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YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK
Congress bans incandescent bulbs
Massive energy bill phases out Edison's invention by 2014

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Incandescent light bulb
In addition to raising auto fuel efficiency standards 40 percent, an energy bill passed by Congress yesterday bans the incandescent light bulb by 2014.

President Bush signed the 822-page measure into law today after it was sent up Pennsylvania Avenue in a Toyota Prius hybrid vehicle. The House passed the bill by a 314-100 vote after approval by the Senate last week.

Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the legislation will boost the energy efficiency of "almost every significant product and tool and appliance that we use, from light bulbs to light trucks."

The phase-out of incandescent light is to begin with the 100-watt bulb in 2012 and end in 2014 with the 40-watt.

All light bulbs must use 25 percent to 30 percent less 2014. By 2020, bulbs must be 70 percent more efficient than they are today.

Australia was the first country to announce an outright ban by 2010.


Critics of Thomas Edison's invention argue it uses more energy to produce light than the compact fluorescent, or CFL, bulb.

While standard light bulbs cost about 50 cents, the spiral CFL sells for about $3. Advocates argue, however, the CFL lasts five years longer and uses about 75 percent less energy.

But as WND reported, the presence of small amounts of highly toxic mercury in CFLs poses problems for consumers when breakage occurs and for disposal when bulbs eventually burn out. The potential environmental hazard created by the mass introduction of billions of CFLs with few disposal sites and a public unfamiliar with the risks is great.

Consumers generally are unaware of the risks of CFLs, and recycling experts say the solutions are at least five years away.

The Department of Energy, nevertheless, is encouraging citizens to take a pledge to replace at least one incandescent bulb with a CFL.


So soon we will be buying more expensive light bulbs too. (well actually my DH and I have already started stockpiling these lightbulbs - I get severe migraine headaches which for years I have been told flourescent lighting makes worse!!) My biggest problem with these energy efficient light bulbs is that there is nowhere to recycle them, or at least very limited places to recycle, and they have mercury in them, if you break one in your home, it becomes very costly to clean up because it is considered a chemical clean up. Great, can't wait!!!

Meanwhile plasma tvs are selling like hotcakes, but the government allows that extra energy usage because:

While embracing voluntary Energy Star standards, industry officials disagree with the idea of mandatory efficiency standards. "When an arbitrary standard is placed on a product, it will constrain use and innovation," says Douglas Johnson, senior director of technology policy at the Consumer Electronics Association.

Anyway it makes me crazy!!

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We've switched to the energy lightbulbs. The prices have gone down drastically. They don't get that hot and they last for years. I really like them.

Who really needs a 100 watt light bulb anyway??

I don't like the cfl for reading or doing craft projects. The light is too yellow for me and I have a hard time seeing. It doesn't matter what type I buy, they are all too yellow. Anyone know of a solution to that? I guess I'll have to start stockpiling also.
Judy

We've started switching, too. I am just switching as our others burn out and replacing with the spiral ones one light fixture at a time. They are way cooler - we started with the ones above our kitchen table because the old ones were too hot. The only issue I've had is the flood lights don't fit, I have to wait until they make the right size for our indoor floods.

Lisa

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We bought a pkg to try out and put one in our vanity light which has 5 bulbs. The new bulb is the least bright and takes longer to come up to full brightness. If I had the new bulbs in all five sockets, there wouldn't be much light at first. At this point, I don't like them. I don't care for the greenish light cast either.

I understand that if you break one, you leave the room or the area for 15 minutes and let the vapors dissipate. Then carefully sweep it up, as you would with any broken glass and seal it in a plastic bag and dispose of it. Now the disposal part of it, I can't help you with. I've been wondering about that too.

As far as light bulbs and plasma TV's go, I have about 100 light bulbs in this house and no plasma TV. So if it helps for me to change many of my bulbs to CFL's then that's okay with me. But like you, I think I will stockpile some for certain fixtures.

