“Green” jobless
I suppose that everyone knows that by 2014 we will no longer be able to purchase incandescent light bulbs in this country. Compact fluorescent bulbs will be what you must purchase. So, I decided to do some “investigative” reporting.
The compact fluorescents cost ten times more than an incandescent bulb, but are alleged to last ten times longer than the old fashioned bulbs, so, I guess, that’s a wash. We are told that these CFL’s will not only reduce our carbon footprint, but will also reduce our electric bills. Indeed, the package of a General Electric CFL bulb I looked at recently proudly proclaimed that the bulb would shave $35 off your electric bill…over the life time of the bulb.
There are a few drawbacks though. CFL’s contain mercury, which is toxic. So, if one breaks, the EPA tells us that we should immediately open a window, and leave the room for 15 minutes lest we breath in the mercury. The above link gives an assortment of other helpful hints on what you should do next.
And, because these bulbs contain mercury, disposing of them when they burn out is not exactly easy. Among other suggestions, the EPA tells us that we should take them to our local hazardous waste drop off location for disposal, and that there may be a “small” fee for this.
But, I came across a bigger drawback the other day.
GE is shuttering the last remaining [incandescent] light bulb factory in the country, in Winchester, Virginia.
I don’t know how many American jobs will be lost when this happens. But, what I do know is that on a recent trip to my local hardware store, I found many types of these CFL’s, and every one was made in China.
So, while the nanny state rolls merrily along, Americans are losing their jobs, the ability to choose the type of lighting they want, the ability to chose their own insurance plan, the ability to choose their own doctor, and, more to the point, their freedom.
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To sum it up, this is why November 2, 2010 and November of 2012 will be very, very days in the national Election Day cycle.
On the issue of these "green lightbulbs" SOS, DO NOT BE SURPRISE if people will end up between now and 2014 to start to HORDE boxes of the light bulbs that we know of right now ahead of the manditory changeover. Just a few thoughts.
Isn't it interesting that in other threads, some people complain about Linda McMahon sending jobs overseas, yet here we have an entire industry being displaced, with the blessings of the government, and I have yet to hear a peep.
Do I hear a peep?
I have been "peeping" Dims…I have been buying bulbs made in Cleveland I think, because they are not made in China. I guess I will be stocking up.
Great idea to stock up on incandescent bulbs. Eventually they lose the vacuum and burn out just like that! Hope people also stocked up on floppy disks. Try to find a computer that reads them now!
Foolishness – Getting rid of lead paint but allowing mercury into EVERY room of every building in America !
Also not everyone can handle fluorescent light. Over exposure to ultraviolet light: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/125371.p…
Triggering migraines – http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-50…
Heresay has it that folks with Tourette's and Bipolar are going to have a lot of trouble too.
What next – making sure each of us eats broccolli on Wednesdays?
Hey Sammy22. Unless we push back, stocking up may be our only choice. Remember deregulation? Where the Gov't said "It's going to be better becaues you will have your choice" They forgot about the part that all of your choices would be more expensive. And that bull about more competition driving down prices was a flat out lie.
Growing up in a house where the choice was " Dinner may not be what you want but it is healthy. You can choose to eat it or go hungry". Jusy mom and dad being prudent and saving for our college, weddings and their retirements and the American dream. It was a bearable benevelent dictatorship.
I have yet to see either party beng benevelent and the trend towards dictating is close to unbearable.
One other minor detail with the CFL's. The "Life" expectancy of the units. When you see the number of hours they are good for only is accurate when the bulbs are turned on and left on for a while. You will dramatically shorten the life of the bulb when they are used in say a closet, an entry way, basement etc. I have read and heard that it cut the life by more than half. Incandescent, on the other hand, do not have this problem.
LED's do make sense as replacements but their cost is still wayyyyy too high compared to CFL's. When the market and manufacturing brings the cost to consumer down I'll be on board, but not for the "Environment". I'm a greedy capitalist and just want to save money.
I also don't like the government telling what I can and can not use, "For the good of the people. AKA: Environment" That smells of Communism.
