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Banning the Incandescent Light Bulb


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Human Events:


Banning the Incandescent Light Bulb
by Kelsey Huber and Nicholas D. Loris
08/23/2010

Is the modern incandescent light bulb ready to move from the hallway to the halls of the American History Museum? Politicians seem to think so, but consumers disagree.

According to an article in the New York Times, “Despite a decade of campaigns by the government and utilities to persuade people to switch to energy-saving compact fluorescents, incandescent bulbs still occupy an estimated 90% of household sockets in the United States. Aside from the aesthetic and practical objections to fluorescents, old-style incandescents have the advantage of being remarkably cheap.”

The government solution to replace incandescent bulbs is to regulate them out of the marketplace and forcefully restrict consumer choice. The 2007 energy bill placed stringent efficiency requirements on incandescent bulbs in an attempt to phase them out beginning in 2012 and replace them with more expensive but more energy-efficient bulbs, the most popular being compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs).

Critics of CFLs argue that exposure to mercury vapor is dangerous if the bulbs are broken, and others complained about CFL bulbs causing migraines and epilepsy attacks, resulting in medical groups asking for exemptions for those with health problems. They also point out that CFLs do not work well in colder temperatures nor do they work with dimmer switches.snip
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I've been stocking up on incandescent bulbs for years because CFLs give me a headache. While I use a few CFLs in parts of the houe where I don't go much such as some closets, washroom, and garage, the rest the house will continue to use incandescent for years to come.

 

Now, if they can get LED lights to work right, those would replace CFLs very quickly.

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pollyannaish

I HATE the color of CFL bulbs. They have a blue cast that's horrible and I don't like the noise/light they create.

 

We were laughing this weekend because friends of ours have one in their bathroom. It's in a can light, so it has the CFC light bulb encased in a standard looking floodlight glass case.

 

The problem with it is that it takes an inordinate amount of time to warm up, so you go in, turn on the light and have to wait about five minutes (and I'm not exaggerating) for the thing to reach it's full illumination. It's crazy! Most the time you're in and out before the thing really ever comes on.

 

I need to start stocking up. They already took away my good dishwashing detergent. They'll get my lightbulbs from my cold dead hands! :lol:

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I HATE the color of CFL bulbs. They have a blue cast that's horrible and I don't like the noise/light they create.

 

We were laughing this weekend because friends of ours have one in their bathroom. It's in a can light, so it has the CFC light bulb encased in a standard looking floodlight glass case.

 

The problem with it is that it takes an inordinate amount of time to warm up, so you go in, turn on the light and have to wait about five minutes (and I'm not exaggerating) for the thing to reach it's full illumination. It's crazy! Most the time you're in and out before the thing really ever comes on.

 

I need to start stocking up. They already took away my good dishwashing detergent. They'll get my lightbulbs from my cold dead hands! :lol:

 

You go Polly Heston! B)

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I have one of those light bulbs in my kitchen ceiling, shoutpollyannaish, and you are not exaggerating. It is very disconcerting to have it take so long to fully light up, especially in the winter when it's dark in the morning. I'm going to start stocking up, too.

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These dumb bulbs are supposed to last longer. I have 4 bulbs in my bathroom 3 are the incandescent and one regular. The 3 have blown out twice as fast as the regular.( and they are much more expensive to boot)

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Plus, when they go out, you have to take them somewhere that accepts them for disposal, and most of them are made in China, where the people that make them are afflicted with mercury poisoning, early deaths & birth defects; because the Chinese government has such lax work safety regulations.

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Good point, shoutSrWoodchuck. We need to start shouting louder about how this is affecting those in China who are producing them for us. This is not acceptable! (Not to mention that I absolutely hate the CFLs.)

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