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When it comes to light bulbs, the message has been blindingly clear. Environmentalists, energy experts, government agencies and pretty much everyone but the pope all say it’s high time you replaced your old incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFLs. Last year, Congress passed a law banning incandescents by 2014. The long-lasting CFLs generate the same amount of light with less energy, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions and saving you money at the same time — and if you haven’t heard this pitch, it may be time for fresh batteries in your hearing aid. Away from the glowing...

How many Barack Obamas does it take to change a light bulb? It is not Barack Obama who will change the light bulb. We are the change our light bulb is waiting for. I'm saddened that the lightbulb burned out. This isn't the lightbulb I knew. How many Obama supporters does it take to change a light bulb? One to change the light bulb and thousands of others to scream "yes we can".

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., and 24 other representatives on Capitol Hill have asked the government to reconsider mandating that all Americans use exclusively compact fluorescent bulbs, or CFLs, in light of growing concerns over the safety and environmental impact of the bulbs. As WND reported, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 was signed into law in December, phasing out the use of traditional, incandescent light bulbs in favor of CFLs beginning in 2012 and culminating in a ban on incandescent bulbs in 2014. "Most Americans, if you ask them, have no idea that the government has already...

Every journalist in the land seems to be going ga-ga over the new "energy saver globe". This is the eco-friendly alternative to the devilish and grossly inefficient incandescent bulb. We are being incessantly told by our media mavens that the new alternative is cheaper in the long term than the old light bulb and that it will save just oodles and oodles of energy and that it would be irrational not to buy it. The funny thing is that Joe Public has to be mandated by arrogant politicians into buying the next best thing to sliced bread. Why is this...

Charismatic: Only 1 - Hands are already in the air. Pentecostal : 10 - One to change the bulb, and nine to pray against the spirit of darkness. Presbyterians: None - Lights will go on and off at predestined times. Roman Catholic: None - Candles only. Baptists: At least 15. One to change the light bulb, three committees to approve the change, and 11 to decide who brings the potato salad and fried chicken. Episcopalians: 3 - One to call the electrician, one to mix the drinks and one to talk about how much better the old one was. Mormons...

Researchers create mercury-absorbent container linings for broken CFLs Brown University engineering students Love Sarin (left) and Brian Lee display a nanoselenium-enriched cloth that can capture mercury vapor from broken compact fluorescent lamps. Brown has applied for federal patents covering the invention and plans soon to begin commercial negotiations. Credit: John Abromowski, Brown University With rising energy prices and greater concern over global warming, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are having a successful run. Sales of the curlicue, energy-sipping bulbs, which previously had languished since they were introduced in the United States in 1979, reached nearly 300 million last year. Experts expect...

WASHINGTON – Members of Congress are beginning to have second thoughts about the ban on incandescent light bulbs effective in 2014 as a result of an energy bill signed into law earlier this year. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, says his objection is very basic – the Constitution doesn’t authorize Congress to do anything remotely like banning a product that has been used safely and efficiently for more than 100 years in favor of Chinese-imported compact fluorescent light bulbs that pose considerable health and safety risks. Extensive cleanup is required by the Environmental Protection Agency for simply breaking a bulb. When...

Republican congressman gives strong testomony before the house against the mandatory use of the CFL

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has documented that compact fluorescent light bulbs are not safe to use in some locations, and cleanup of broken fixtures can involve cutting out sections of carpeting that are contaminated with mercury. Now a property manager that operates facilities in Washington and Idaho is telling tenants under a new program it will replace all bulbs with CFLs, without any warning about their dangers. A spokesman at Rockwood Lodge Apartments in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, told WND that the new program is moving forward, although it is not mandatory. The apartment spokesman referred WND to the company's...

Ted Poe lamenting the end of the incandescent light bulb. Should be required viewing for all!

Broken Compact Fluorescent Causes Mercury PoisoningJune 13, 2008 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: To Royse City, Texas. Jonathan, glad you called. Nice to have you here. CALLER: Yes, thank you. I admire you a lot, and I really love your program. RUSH: Thank you, sir, very, very, very, very much. CALLER: I just wanted to tell you about a little incident I had at work with these lightbulbs that all the Democrats and liberals are promoting saying they're better for everybody and -- RUSH: You're talking about the compact fluorescent lightbulbs. CALLER: That is correct. RUSH: What happened, were you mandated at...

