Phony Green Lightbulbs

I notice he doesn’t mention that a bulb which is on 6 hours a day and uses 18 watts less which use 36kwh less over a year and 250kwh less over its lifetime. Saving the consumer $25 in electricity. That sounds like a benefit to the consumer.

And 18 watt savings is not even accurate for CFLs. I buy CFLs that claim the same lumens as 100w incandescent and use only 23w. Which means $100 saved in electricity over its lifetime. That makes it worthwhile to spend $4 more on a bulb.

I agree there was no need for a law. That is just silly. Why would you need a law to force people to save themselves some money ?

If these bulbs were as wonderful as everybody says they are, they would naturally predominate in the market without bans or subsidies.

Just out of idle curiousity...I looked at bulbs in the grocery store this past weekend. And to all the wise guys out there...I'm sure that they can be bought cheaper at other places, I just wasn't going to go cost-comparison shopping just yet.

Generic brand CFLs were selling as a 4-pack for $15.99. Generic Incandescents were selling as a 4-pack for $0.99. Incandescents come on instantly, don't have overheating problems, can be used with ceiling fan fixtures, and provide a light that I think is more pleasing.

Someone please explain to me why I'd want to spend 16x as much for something that, in my opinion, is an inferior product? Unless they last 16x longer, or save 16x as much money, or some combination of the two...I just don't see them as practical for general use.

Now - for specific uses (for instance, my parents use them in a few fixtures that are hard to get to, and are on for long periods of time) I certainly can see a practical use. But not for everything.

I *am* heartened that Incandescents aren't going away. They're getting more expensive (I'd imagine that prices will come down eventually, just like CFLs) but they're not going away.

Actually I am, cause I was way ahead of the idjuts in DeeCee. I like to keep up on tech. And while past iterations of the LED for general lighting has been lacking, the concept: low power, low heat, long life, and flexibility of application is sound and doable, as the link I provided will attest.

So I still am AFreeBird.

I think it was wrong of them to force the issue because the market and technology were already going that direction.

Political pandering was all it was.

If our Republican president, and his vice-president, had any brains at all they would have mounted the bully pulpit (that comes with those two jobs) and demand that drilling start in the 'pristine' wilderness and off the southern coast of Florida (where the Chinese are now drilling) instead of signing a 200# energy bill that some moron decided to deliver in a Prius.

They didn't do that. Instead our president goes to visit Saudi princes to grovel at their feet over the $100/barrel oil. The groveling didn't work, but showed how well our leader can grovel.

The Saudis now believe, since we're not drilling anywhere new, that we're content with paying $100 and see no obstacle in ramping up to $200.

Our president, instead of taking the firm stand on illegals and Mexico in general, turned his back on that serious problem as well and ignored it.

The Republicans haven't the guts to bludgeon their leftist oponents, so they kow-tow to them.

We're in the direst situation ever and it now appears that nothing short of revoution will correct the mess that oozes from DC.

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