"See Nancy, Republicans can be totalitarians too."
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 ...
Well, at least there's a silver lining.
No problem.
Heat burns them out quicker as well. If you purchase the CFL flood lights or spot lights, they simply are a CFL enclosed in a standard floodlight/spotlight glass envelope. The heat buildup inside the glass envelope case causes the bulbs to burn out faster than a standard floodlight or spotlight.
I purchased a three pack at Costco twice before I figured out what was happening. After I installed plain CFL bulbs in the two outside canister lights above the garage door, I have yet to replace them and it has been over two years of them burning from sunset to sunrise.
IMPORTANT, TO ALL.
If you plan, like many of us, to stock up on 100W light bulbs, it is critical to know that not all 100W light bulbs are the same.
On the front of the package, they usually list the amount of Lumens that the bulb puts out. Lumens are a measure of the power of light perceived by the human eye. More Lumens means brighter light.
Some 100W light bulbs have as little as 850 Lumens, which makes them about as bright as a 60W light bulb. A proper 100W light bulb that gives off the light you want from a 100W light bulb is 1500 Lumens or better.
That is almost twice as bright.
Wattage just means how much power they consume, *not* how bright they are.
I would even recommend checking out the spare 100W lightbulbs you have in storage right now. If they are below 1500 Lumens, they probably aren’t worth keeping.
What city came to your house? Where do you live? I didn’t think incadescents were outlawed, just that they have to meet new standards by 2014(not sure about date) for production.
I read something similar. Not that they're fire hazards but there's so much toxic waste in the production that the EPA won't allow them to be made in the U.S., so GE is closing its light bulb plant in VA down and moving production to ....... you guessed it ....... Red China.
Just one more example of the government stepping in to create (or is it save) American Jobs </s>
Lass, there is a soft white version available that has light much more like an incandescent bulb. Hope this helps.
Now ain’t it the truth? And how about that DDT?
“My CFLs last far longer than my incandescent lights did.”
Where are you getting these from? I’ve lost 3 100-watters in two years and I give up. I have to burn some upside-down, which overheats the electronics. I think the government should pay to retrofit my house so that they will last. I can’t afford to save any more money. This needs to be overturned until the technology gets better or LED’s get cheaper.
They are not outlawed. This was a voluntary “test trial” in my neighborhood. I didn’t volunteer! Haven’t heard if the program is going to continue.
While I might not like the "mandate"...it's really happened before.....when electric came to the cities.
And I don't mind the savings....as I can run my air conditioner a bit more.
It's really not about saving energy, it's about transforming it to other uses.
Repeal this after Obamacare is repealed.
http://www.wattworks.com/CFL%20Hazards.htm
I’ve been stocking up, especially with the 100 watt bulbs. I’ve become a light bulb hoarder.
Good insight.
The bulb is a known fire hazard, and contains a toxic substance that is already such a problem, that you have to be careful how much tuna fish you eat.
Furthermore, patients in hospitals no longer have a thermometer next to their bedside because it is considered a hazard. Wonder how the amount of mercury in a thermometer compares to that in the CF bulbs?
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