New regulations are banning incandescent bulbs in the future. CFL fluorescent bulbs are recommended. But the EPA treats these bulbs like hazardous waste and has complex rules for disposing of them and procedures for clean-up if they break. Furthermore, ALL such bulbs are imported from - you guessed it - China. And we wonder why we have energy problems!

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. -- It's a message being drummed into the heads of homeowners everywhere: Swap out those incandescent lights with longer-lasting compact fluorescent bulbs and cut your electric use. Governments, utilities, environmentalists and, of course, retailers everywhere are spreading the word. Few, however, are volunteering to collect the mercury-laced bulbs for recycling -- despite what public officials and others say is a potential health hazard if the hundreds of millions of them being sold are tossed in the trash and end up in landfills and incinerators. For now, much of the nation has no real recycling network for CFLs, despite...

Washington - How many members of Congress does it take to change a light bulb? Americans may soon find out, courtesy of a contrarian piece of legislation introduced this month by Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota. Titled the "Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act", the bill seeks to repeal the nationwide phase-out of conventional light bulbs, the kind that have been used for more than a century--pretty much since the invention of the incandescent light bulb. Bachmann, a first-term Republican, is challenging the nation's embrace of energy-efficient compact fluorescent lights, saying the government has no business telling consumers what kind...

The latest political crusade is the crusade to replace ordinary light bulbs with the new CFL light bulb that is supposed to save electricity, reducing the need for fossil fuels and helping the fight against global warming. Since crusaders seldom stop to weigh the cost of what they are advocating, it is especially important that the rest of us do so before we get swept along by rhetoric and emotions. With the CFL light bulb, the initial cost -- several times that of a regular light bulb -- is only the financial cost. A bigger problem is what to do...

<p>The NYPD is on the lookout for individuals armed with "conventional or improvised weapons" who may unleash a devastating attack on the city by concealing deadly chemicals in light bulbs or fire extinguishers, The Post has learned.</p> <p>A four-page alert issued by the NYPD's counter-terrorism unit to cops over the weekend warns officers to keep their eyes peeled for "unusual conditions and activities" that may be a prelude to an attack.</p>

Compact fluorescent lights -- those energy-efficient bulbs popular as a way to combat global warming -- can pose a small risk of mercury poisoning to infants, young children and pregnant women if they break, two reports concluded today.

The speeding freight train carrying toxic waste liability for makers, sellers and purchasers of compact fluorescent lightbulbs, or CFLs, was only faintly audible in the distance last spring when this column first warned of it. Now we’re beginning to see that environmentalist-stoked train speed toward its victims, whom President Bush and Congress just finished tying to the tracks. CFLs and all other fluorescent lightbulbs require special clean-up and disposal procedures because they contain small amounts of mercury, which is neurotoxic at sufficiently high exposures. For example, you’re not supposed to vacuum breakage or toss used bulbs in household trash. Despite...

Using environmentally friendly light bulbs can be seriously bad for your skin, doctors warn. New energy-saving bulbs produce a more intense light which can cause eruptions of existing skin problems, like eczema, and even lead to skin cancer, they claim. The revelation comes after health experts warned the fluorescent bulbs, which are to become compulsory in homes within four years, could trigger migraines and cause dizziness and discomfort to people with epilepsy. The lives of thousands of people may be threatened if the government's plan to phase out the normal variety of incandescent lighting goes ahead without exemptions. Sufferers could...

In addition to raising auto fuel efficiency standards 40 percent, an energy bill passed by Congress yesterday bans the incandescent light bulb by 2014. President Bush signed the 822-page measure into law today after it was sent up Pennsylvania Avenue in a Toyota Prius hybrid vehicle. The House passed the bill by a 314-100 vote after approval by the Senate last week.

“No man's life, liberty or property is safe while the legislature is in session.” That comment by New York State Surrogate Court Judge Gideon Tucker in 1866 aptly summarizes the so-called “Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007,” signed into law this week by President Bush. First, the law requires auto fuel efficiency standards to increase by 40 percent by 2020. Unfortunately, this goal is presently only achievable by reducing vehicle weight — but lighter cars are deadlier cars. So what’s the purported benefit of mandating 4,000 or more deaths per year? The law’s supporters claim that it may reduce...