As for floppy's, still use them in my industry, comm ports too. It is tough but you can still get them both.
Last, imagine we were a little earlier in time and the Wagon Wheel Manufacturing Unions were still around. It's green and no internal combustion engine, would they force us back into horse and buggy's?
PatRiot, I am one of those people who absolutely abhor florescent lighting…headaches & eye fatigue–I feel like a vampire out in the sunlight when I have to spend too much time in florescent lighting.
But, on the "lighter" side, we are helping China's economy with this move which means when we need to borrow more money from them they should be prepared to help us out…right?
And I think that hatters of days gone by actually did prove that mercury is a bad, bad thing….maybe my new screen name should be "madasahatter" because no one breaks light bulbs more than I do! I'll constantly be vacating rooms for 15 minutes at a clip. Our carbon footprints will be smaller, but we'll all be crazy, ranting lunatics. Wait…that's the democrats. I DON'T WANNA BE A DEMOCRAT!
Time to stock up on incandescent bulbs!
Learned a few new things today: 1) competition does not drive down prices (PatRiot), 2) there are places I can send my floppies to (chocolyle) and 3) I am likely to go mad if I spend time in commercial/public buildings, all w/ florescent lighting (winnie888). You can't make this stuff up!
If reducing your carbon footprint is so blinkin' important. Greenie, why do you have your (expletive deleted) headlights on all day? Spending up to two percent of your gasoline to power your headlights. Because it's safer? If you can't see me because my lights are off. put your car in the driveway and take the bus. Was it Algore who said, "There's a gullible idiot born every minute."?
The CFI bulbs don't work very well in the cold spaces. The germans stocked up almost
10 year supply befor the ban went into The have effect. their place but not everywhere.
When ever I see US bulbs I pick them up.
Here's some other things you might consider, sammy: 1) competition is not created by government edict. If you HAVE to buy something, competitive pricing goes out the window. Sell both and let the market decide; 2) You can still get plenty of floppies on line, but you might want to stock up; 3) I wouldn't exactly discount the effects of CFL flicker on some individuals (http://www.naasln.org/documents/articles/kitchel_fluorescent_light.pdf). It was really bad with 60Hz bulbs and 60Hz computer monitors; 4) mercury vapor is considerably more toxic (read it: easily absorbed) than the liquid form. As such, a breaking CFL is an immediate danger to occupants in closes spaces. The response to a thermometer break is ridiculous, while CFL breakage is trivialized (do you call the EPA or OSHA?).
LEDs are the way to go. Maybe the gov't should focus their efforts on those. The "made up stuff" we should worry about include Øbamacare, cap and tax, the EPA's CO2 imperialism etc., etc., etc.
There are a lot of these bulbs that are pretty good now. But as a look around at the room I am in we have 0 CFL bulbs and 8 incandescent lights.
Yes, I've been stocking up. There are so many formats of bulbs in my house (R20, 30, 40, normal readers in 40w, 75w, 100w, etc.)…not sure what my total 'investment' in bulbs has been so far, but will be worth it in 2014.
I do use CFLs for my outdoor lights where they burn anywhere from 4-7 hours/day, and 23w for 100w of output (where reading isn't an issue) makes sense to me. They do not last 10x an incandescent or even 2x IMO. And isn't it funny that the tree-huggers who are pushing the CFL's could seem to care less that a great number of burned-out bulbs are already buried in our landfills with more every day. Mercury poisoning? Nah, can't be – Algore says CFLs are good…. Kind of like they really don't care for the environment but like the warm fuzzy idea of CFL's more.
As far as job killers – where is the MSM? This has been an assault on American workers, period. Aren't any of the shuttered factories Union shops? Where is Big Labor on this? Crickets. Not one story of a displaced light bulb factory worker but I have to watch political ads saying Tom Foley made $20MM while closing a GA textile factory. Hell, I wish I could buy one – are there textile plants for sale? Just shut it down…you make a $20MM profit? Sign me up. The workers can collect along side the light-bulb folks – can't be that bad.
This group of Democrats are the most unAmerican in our history and will stop at nothing to further thier agenda: Socialism.