Free Republic

LIVERMORE -- How many firefighters does it take to change the Livermore light bulb? None, because it never burns out! The riddle may be a bit tired, but the object of its affectionate punchline is not. For more than a century, the 4-watt "Centennial Light" -- believed to be the world's longest-burning bulb -- has hung from the modest rafters of Fire Station No. 6 in Livermore.

A new report says the Obama Admin.’s proposed 62 mpg (3.8 L/100 km) fuel-economy target for 2025 could kill hundreds of thousands of jobs, put a $55,000 sticker on an ordinary family car and deliver only minor savings to consumers. The study was produced by the Ann Arbor, MI-based Center for Automotive Research, which has been a darling of the White House in recent months.

How many FReepers does it take to change a light bulb? My apology if this has been done before.

WASHINGTON--America doesn't usually have shortages. Consumers as a rule can find what they want to buy at stores or online. But in 212, days, on January 1, 2012, Americans won't be able to buy 100-watt incandescent light bulbs, the kind Thomas Edison invented and the only kind many of us know-and prefer. That's because incandescent light bulbs are being phased out by wattage over a two-year period, starting January 2012. The 100-watt bulb will be the first to be outlawed, by act of Congress, followed by 75-watt bulbs in January 2013, and 60- and 40-watt bulbs in January 2014. So...

How disappointed will Republicans be to hear Barack Obama’s veto threat on bills moving through Congress to rein in the EPA?  Not very.  It isn’t the first time the White House has issued the threat, but with one of the bills coming from his own side of the aisle, it’s starting to sound more like a plea to keep from being put in that position: The Obama administration Wednesday repeated its threat to veto legislation that would curb its ability to regulate greenhouse gases. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson said that the White House continues to oppose any efforts...

The brightest bulb in most homes for more than a century is fading toward darkness this year as California turns out the light on the century-old incandescent. Beginning Jan. 1, the state began phasing out certain energy-sucking bulbs, federal standards the rest of the country will enact next year. Manufacturers will no longer make the traditional 100-watt bulb and stores will eventually sell out of current supplies. Consumers will have to choose from more efficient bulbs that use no more than 72 watts, including halogen incandescents, compact fluorescents and light-emitting diode, or LED, bulbs. "These standards will help cut our...

Those widely heralded compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) turn out to be a bit of dud in the real world. For years, we have seen traditional light bulbs vanishing from shelves of hardware stores and Home Depots across America.  They have been replaced by those screw-shaped things that bespeak the future -- a future of dull lights, money flowing overseas, Americans jobs being terminated, and promised energy savings going up in smoke. From the Wall Street Journal: California's utilities are spending $548 million over seven years to subsidize consumer purchases of compact fluorescent lamps. But the benefits are turning out...

Why is Paris known as the City of Lights ? Is it because the U.S. Congress banned Thomas Edison’s incandescent light bulbs, so he had to take his invention offshore? Well, not actually. Thomas Edison was an honoree at the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition and he did go up in the Eiffel Tower . The Italian government conferred a knighthood at that event on the man who gave the world a brighter idea. No, Congress in the 1880s would not have been so foolish as to extinguish Edison ’s light bulb. But the liberal Congress in 2007 was so foolish....

Coble seeks repeal of light bulb standardBy Mark Binker Staff Writer Wednesday, January 12, 2011 (Updated 8:06 am) GREENSBORO — U.S. Rep. Howard Coble is among those urging colleagues in Congress to turn off the lights on a controversial provision of the 2007 energy bill. The Greensboro Republican is a co-sponsor of a bill to repeal what some refer to — erroneously — as the incandescent bulb ban. Texas Reps. Joe Barton and Michael Burgess and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, all Republicans, were the original sponsors of the repeal measure. The legislation is a long way from passing, but it...

Fred Upton's team used RightMichigan.com to remind us what a great conservative he is. No problem. In fact I think its important the folks on the right side of the spectrum feel they can post at will. We don't have to agree with him, and frankly should treat him with the respect he deserves. Sometimes it requires we chastise for his impudent posturing in the climate debate. He is/was wrong, and we best let him know it. As a congressman, is he better than a possible Democrat alternative? I would say.. yeah, but... but.. as a congressman, and member of...