You know the energy bill that Congress passed and President Bush signed into law today? Tucked into the legislation is a provision that mandates the phase-out of the 125-year-old incandescent bulb in the next four to 12 years in favor of a new generation of trendy, supposedly energy-efficient Gorebulbs. First, Australia. Then the EU. And now us. Well-intended bulb-pushers said they weren’t supporting mandates. Just “voluntary adoption” of lighting alternatives. But the road to eco-meddling is always paved with “voluntary” intentions–along with threats to your children that if you don’t volunteer to buy environmentally correct lights, Santa and his reindeer...

In addition to raising auto fuel efficiency standards 40 percent, an energy bill passed by Congress yesterday bans the incandescent light bulb by 2014. President Bush signed the 822-page measure into law today after it was sent up Pennsylvania Avenue in a Toyota Prius hybrid vehicle. The House passed the bill by a 314-100 vote after approval by the Senate last week.

They may lower your bills, but don't really do much for C02: The U.S. Energy Star program says that if every home in America replaced one normal light bulb with a fluorescent...it would be equivalent to taking 800,000 cars off the road. Sure, that sounds like a lot, but it's less than 0.1 percent of registered cars worldwide. Plus, transportation accounts for only about one-fifth of global emissions anyway. Just the increase in the amount of coal that China will burn by 2020 will send as much C02 into the atmosphere as 3 billion Ford Expeditions, each driven 15,000 miles...

California Diverts Fluorescents From LandfillsSAN FRANCISCO, California, November 26, 2007 (ENS) - The California Environmental Protection Agency is attempting to keep millions of compact fluorescent bulbs out of landfills because they contain small amounts of mercury. The state agency is working in collaboration with the U.S. EPA under the National Partnership for Environmental Priorities program, NPEP. Cal/EPA, the first state agency to join the partnership program, would like to help lead the nation in continued efforts to remove mercury from the environment. The state aims to divert approximately 4.5 million compact fluorescent light bulbs from landfills in one year. Celebrated...

If U.S. lawmakers have their way, the lights may soon go out on Thomas Edison's greatest invention -- the incandescent light bulb. The 19th-century inventor brought illumination to the world's fingertips, but according to Congress, his invention isn't efficient enough for an age anxious about energy supplies. "Only 10% of the power used by today's incandescent bulbs is emitted as light, while the other 90% is released as heat," Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., said when she introduced her legislation to ban standard light bulbs. To eliminate this waste, Harman has proposed legislation that would effectively eliminate incandescent light bulbs from...

Environmentalists often tout the theory that investing in forward-looking energy-efficient technologies is a smart way for U.S. companies to create domestic jobs and carve out a competitive niche in the global economy of the future. But it doesn't necessarily have to work out that way. On Thursday, General Electric, citing the fact that sales of incandescent bulbs are declining by about 10 percent a year, announced that it was closing seven lighting manufacturing facilities in North and South America. Six of those plants are in Ohio. The vast majority of the compact fluorescent light bulbs that are replacing incandescents are...

Everlasting light Sep 6th 2007 From The Economist print edition Energy: Researchers have developed an environmentally friendly light bulb that uses very little energy and should never need changing ALTHOUGH it symbolises a bright idea, the traditional incandescent light bulb is a dud. It wastes huge amounts of electricity, radiating 95% of the energy it consumes as heat rather than light. Its life is also relatively short, culminating in a dull pop as its filament fractures. Now a team of researchers has devised a light bulb that is not only much more energy-efficient—it is also expected to last longer than...

WASHINGTON -- If U.S. lawmakers have their way the lights may soon go out on Thomas Edison's greatest invention -- the incandescent light bulb. The 19th century inventor brought illumination to the world's fingertips but according to Congress his invention isn't efficient enough for an age anxious about energy supplies. An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of U.S. Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif. Edison figured out how to create light by feeding electricity to a slender piece of metal inside a bulb until it was hot enough to glow. But little of the energy consumed during this process...

