[aruanan]

Well, it sounds as though the environmentalists have found a way to poison and exterminate the technologically advanced sector of the planet. They've long been known to want to do this.

[sergeantdave]

You will need to hire lightbulb police. This will be followed by a lightbulb bureaucracy to track compliance. You will need to start lightbulb courts to settle disputes over what is a suitable lightbulb. And you'll need a ministry of lightbulb propaganda to disseminate information favorable to the lightbulb flavor of the month. Then you will need lightbulb prisons to punish recalcitrant luddites who refuse to change to enlightened lightbulbs.

By the time all is done, every lightbulb will cost society $1,768.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Typical problem with room lighting from LED's is that they are very directional. The light doesn't tend to "spread" much, but is unusually very bright, very focused.

Which is prefect for a flashlight. Lousy for a kitchen or kids bedroom. Dining room. Etc. Typical government emergency "response-of-the-day" to a preconceived problem hyped by a vocal minority that has the support of the press..

[dfwgator]

Oh now clever, now it's "Climate Change" instead of "Global Warming." I guess the fearmongers have all the bases covered now.

[Holicheese]

If they really care so much, why not move to LED bulbs?
They use almost no power and last for years.
I have slowly been changing my flood lights and spot lights to LEDs. They are expensive but if you left it on 24-7, they would still use less power than a fluorescent.

This is just another example of Big Fluorescent trying to kill new technology... (Sarcasm lamp is lit)