You might have heard that ordinary incandescent light bulbs are to be banned in America and already are banned in several other countries thanks to globalism. Yes, the ordinary light bulb that is available in a 4-pack for less than 2 dollars will no longer be available in stores. Instead you will be forced to buy compact fluorescent lights (CFL) or Light-emitting diodes (LED). The energy bill that was passed in 2007 and signed by Bush effectively bans light bulbs with an efficiency lower than CFLs and LEDs.
But does it really save energy? As it turns out, the answer is no. Not so much. In fact the energy required to make CFL and LED light bulbs is much greater since they are more complicated to produce and are not made from easily obtained materials like incandescent lights are. In other words, incandescent lights are cheap and easy to make whereas the other varieties are not. And even though the lumins per watt are greater in CFL and LED bulbs, in effect the amount of energy used during chilly months is about the same since most people use energy to heat their homes. CFL and LED lights still waste 80% and 70% of energy as heat respectively. The biggest difference is that the heat is stored up internally making them less useful for heating indoors since the heat stays cooped up in the bulb rather than being useful and warming up the room. In other words, people have to spend more energy on heating when they replace their bulbs with varieties that don't produce more heat. This has been verified in experiments where people switched to compact fluorescent lights and did not see lower energy use. Of course in the summer when it's hot, there is an advantage to using cooler lights, but thanks to Daylight Saving Time most people don't turn on very many lights in the summer anyway.
But a more important issue here is safety. CFLs especially are hazardous in a variety of ways. They contain poisonous mercury which can cause permanent brain damage to a child who might be horsing around and accidentally knock over a lamp. And when they are disposed of in landfills the mercury is toxic to the environment. Not to mention the electromagnetic affects of fluorescent lighting, the buzzing sound, the unpleasant light it makes that can cause insomnia and headaches, and other chemicals emitted by the lights. You cannot say that about incandescent lights, even if you believe that they are wasting energy.
Finally there is one more point that should make everyone angry. And that is the real reason behind the ban which is to force people to buy more expensive patented lights. The ordinary light bulb patent is expired and so anyone can make it. It's also cheap to make from easily obtained materials. So CFL and LED manufacturers hate it because it means that they have competition from a source of light that is both safe and pleasant not to mention much cheaper. Who wants to spend $14 for a funny shaped light that buzzes, emits harmful EMFs, causes insomnia, and requires a hazmat team to clean up after if it breaks? Not when there is a cheap and safe and more pleasant alternative for 40 cents. So in other words, corporations are writing our damned laws! And then they tell us it's for our own good so as to make us think it's for the best.
But in a free country we don't ban safe and popular products. Which is why I think this light bulb ban will fail. It could even mean more light bulbs being produced at home, as more people produce their own light bulbs in protest of the law. Texas has already decided it will make its own light bulbs, and I suspect more states will follow. Even if you believe in saving energy, it should be up to the consumer to decide how and when to use less energy.
http://freedomlightbulb.blogspot.com/
http://www.humanevents.com/2010/08/2...nt-light-bulb/
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Originally Posted by climbing
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