If you like your light bulb, you can keep your light bulb

The New American ^ | 1/33/2013 | Chip Wood

[onedoug]

Made in China

Id’ bet we can’t find bulbs made anywhere else.

[The Great RJ]

I expect an environmental crisis in a few years as these mercury filled CFL bulbs are improperly disposed in landfills as well as homes and neighborhoods being contaminated. Imagine the havoc if vandals broke hundreds of these CFL bulbs in a school or public building. The building would have to be shutdown and decontaminated. Even dropping a case of these bulbs off a pallet at a store would result in a hazardous material spill incident. Mercury pollution will soon become so pervasive that environmentalists will be clambering for the federal government to fix the problem.

[JimRed]

We are closing all kinds of usable coal plants throughout the country.

And instead of funding research in minimizing emissions from coal-fired plants, they are throwing money at unproven or proven inefficient and non-cost effective technology, in return for a slice of the pie.

The only positive note: Hey, Coal Workers Unions, serves you right for backing RATs all these years!

[GBA]

Reagan restored the Republican party after Nixon and all who came progressively before him.

The Bush family and the GOPe then undid all that was Reagan but the memory, which too will be gone soon enough, and re-aligned our trajectory for a kinder, gentler, more rational progression to the new US.

Welcome to post 9/11, post-Constitutional America.

[Sarajevo]

At one time, your post wouldn’t have lasted 10 minutes on this forum, and you would have fallen victim to the Viking Kitties. Thumbs up to you!

[Jane Long]

Lol...that would've been back when the Pubbie's were an actual opposition party to the Dims ;-) The times, they have changed.

[ridesthemiles]

How many of us- including me have table lamps which have the shade clipping around the bulb???

Those shades don’t fit the CFL bulbs. So-—either more American jobs lost here or more shades being made in China or both.

Some of us get headaches with the CFL bulbs. I am one.

[ridesthemiles]

The new type bulbs don’t like cold. IF you have them in your UNHEATED garage, expect their life to be VERY short.

I had a bookkeeping client who turned off his heat every weekend. His CFL bulbs didn’t last 3 months.

[grania]

Some of us get headaches with CFL buls. I am one.

I not only get headaches, words blur when I try to read by their light. With flourescent lights, I can't always discern subtle differences in color.

To read, I depend on 100-watt light bulbs or natural light. I found that time in modern classrooms with flourescent lights, a lot of technology for reading and no natural lights affect my concentration and reading comprehension.

I can't help but think that it's a not-uncommon problem, and a lot of learning and behavioral issues are caused by that artificial environment for vision.

[SandRat]

Check this out for a bright light on this topic http://www.brightlights-inc.com/

[Joe 6-pack]

"Had one of those new bulbs burn out with a gas cloud in my bathroom. The smell was noxious and from what I read - toxic! No more of these in my home, I will pay a premium for the bad illegal bulbs until I can’t get them anymore - then burn candles until they make those illegal too."

My electricity was out for a couple weeks after Hurricane Lili in 2002. Since then, I've become a big advocate of oil lamps/lanterns. You can pick them up cheap at Wal-Mart, and even get spare components (i.e., burners, wicks, etc.) Knock on wood, but kerosene/lamp oil is still pretty cheap, and you can even get scented stuff if you want to pay a little extra.

[EinNYC]

My problem with LEDs is that they are rated to replace VERY low-light incandescent bulbs. I read their labels: 15w, 20w, etc. I haven’t yet seen 40w or higher in stores. I would gladly replace my CFLs (when they finally burn out) with LEDs IF the light output would be the same AND the light quality (warmth, color) would be the same. Every time I see a display in a store with an LED bulb, a CFL bulb, an incandescent bulb and a halogen bulb, it’s not plugged in! That’s frustrating, because I really would like to see the difference in light quantity and quality.

[snowtigger]

I am currently holding in my hand a 60 watt equivalent LED which I bought at my local Home depot. They had them in several color temperatures. I already have them in bedroom light fixtures. The only problem I see is that they are not to be used in sealed fixtures. The little self-contained ballasts evidently put out too much heat.

Speaking of heat. In cold country, the heat given off by incandescent bulbs has to contribute to the heating of homes, along with body heat, heat from cooking,water heaters, etc. As you watch your electric bills fall, you get to watch your heat bills climb......

[ConstantSkeptic]

I don’t know where you’re shopping, but 40-watt and 60-watt LED equivalents are very common. To get an idea, go to Amazon and do a search.

We replaced the 60-watt incandescent light bulbs in our bathroom months ago with LED bulbs and I couldn’t be more pleased. They come on instantly and have a nice color. I’m never going back to incandescent bulbs when I can get cool, bright, instant-on, low-energy using LED bulbs!

[IbJensen]

I found some at Lowe’s that were made in Cleveland, Ohio and in Mexico.

[IbJensen]

I must have gotten a wrong batch when I bought some to try out a year or so ago. They all burned out!

Meanwhile, I’ve a 75 watt U. S. made bulb that has been burning in compliance with the fire laws governing condominiums for over six years.

[IbJensen]

It was his pen that inked the bill! He made no comment at that time.

[sushiman]

Here in Japan incandescent bulbs are still for sale and still made in Japan .