WASHINGTON – As state and foreign governments enact forced phase-outs of incandescent light bulbs, consumers are being kept in the dark about the many downsides of compact fluorescent lamps replacements being billed as an environmental and energy-savings panacea. Across the U.S., schoolchildren are being urged to replace incandescent light bulbs in their homes, state legislatures are following the leads of foreign governments in banning the sale of the bulbs in the future and the federal Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency are highly recommending the switch to CFLs. Businesses like Wal-Mart are also pushing CFLs hard, as are environmental...

Eco-friendly lighting company EcoLEDs.com has launched the brightest LED light bulb ever made available to consumers in the United States. Using just 10 watts and a single LED component made in the USA, the LED light uses just 1/10th the electricity of an incandescent light bulb and reduces CO2 emissions by 9,070 pounds over its life. The EcoLEDs 10-watt LED light is available now. Incandescent light bulbs are now being globally recognized as extremely inefficient and outdated. Australia has already banned the energy-hungry light bulbs, and California is considering a state-wide ban. In time, all modern nations will ban incandescent...

Turn on common sense Americans' dogged dislike of compact fluorescent bulbs defies reason Saturday, May 5, 2007 3:33 AM It has the makings of a titanic clash: the marketing muscle of Wal-Mart vs. the entrenched views of the American consumer, particularly the female sort. The company has vowed to convert at least 100 million households to compact fluorescent light bulbs, which benefit their users by consuming 75 percent less electricity, lasting 10 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs and saving $30 over the life of each bulb. The big picture is just as impressive: Over its lifetime, one bulb generates...

Light Bulbs That Don't Signify Ideas April 29, 2007BY MARK STEYN Sun-Times Columnist Everything's difficult, isn't it? In the Democratic presidential candidates' debate, Sen. Barack Obama was asked what he personally was doing to save the environment, and replied that his family was "working on" changing their light bulbs. Is this the new version of the old joke? How many senators does it take to "work on" changing a light bulb? One to propose a bipartisan commission. One to threaten to de-fund the light bulbs. One to demand the impeachment of Bush and Cheney for keeping us all in the...

It will soon be lights out for incandescent light bulbs. The Ontario government said Wednesday it plans to ban the current bulbs and what it calls other inefficient lighting technologies by 2012 in an effort to reduce the province's electricity consumption and lower the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. "It's the equivalent of taking 250,000 cars off the road," said Environment Minister Laurel Broten. The move makes Ontario the first province in Canada - and the first jurisdiction in North America - to commit to a ban on inefficient lighting. Australia committed earlier this year to ban incandescent bulbs...

The great William F. Buckley, Jr. once famously said that he "would rather be governed by the first 200 names in the Boston phone book, than by the Harvard faculty." The National Review founder might well feel the same about the elected officials of Harvard's home of Cambridge, Massachusetts. For as described in a Boston Globe editorial of this morning, How green was my city?, Cambridge's city earth mothers and fathers have unveiled a nonsensical exercise in feel-good environmentalism. A nonsensical exercise which, of course, the Boston Globe heartily applauds. Beware government programs with slogans, particularly ones of the breathtaking...

In a few weeks the US Congress is likely to vote to phase out the standard incandescent lightbulb within a decade. The frantic race to see who can best appease the global warming alarmists will claim another victim, the friendly glow of the direct descendant of Thomas Edison's filament-based light bulb.   Why would the humble lightbulb, a staple commodity that has raised the standard of living throughout the world, be in the bullseye?  It was the incandescent electric light bulb that abolished the tyranny of the night. Our 19th and 20th century ancestors believed it one of the greatest...

(CNSNews.com) - A Democratic lawmaker has introduced a bill that would ban the sale of traditional incandescent light bulbs - which are less energy-efficient, prompting claims that they contribute to "global warming" - one day after a colleague told a press conference that legislating a ban would be a "last choice." As Cybercast News Service reported last week, Rep. Don Manzullo (R-Ill.) and Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) held a news conference Wednesday calling for more efficient lighting options, and Manzullo said "the last thing we want to do is force legislation down people's throats." One day later, Rep. Jane Harman...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It may soon be lights out for the traditional light bulb in California. Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, is proposing that the Golden State become the first to ban sales of incandescent light bulbs, by 2012. In their place, Californians could purchase more energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps. Those are the spiral-shaped bulbs that cost more upfront but save money and energy over the long haul. Switching light bulbs is an idea that environmentalists have long supported. But getting consumers to embrace change has been slow going. Banning energy-intensive incandescents "saves consumers money, saves the state money and...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California lawmaker wants to make his state the first to ban incandescent lightbulbs as part of California's groundbreaking initiatives to reduce energy use and greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. The "How Many Legislators Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb Act" would ban incandescent lightbulbs by 2012 in favor of energy-saving compact fluorescent lightbulbs. "Incandescent lightbulbs were first developed almost 125 years ago, and since that time they have undergone no major modifications," California Assemblyman Lloyd Levine said on Tuesday. "Meanwhile, they remain incredibly inefficient, converting only about 5 percent of the energy they...

