Not a bright idea

Townhall ^ | May 13, 2007 | Paul Jacob

[Diogenesis]

"... after a few more flashes in the pan, we shall
hear very little more of Edison or his electric lamp.
Every claim he makes has been tested and proved impracticable."
[New York Times, January 16, 1880]

[Eye of Unk]

LED will be the future and eventually organoluminescence like living light that many species use like fireflies and deep sea denizens. I can easily visualize organic light in the future that essentially lives off of small amounts of waste material and does not require an electrical source.

[Calpernia]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1678447/posts
Light Pollution (If you think it’s a joke, think again. The movement seeks to change laws)

[Erik Latranyi]

When will society wake up and realize that these environmentalist “do-gooders” have caused more harm to our world than good?

[Nailbiter]

When pigs sprout wings and fly

[exhaustguy]

It will be a simple supply and demand issue. If government eliminates standard light bulbs, then the new florescent bulb merchants will have no competition to hold their prices down.

Someone please save us from idiot politicians.

[M-cubed]

And every time some politician or activist cooks up a new cause, a new regulation or tax, I wonder if anything could be more absurd than this. <<<

Speaking of “cooking up a new cause”...Do u remember a few yrs back when you took in your barbecue grills propane tank for a refill...only to find out it was against the law to refill it...All you had to do was buy a couple of new “safe” ones at $30 bucks a pop and u were back in business...(I wonder who made a fortune off of that lil law change?...besides Hank Hill of course)....Lets see...$30 x how many existing propane tanks in the US???...Wonder what happened to all those old obsolete tanks???

[Riley]

I see that the NYT being 180 degrees out of phase with reality is nothing new. I wouldn’t mind seeing a compilation of such arrogance-flavored missteps from the mainstream media.

[Riley]

Wonder what happened to all those old obsolete tanks???

I don't know, but I'll hazard a guess. A cursory inspection, a quick paintjob and a new label- and they're 'reconditioned', and back in the market?

[Tribune7]

CFLs are great.

And outlawing incandescents is really, really, really STUPID!

[preacher]

Here is something similar:

A law passed several years ago mandated to size of toilet reservoirs. The purpose was to limit the amount of water used per flush. Many people have found it necessary to flush 2 or 3 times to accomplish the job. This may actually cause more water to be used. Some Americans have found that Canada does not have a similar regulation and import fixtures from Canada.

Someone please save us from idiot politicians.

[Ouderkirk]

CFL’s are OK but I don’t want them mandated.

The trouble with florescent lights is that they flicker at 60Hz and offer a harsh light, and are not generally receptive to dimmers. While this flicker is imperceptible to the conscious mind they are annoying over time. The incandescent bulb is smooth and does not flicker with the change in frequency.

Check your computer monitor. It should offer modes like 72 or 80 Hz so that the monitor does not flicker at the same frequency as the florescent lights. In my office which is lit with florescent lights I have a small regular lamp and have my monitor set to 80Hz to keep it from giving me a headache.

Nothing against the CFL per se, and they have many uses, but they also have limitations that should be understood.

[Tribune7]

CFL’s are OK but I don’t want them mandated.

Mandates are a bad idea. For the CFL uses that make sense people will use CFLs without coercion. For the uses that don't make sense, how does it make sense to demand something that doesn't make sense to use be used?

[Clock King]

Edison worked up a sweat to find a filament that would “burn” long enough to make electric light economical for households everywhere. A few decades later one of his employees came up with an even better filament, tungsten.

Granville T. Woods - deserves a lot of credit

Sigh... If only Black people knew our own history! We wouldn't be so hung up on constant victimization.

[albee]

""... after a few more flashes in the pan, we shall hear very little more of Edison or his electric lamp. Every claim he makes has been tested and proved impracticable." [New York Times, January 16, 1880]

This only goes to show that the New York Times was screwed up even then...130 years ago!

[Gorzaloon]

Edison worked up a sweat to find a filament that would “burn” long enough to make electric light economical for households everywhere. A few decades later one of his employees came up with an even better filament, tungsten. Granville T. Woods - deserves a lot of credit

The key word here is "Employee".

Who remembers the name of the female lab tech who discovered polyaramids(Kevlar) for example?

From my experiences in Corporations, it's a miracle Woods is remembered at all, because everyone knows "only VP's have ideas".

In a similar way, Edison's hundreds of patents would never have happened were it not for the star-struck "Little" employees, who did the inventing on the other things than the light bulb and the phonograph.

[ricks_place]

If Nikola Tesla were spinning in his grave would he generate an AC Electric Field?

[GeorgiaDawg32]

that’s exactly correct..if the tank is over 12 years old it’s agin the law to refill it UNLESS it’s been inspected and approved for use for another 12 years or so..there would be a sticker on the top of the tank somewhere..

[Shooter 2.5]

I think it’s foolish to replace incandescents during the winter time. One of the main complaints is they waste their energy by giving off heat. So? That’s exactly what I want during the winter months.