We had some of those bulbs. One did break and my son read about them and was freaking out about how dangerous they are. We don't use them anymore because of that. Plus I don't like the light they give. Geez, I guess I will have to fill a closet with the good ones! Also, I'm sure most people aren't aware of the breakage problem.

I do not have any of those light bulbs yet. Looks like it is a pain to clean up.

A link to the government website on how to clean them up.

Spills, Site Cleanup and Disposal | Mercury | US EPA

And to think that when I was a child, my father would give us little dollops of mercury to play with. Of course my mother used an asbestos ironing board cover, we had DDT sprinkled liberally around the outside of the house, and the interior of the basement, we loved putting our feet in those xray things to see our toes, and we sat right in front of the TV ruining out eyes not to mention probably getting strong doses of radiation. Ahhh the fifties. The good old days.....

I had to laugh at the xray on the feet. My husband said that every time he bought new shoes they did that to his feet. Don't forget the lead in paint and the asbestos around pipes and in flooring and no seatbelts in cars.


I just wonder about that kind of lightening for people who have seizures and migriane headaches.

That's so true -- sometimes I think nowadays "we" have way TMI.

On another note, we were raised under the old "adage" a little bit of dirt never hurt anyone and suffered few consequences.

I remember dropping one of those old thermometers and putting the mercury on a plate and playing with it!

Lisa

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Our electric bill went down by about $20 a month after we changed to all CFL bulbs in the house. The house stays noticeably cooler in Summer.

I had one pop and I am saving it in the cabinet for when I have accumulated a few before calling the toll free number on the package about disposal.

Costco sells them cheaply in AZ.

our electric bill is so stinkingly high, no matter what I do, I am seriously looking at a pair of windmills. I have used the compact flourescents for years, our problem is the well and septic pumps, hot tub, pool etc...I pay about $250 in deep summer, but I hate it (note, I also cannot sleep if I am hot) I also hang out wash, turn off lights....everything..

LOL.....did you run behind the bug truck??? We used to do that....it made this huge fog that blanketed the entire neighborhood.

I have used the CFL bulbs off and on. They are fine, I just don't like that they burn out so quickly. I have been told that they are meant to be kept on for long periods of time. WEll, we are a "lights out" if you're not in the room family, so, that is what we do.

I definitely think something needs to be mandated as far as energy usage goes. Otherwise, I don't think too many people would care very much.

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Don't forget the mercury laden silver fillings in our mouths! Plus, I know I've dropped and broken at least one glass thermometer in my life. As a child, I've been stung in the eyelid by a yellowjacket and gotten both gas and Lysol in my eyes. I'm truely surprised I can still see. And, my mother told me that as a child, her mom would put DDT on their heads if they got lice.

.

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Has anyone found a solution to the fact that you can't use these new bulbs in a dimmer situation? My kitchen,dining room and all 3 bedrooms have dimmer switches, and my living room has a 3 way.

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I'm still waiting on the solution for that, a big part of the reason we haven't switched them all yet. That plus the fact the flood lights didn't fit.

Lisa

__________________
"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

Are the light bulb police coming??

Shoot.

I really, really, really hate the fluorescent bulbs. As others have mentioned, it's the light they give off that drives me insane. The three fixtures in the family room of our basement each just hold one bulb, and when we've had CFL's in them, it's just so dark down there. Besides the yellowish cast, things are just always dim!

I'm hoping they get the LED technology up and running more. Between the fact we've got lots of 3 way lights, and the bigger problem of my migraines I simply will not allow the compact flor. onces in my house. I've also got a cat who has mini seizures- and those lights can make those more frequent worse as well or so I've been told. I do know when I go to my parents house and have to sit under their compact flor lights I get a lot more headaches (and no, its not JUST because I'm at my parents). We know we have to buy new lamps for the new house, but we're hoping to go for LED style versus the other kind.

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I have always felt that the flourescent lights have made me feel sleepy. But, I do not notice the CFL lights doing that... I wonder why? Maybe it's because there are fewer of them then there were in the school where I taught -- the ceiling was covered and I usually only turned on one set instead of both switches.