by Jim Salmon
The biggest money grab on the planet right now is this absolutely ridiculous idea to get rid of the incandescent light bulb! Previous to this latest hogwash, was the invention of the 1.6 gallon flush toilet, and the phasing out of Freon gas, which was in nearly every piece of refrigeration equipment in the world. Freon was, and is, the very best refrigerant by ten times over than the stuff we are forced to use today. The amount of water on the earth has not changed in 25,000,000,000 years, and the difference between a 3.0 gallon flush toilet, which flushes just fine, and those aggravating 1.6 gallon flush toilets you have to flush two times or more to get the same result, is not much. I’m not very good with math, but the last I checked 1.6 plus 1.6 is more than 3.0 gallons! The staggering cost of the Freon money grab is between 20 and 25 billion dollars and the toilet mess between 8 and 13 billion dollars. Who benefited from these idiotic changes which were jammed down our throats? Not us, that’s for sure.
Why do we let these things happen to us? Remember the phrase, “You get what you pay for?” If you buy a CFl bulb (compact fluorescent light bulb) you have spent five times more than an incandescent bulb. It takes a long time to “light up”, and is very susceptible to damage and leaking mercury all over the place when it’s broken. But, the most important aspect is, and why I display utter hatred for the new CFL’s is, they are not bright enough! It’s all about the quality of light, which in my opinion stinks! It is simply not the government’s business dictating what kind of bulbs a citizen can buy. If the CFLs along with other types of energy saving devices are really that effective, consumers will naturally gravitate in that direction. Edison would climb out of his casket if he could see what the global warming folks have done to his light bulb!
We are naturally gullible sometimes. We want to believe what our government is telling us or what we hear from a very large company with a storied history. The truth is, these CFL bulbs do not last as long as they are touted to last.
The whole country is thinking backwards. Let’s invent new ways of making electricity and make it an individual thing for all Americans, unique to their own homes. Can you imagine an America where no electrical grid exists or is needed? Twenty years from now every house in the country will have some kind of local wind powered electrical generating device such as the WindTamer Turbine. Also, the research and development of photoelectric arrays has been huge. Every home currently has 3 main mechanical systems, electrical, heating & air conditioning, and plumbing. Why not fit every home with its own power generating systems? An array of WindTamer Turbines at the peak, a large photovoltaic array facing south, and a fully automatic back-up generator for insurance, would make every home self sufficient. Let’s think outside of the box!
The tree hugging, spotted-owl-loving, snail-darter saving, global-warming-scamming money-grabbers, that try and tell us at every turn, the things we love like our big cars, our occasional bon fire, and now our light bulbs, has to go. You are constantly told to sacrifice quality for the environment. It’s not really for the environment; it’s for the great money grab. The following press release may help explain what some folks in Congress are thinking.
PRESS RELEASE
Barton, Burgess and Blackburn Introduce Bill to Repeal Light Bulb Ban
September 16, 2010
WASHINGTON – U.S. Reps. Joe Barton, R-Texas, ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Michael Burgess, R-Texas, ranking member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., today introduced H.R. 6144, the Better Use of Light Bulbs Act.
The BULB Act repeals Subtitle B of Title III of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which is a de facto ban on the incandescent light bulb that has its origins in Thomas Alva Edison’s laboratory.
“The unanticipated consequence of the ’07 act – Washington-mandated layoffs in the middle of a desperate recession – is one of many examples of what happens when politicians and activists think they know better than consumers and workers,” Barton said. “From the health insurance you’re allowed to have, to the car you can drive, to the light bulbs you can buy, Washington is making too many decisions that are better left to people who work for their own paychecks and earn their own living.”
“Thousands of American jobs have been shipped overseas as a direct consequence of this light bulb provision in the Democrats’ 2007 energy bill,” Burgess said. “Further, I have stated all along that exposing our citizens to the harmful effects of the mercury contained in CFL light bulbs, which are being manufactured in China, is likely to pose a hazard for years to come. This light bulb issue is just the latest example of Republicans attempting to correct the mistakes of Nancy Pelosi’s misguided Democrat-controlled Congress.”
“If the American people needed another example of why it is time to roll back the hyper-regulation of the past four years, this is it,” Blackburn said. “Washington banned a perfectly good product and fired hard working Americans based on little more than their own whim and the silly notion that they know better than the American consumer. Now, hundreds more Americans are looking for work while assembly lines in China are churning out fluorescent bulbs for the US market. Tell me how that makes any sense at all.”
Alternatives to traditional incandescent bulbs have many drawbacks. They are all considerably more expensive. The most common alternative, compact florescent light bulbs have a number of problems:
Most CFL’s are not manufactured in the United States. A recent Washington Post story reported that GE is shuttering a plant in Winchester, Va., killing 200 jobs in the process.
CFL’s contain mercury and have to be disposed of carefully. The amount of mercury in one bulb is enough to contaminate up to 6,000 gallons of water beyond safe drinking levels. The EPA recommends an elaborate cleanup ritual, including throwing away any clothes or bedding that has come in direct contact with the mercury from the bulb.
CFL’s are not designed to be turned off and on frequently; the lifespan of a CFL may be reduced by up to 85 percent if you switch it off and on a lot.
CFL’s can raise your heating bills. They’re not great for interior use in a cold climate, because they produce less heat than incandescent bulbs. So you save on electricity, but have to pay more in heating costs.
People with certain health conditions can be harmed by CFL’s. Reactions range from disabling eczema-like reactions, to light sensitivities that can lead to skin cancer.
The Energy Star program warns that CFL’s can overheat and smoke.