Hoping to counter attacks from his right, Rep. Fred Upton is promising to reexamine a controversial ban on incandescent light bulbs if he becomes chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Yesterday’s Politico article: “Our work on light bulbs wasn’t an arbitrary mandate,” he said. “We didn’t just pick a standard out of the air, or look for a catchy sounding standard like 25 by 2025 not based in science or feasibility. Instead, we worked with both industry and environmental groups to come up with a standard that made sense and was doable.” Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/45059.html#ixzz15AsSPtxL Congressman Fred Upton's work with environmental groups is what needs to be highlighted in this article. Global Warming theory is thoroughly debunked. It is not only not caused by human industry, it is not happening....

BERLIN (Reuters) – A German entrepreneur is bypassing a European Union ban on light bulbs of more than 60 watts by marketing his own brand as mini heaters.

So, are you ready to comply with the federal government's ban on incandescent light bulbs? Me neither. Starting in January 2012, a little over a year from now, the phase-out begins. Simple, inexpensive lighting will become a time-capsule item. Compact-fluorescent lights, or CFLs - the bulbs that look like a twisted ice-cream cone (and won't fit in many light fixtures where space is tight) - will become the new norm. Anyone who has priced CFLs knows they're not cheap. Supposedly they're worth the extra money because they'll last longer. That's cold comfort, though, given the dull, unnatural glow that these...

The Cambridge Energy Alliance is going door to door in North Cambridge, Massachusetts next month, handing out free compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) in return for "inefficient incandescent bulbs." Well, they're not actually free. The Cambridge Energy Alliance is "sponsored  by the City of Cambridge," so I guess that Cambridge taxpayers are footing the bill. The event is part of Bill McKibben's 350.org "global work party" on October 10, 2010, which is a really excellent date because you can write it as "10/10/10." CFLs use around 30% of the energy of an incandescent bulb, and everyone should switch over,...

...The ban itself was intended to save on electricity costs and limit pollution one light fixture at a time, replacing traditional incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient compact florescent light bulbs (CFLs). To this end, CFLs have failed in their original purpose: their much touted electricity sipping qualities have resulted in buyers leaving them turned on far longer, often draining more energy than they saved. Who would have ever thought that the federal government’s interference with an everyday household item could backfire? As might be imagined when the federal government bans something as commonly used as a light bulb, there are...

Dear John Boehner, Ted Poe, and Members of the incoming 112th Congress: If you do only one thing in your time in Washington, and frankly I hope you do only one thing given your propensity to expand government (other than eradicating Obamacare), it is this: SAVE THE LIGHT BULB. People may not realize it, but one of the first acts of the Democratic Congress in 2007, was to ban the light bulb effective in 2014. Seriously. Now, you may say that this is an exaggeration, and it is a bit, but the incandescent light bulb is the light bulb of...

As the U.S.A. celebrates its 234th birthday, the plight of a quintessentially American innovation says volumes about the state of the union. As American as the grand slam, the Mustang convertible, and the constitutional republic, Thomas Alva Edison’s incandescent light bulb is among this nation’s most enduring gifts to mankind. Granted U.S. Patent No. 223,898 on January 27, 1880 (after some 1,200 experiments), Edison’s “Electric-Lamp” essentially made night optional for most Earthlings. Days stopped ending at sunset. Simple, convenient, and cheap, Edison’s greatest invention also was far safer than the flammable kerosene lamps they replaced. Today’s federal government, naturally, had...

How many people does it take to change a light bulb in the Obama Administration? One Obama to blame the Bush administration for all darkness. One Rahm Emanual to threaten MSM not to report that a light bulb is out. One White House Spokesperson to say Fox News is not a News Organization for having reported that the light bulb is out. A team of 30 internet bloggers to deny on the internet that the light bulb is out. One terrorist Bill Ayers to write a feel good book about how Obama’s father dreamed of changing light bulbs. One Light...