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Time to Stock Up on Incandescent Bulbs Before They Go Out Permanently
Heritage Foundation ^ | December 26, 2013 | Nicholas Loris

Posted on 12/26/2013 4:33:05 AM PST by IbJensen

If your New Year’s resolution is to change your light bulbs, don’t worry—the federal government’s here to help.

Beginning January 1, 2014, the federal government will ban the use of 60-watt and 40-watt incandescent light bulbs. The light bulb has become a symbol in the fight for consumer freedom and against unnecessary governmental interference into the lives of the American people.

2007, Congress passed and President George W. Bush signed into law an energy bill that placed stringent efficiency requirements on ordinary incandescent bulbs in an attempt to have them completely eliminated by 2014. The law phased out 100-watt and 75-watt incandescent bulbs last year.

Proponents of government-imposed efficiency standards and regulations will say, “So what? There are still plenty of lighting options on the shelves at Home Depot; we’re saving families money; and we’re reducing harmful climate change emissions.”

The “so what” is that the federal government is taking decisions out of the hands of families and businesses, destroying jobs, and restricting consumer choice in the market. We all have a wide variety of preferences regarding light bulbs. It is not the role of the federal government to override those preferences with what it believes is in our best interest.

Families understand how energy costs impact their lives and make decisions accordingly. Energy efficiency has improved dramatically over the past six decades—long before any national energy efficiency mandates.

If families and firms are not buying the most energy-efficient appliance or technology, it is not that they are acting irrationally; they simply have budget constraints or other preferences such as comfort, convenience, and product quality. A family may know that buying an energy-efficient product will save them money in the long term, but they have to prioritize their short-term expenses. Those families operating from paycheck to paycheck may want to opt for a cheaper light bulb and more food instead of a more expensive light bulb and less food.

Some may read this and think: Chill out—it’s just a light bulb. But it’s not just a light bulb. Take a look at the Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program. Basically anything that uses electricity or water in your home or business is subject to an efficiency regulation.

When the market drives energy efficiency, it saves consumers money. The more the federal government takes away decisions that are better left to businesses and families, the worse off we’re going to be.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bedroompolice; bigbother; bigbrother; biggovernment; blindness; centralsocialistgovt; communistgoals; cronyfascism; edisonsinvention; fluorescentlights; globalwarmingscare; junkscience; ledlights; lightbulbs; nannystate; nolonger1stworld; notabetterlightbulb; pseudoscience; standardofliving
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The Central Socialist Government ensures that China will make even more money manufacturing the lousy squiggly light bulbs that illuminate nothing but how dictatorial this government is.

We can thank George W. Bush for this lightbulb fiasco.

1 posted on 12/26/2013 4:33:05 AM PST by IbJensen
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To: IbJensen

But the CFLs contain Uptonite.


2 posted on 12/26/2013 4:34:26 AM PST by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: IbJensen

The EXEMPT, totally hated, treasonous
self-serving, whoring, lying US Congress
must be soooooooooooo much smarter than all other
Americans [/sarcasm]


3 posted on 12/26/2013 4:36:44 AM PST by Diogenesis
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To: IbJensen

The squiggly bubs don`t fit the fixtures in my hallway.
The squiggly bubs don`t provide enough light to read the EPA s four page document on how to clean up after one breaks .


4 posted on 12/26/2013 4:38:57 AM PST by Einherjar
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To: Diogenesis

The light on my front porch burned out 2 days ago. It will be at least another 2 or 3 days before the incandescent bulbs I ordered from Canada arrive.


5 posted on 12/26/2013 4:40:48 AM PST by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: Einherjar

How true. And I have a lot of lampshades and glass fixtures made to fit over the regular bulbs, none will fit over those damn cfl’s.


6 posted on 12/26/2013 4:41:41 AM PST by SueRae (It isn't over. In God We Trust.)
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To: Einherjar

Someone work was talking about the cleanup process with these bulbs the other day. He said it’s a six or seven step process. That’s crazy.


7 posted on 12/26/2013 4:42:17 AM PST by ilovesarah2012
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To: Diogenesis

I have had two with bases burned from use - one severely burned - , and one got dropped on the floor. Now I am careful to not drop one in the stores. Those Occupy people would have marched right in and dropped a bulb on every aisle, just to show the danger of the chemicals in the bulb.