Sitting humbly on shelves in stores everywhere is a product, priced at less than $3, that will change the world. Soon. It is a fairly ordinary item that nonetheless cuts to the heart of a half-dozen of the most profound, most urgent problems we face. Energy consumption. Rising gasoline costs and electric bills. Greenhouse-gas emissions. Dependence on coal and foreign oil. Global warming. The product is the compact fluorescent lightbulb, a quirky-looking twist of frosted glass. In the energy business, it is called a "CFL," or an "energy saver." One scientist calls it an "ice-cream-cone spiral," because in its most-advanced,...

MULTAN, Pakistan (Reuters) - Fateh Mohammad, a prison inmate in Pakistan, says he woke up last weekend with a glass lightbulb in his anus. Wednesday night, doctors brought Mohammad's misery to an end after a one-and-a-half hour operation to remove the object. "Thanks Allah, now I feel comfort. Today, I had my breakfast. I was just drinking water, nothing else," Mohammad, a grey-beared man in his mid-40s, told Reuters from a hospital bed in the southern central city of Multan. "We had to take it out intact," said Dr. Farrukh Aftab at Nishtar Hospital. "Had it been broken inside, it...

Incoherent boost for light surgery 22 March 2006 A group of Israeli researchers have shown how to carry out surgery using a non-coherent light source. The device could provide a cheaper and safer alternative to conventional laser surgery (Appl. Phys. Lett. 88 114104). Figure 1 Cross-section of the optics used in the device, including a sample ray trace. Lamp length is 15cm Laser light can be used to perform a number of medical procedures, such as removing cancerous tissue. The beam is fed into an optical fibre and through a catheter, heating the millimetre- or centimetre-sized growths to death. However,...

How many forum members does it takes to change a light bulb? 1 to change the light bulb and to post that the light bulb has been changed 14 to share similar experiences of changing light bulbs and how the light bulb could have been changed differently 7 to caution about the dangers of changing light bulbs 1 to move it to the Lighting section 2 to argue then move it to the Electricals section 7 to point out spelling/grammar errors in posts about changing light bulbs 5 to flame the spell checkers 3 to correct spelling/grammar flames 6...

The main light source of the future will almost surely not be a bulb. It might be a table, a wall, or even a fork. An accidental discovery announced this week has taken LED lighting to a new level, suggesting it could soon offer a cheaper, longer-lasting alternative to the traditional light bulb. The miniature breakthrough adds to a growing trend that is likely to eventually make Thomas Edison's bright invention obsolete. LEDs are already used in traffic lights, flashlights, and architectural lighting. They are flexible and operate less expensively than traditional lighting. Happy accident Michael Bowers, a graduate student...

How many list/message board/forum members does it takes to change a light bulb? One to change the light bulb and to post that the light bulb has been changed. Fourteen to share similar experiences of changing light bulbs and how the light bulb could have been changed differently. Seven to caution about the dangers of changing light bulbs. Seven more to point out spelling/grammar errors in posts about changing light bulbs. Five to flame the spell checkers. Three to correct spelling/grammar flames. Six to argue over whether it's "lightbulb" or "light bulb" ... another six to condemn those six as...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Tungsten-filament bulbs — the most widely used light source in the world — burn hands if unscrewed while lit. The bulbs are infamous for generating more heat than light. Now a microscopic tungsten lattice — in effect, a tungsten filament fabricated with an internal crystalline pattern — developed at the Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories has been shown to have potential to transmute the majority of this wasted infrared energy (commonly called heat) into the frequencies of visible light. This would raise the efficiency of an incandescent electric bulb from 5 percent to greater than 60...