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The light bulb switchover: in the dark
mt mail ^ | 9/29/2010 | Edwin Feulner, Ph.D.

Posted on 10/10/2010 9:22:26 AM PDT by george76

So, are you ready to comply with the federal government's ban on incandescent light bulbs? Me neither.

Starting in January 2012, a little over a year from now, the phase-out begins. Simple, inexpensive lighting will become a time-capsule item.

Compact-fluorescent lights, or CFLs - the bulbs that look like a twisted ice-cream cone (and won't fit in many light fixtures where space is tight) - will become the new norm.

Anyone who has priced CFLs knows they're not cheap. Supposedly they're worth the extra money because they'll last longer.

That's cold comfort, though, given the dull, unnatural glow that these bulbs throw off.

Worse, CFLs are full of mercury. If one breaks - and who hasn't dropped a light bulb now and then? - you have an elaborate clean-up process ahead of you.

It's on the EPA's website, and it involves evacuating the area of all people and pets, and using duct tape and damp paper towels to get everything up. And no vacuuming, or you may disperse the mercury - which, after all, is a toxic substance.

Some lawmakers are trying to reverse this part of the 2007 law. Republican representatives Joe Barton and Michael Burgess from Texas and Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee, have introduced legislation to repeal the ban on incandescent bulbs.

"Washington-mandated layoffs in the middle of a desperate recession are one of many examples of what happens when politicians and activists think they know better than consumers and workers," Barton said.

The question is: Will their fellow policy makers finally see the light?

(Excerpt) Read more at themountainmail.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events; US: Tennessee; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: cfl; cfls; fluorescentlights; incandescent; lightbulb; lightbulbs
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1 posted on 10/10/2010 9:22:27 AM PDT by george76
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To: george76

Destroying our country many steps at a time.


2 posted on 10/10/2010 9:24:16 AM PDT by Williams (It's the policies, stupid.)
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To: george76

my father, (a chiropractor) always said those fluroscent lights cause cancer.


3 posted on 10/10/2010 9:25:39 AM PDT by television is just wrong
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To: george76
Those things HAVE TO cost 10 times as much to produce, have a big hunk of non-biodegradable plastic at the base, MERCURY in the bulb (bio-hazard) and DO NOT last 10 times as long

I got a WHOLE CASE of these silly things when I got new windows in my house (as a promotion from the builder)

The entire case is GONE now in less than 3 years, and the last case of bulbs (incandescent) that I had lasted for over 10 years

4 posted on 10/10/2010 9:26:17 AM PDT by Mr. K (PALADINO for GOV. OF NY --- VOTE LIKE YOUR CHILD'S LIFE DEPENDS ON IT! (BECAUSE IT DOES))
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To: george76

I don’t even know what to do about this. Hubby replaced some bulbs with these and they are awful. I am a reader and I don’t like the light they give off either. It is different and I can tell.

I have been buying light bulbs almost every week. I have a small stash. I keep wondering if I’m being silly because I don’t know the life expectancy of light bulbs so maybe I’m just wasting my money.

I really hate this crap.


5 posted on 10/10/2010 9:26:35 AM PDT by Paved Paradise
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To: george76

The incandescent light bulb should be the symbol of our robbed freedoms and of government overreach. It used to stand for ideas. Now, it stands for government fascism.


6 posted on 10/10/2010 9:27:51 AM PDT by OrangeHoof (Washington, we Texans want a divorce!)
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To: george76

“The question is: Will their fellow policy makers finally see the light?”

When they feel the heat, they’ll see the light.....


7 posted on 10/10/2010 9:28:05 AM PDT by Scrambly
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To: george76

I think I also read where some of these bulbs are actually fire hazards (maybe the ones made in China). I am not sure if any company is making bulbs in the USA - Any one else know?


8 posted on 10/10/2010 9:28:21 AM PDT by greeneyes (Moderation in defense of your country is NO virtue. Let Freedom Ring.)
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To: Paved Paradise

What you do not use personally , you may be able to sell at a future time for a large profit ?

Like gold, silver...food and lead ?


9 posted on 10/10/2010 9:29:21 AM PDT by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: george76

Full of mercury? Isn’t that a slight exaggeration?


10 posted on 10/10/2010 9:30:36 AM PDT by Fresh Wind (King: "I have a dream"...Sharpton: "I want a check")
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To: george76

After much pressure of the obvious, the CFL Cleanup Gurus relented and stated that the mess may be vacuumed (in fact should be if it was on carpet) but the vacuum bag should be replaced at once and treated as household hazardous waste (wanna bet it’s going to get chucked out with the regular trash anyhow). New construction methods minimize or eliminate (”amalgam technology”) the amount of elemental (liquid or vapor) mercury that can get loose from a broken CFL especially if it was cold.


11 posted on 10/10/2010 9:32:09 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (I am in America but not of America (per bible: am in the world but not of it))
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To: george76

Can a new, Republican house get rid of the incandescent ban?


12 posted on 10/10/2010 9:32:20 AM PDT by Persevero (Homeschooling for Excellence since 1992)
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To: george76
Compact-fluorescent lights, or CFLs - Heard are a fire risk, along with other assorted risks.
13 posted on 10/10/2010 9:33:07 AM PDT by no-to-illegals (Please God, Bless and Protect Our Men and Women in Uniform)
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To: greeneyes

Light bulb factory closes; End of era for U.S. means more jobs overseas.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/07/AR2010090706933.html?hpid=topnews


14 posted on 10/10/2010 9:33:48 AM PDT by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: greeneyes

my apology...didn’t see your post.


15 posted on 10/10/2010 9:35:33 AM PDT by no-to-illegals (Please God, Bless and Protect Our Men and Women in Uniform)
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To: george76

It was nothing more than Commies in this country outsourcing American jobs to Their fellow travelers in Communist countries


16 posted on 10/10/2010 9:35:40 AM PDT by HP8753 (Live Free!!!! .............or don't.)
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To: george76
Why don't I ever read a single suggestion that GOP legislators' feet should be held to the fire to repeal both ObamaCare AND the screwball light bulb mandate if they take over Congress in November?

Or is "The Light That Failed Regulation" set in stone?

Are we rolling over and playing dead on this?

What's the story?

Leni

17 posted on 10/10/2010 9:36:19 AM PDT by MinuteGal (Are any Americans better off than they were 4 trillion dollars ago?)
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To: television is just wrong

Many chiropractors espouse esoteric to downright oddball theories, but some claim to have solved cases that utterly baffled M.D. doctors. Take with salt as needed. I’ve noticed the one I visit only uses fluorescent lamps in outdoor fixtures, which makes the office look nicer if feeling a bit warm in the summer.


18 posted on 10/10/2010 9:37:07 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (I am in America but not of America (per bible: am in the world but not of it))
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To: george76
Guess what...At our apartment complex, the utility company will be changing all the bulbs FOR FREE in our apartment (max 6)as part of an energy conservation program.

Read on though.....Charges for this program can be found on your bill!!! My bill says $1.20 per mo x 12 =$14.40 per year....more than the cost of the bulbs.

P.S. My utilities are going up about 15%....+ tax...

19 posted on 10/10/2010 9:39:37 AM PDT by Sacajaweau (What)
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To: Fresh Wind

Yes you can expect mercury to accumulate in land fills and garbage dumps and then to leach into streams and rivers and finally the fish will eat it and then the animal rights people will explode.


20 posted on 10/10/2010 9:39:46 AM PDT by ully2 (ully)
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