8 posted on 12/26/2013 4:43:22 AM PST by healy61
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To: Diogenesis

No incumbent. Not one will get my vote.


9 posted on 12/26/2013 4:47:46 AM PST by Rapscallion (Had enough? Let me know.)
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To: cripplecreek

Say...........I kinda like the sound of that.....bootleg Canadian Light Bulbs !


10 posted on 12/26/2013 4:48:54 AM PST by Einherjar
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To: Einherjar

“The squiggly bubs don`t fit the fixtures in my hallway.”

The new bulbs are extremely heat sensitive. They’re dangerous in enclosed fixtures as they catch fire. I’ve had this happen twice.

So all those less expensive enclosed bathroom fixtures and outside porch globes have to be replaced.


11 posted on 12/26/2013 4:51:45 AM PST by Gen.Blather
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To: IbJensen; cripplecreek

I saw one of these light bulbs at Meijer just last weekend.
Meijer is a regional store - similar to Wal-Mart, carrying groceries and household items.

Also - check for 29 watt, 53 watt, etc. bulbs at the store.

A Manufacturer Found a Loophole Around That Incandescent Light Bulb Ban

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/12/24/a-manufacturer-found-a-loophole-around-that-incandescent-light-bulb-ban/

Excerpt:
With millions of people still supporting the use of incandescent bulbs, Birnbaum found a loophole in the Energy Independence and Security Act. The ban applies to general service incandescent light bulbs but not rough service incandescents.

While frequently used in automobiles, subway systems and other applications that require a heavy-duty, vibration-resistant bulb, rough service bulbs can still be used in a general application, according to Birnbaum.

The website Bulbs.com breaks it down this way: “Rough service lamps function identically to regular incandescent lamps, but generally have additional wire within the glass enclosure that serves to protect and support the filament.” [emphasis added]

Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC-ik2jIMMY


12 posted on 12/26/2013 4:51:59 AM PST by Whenifhow
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To: Einherjar

If I’ve gotta buy foreign it might as well be Canadian.

Wonder what my great grandfather would think. He was involved in bootlegging across the Detroit river during prohibition.


13 posted on 12/26/2013 4:52:29 AM PST by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: IbJensen

You can still buy rough service incandescents including 100 watt bulbs.

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/12/16/man-who-saved-lightbulb/


14 posted on 12/26/2013 4:53:47 AM PST by saganite (What happens to taglines? Is there a termination date?)
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To: IbJensen

More proof Bush was not the brightest light bulb in the room.

This is all total BS based on a hoax. Just why, why should the federal government get down to such small petty itsy bitsy legislation like telling us what kind of light bulbs we can use? And for a reason that has no scientific validation.

I’d like to complain to one of our senators, but one is a Rat the other is a RINO. There’d be less stress if I just complained to one of our fence posts. At least the fence post has a higher IQ, won’t say something stupid and does the job it is intended to do.


15 posted on 12/26/2013 4:54:25 AM PST by redfreedom (All it takes for evil to win is for good people to do nothing - that's how the left took over.)
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Reddy Kilowatt bump


16 posted on 12/26/2013 4:57:36 AM PST by foreverfree
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To: Whenifhow

God Bless .................Loop Holes!


17 posted on 12/26/2013 4:57:51 AM PST by chicagolady (Mexican Elite say: EXPORT Poverty and Let the the Stupid AmericanTaxpayer foot the bill !)
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To: IbJensen

Marujuana will be legal, Thanks to the “Choom” president
and incandescent bulbs will be illegal.

And the entire nation is supposed to become Choomed, chuffing drugs in the darkness.

Buahahahahahahaha! Eff the Choom president and his junta. One way or the other we will rid ourselves of the ba$tards.


18 posted on 12/26/2013 5:01:32 AM PST by Candor7 (Obama fascism article:(http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/05/barack_obama_the_quintessentia_1.html))
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To: healy61

Wait till you have some burst into flames. It’s happened twice in my home. The fumes will run you out of the house with your lungs burning.


19 posted on 12/26/2013 5:01:36 AM PST by gitmo (If your theology doesn't become your biography, what good is it?)
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To: cripplecreek

20 posted on 12/26/2013 5:08:21 AM PST by JoeProBono (SOME IMAGES MAY BE DISTURBING VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED;-{)
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