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Not all of us have time to get a degree in electrical engineering to make sure our home doesn’t look like the inside of an alien spaceship... Aren’t LED lights supposed to outlast the heat death of the universe or some unbelievably long amount of time? Under this guise and the guise of energy efficiency, the Biden administration finally allowed a 2007 ban on incandescent light bulbs to go through at the end of July this year. The problem is that LED lights are not more efficient in a meaningful economic sense, and, as my story illustrates, they don't necessarily...

**SNIP** SCHOOL LUNCHES: Eases rules requiring more whole grains in school lunches and suspends the lower sodium standards due to take effect in 2017, while keeping other healthy-eating rules. Some school nutrition directors — and some students complaining of yucky lunches — lobbied for a break from the standards championed by first lady Michelle Obama. **SNIP** MARIJUANA: Offers a mixed bag for pot smokers. The bill blocks the Justice Department from raiding medical marijuana dispensaries in states that permit them. But it also blocks federal and local spending to legalize marijuana in Washington, D.C., where voters approved recreational use in...

In case you had any doubt about the efficacy of government, just consider the four year struggle to get solar panels on the White House, which has culminated in the breathless announcement that they will now generate the power to run all of six light bulbs. Here’s the pivotal sentence of the announcement: And while the energy produced by the White House panels may not be all too significant—they’ll generate an estimated 6.3 kilowatts worth of energy—the message it sends is. Oh good another “symbolic” achievement by Obama – he’s getting great at those! Not so much at actual achievements,...

Conservatives may be less likely to buy energy efficient light bulbs if they're packaged as environmentally friendly, new research suggests. In one study, participants were given $2 to spend on a light bulb with a choice between a 50-cent incandescent bulb and a $1.50 compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb. They were told the CFL bulb would last 9,000 more hours and reduce energy costs by 75 percent compared with the old-fashioned bulb. Both liberal and conservative participants were more likely to choose the CFL bulb, the researchers found. But if the CFL bulb was marked with a sticker that said...

Scientists at the Wake Forest University have created a new type of light bulb that promises to be just as efficient as LED equivalents, but without any of the drawbacks. The new field-induced polymer electroluminescent bulbs — FIPEL for short — produce light when an electric current is passed through the nano-engineered plastic layers. The team says that the new type of bulbs are malleable, allowing them to take any shape like compact fluorescent lamps. They also won’t shatter like traditional bulbs, nor will they generate the same hum or flicker. The inventor of FIPEL, Dr David Carroll, believes that...

science,colin_lecher,cfl_bulbs,environment,health,light,lightbulbs,radiation,research,science,sustainability,technology,uv_rays science 63791 Compact Fluorescent Bulbs Could Cause Ultraviolet Damage to Skin By Colin Lecher Posted 07.19.2012 at 3:42 pm18 Comments CFL Bulb Wikimedia Commons We know CFL bulbs are world-changingly efficient, producing the same level of light as their incandescent parents while using a quarter of the energy. But they're still a relatively new device, and few long-term studies have been carried out on them. One of the most recent, a new report from a team at Stony Brook, suggests CFLs might cause damage to skin by releasing UV rays. Researchers rounded up CFL bulbs from two counties...

Shine some light on potential energy savings - and get some free bulbs, too. The Home Depot's store in Sacramento will offer a free workshop on energy-efficient light bulbs, the store will give away 200 CFL bulbs to attendees. The compact fluorescent lights are among the replacement options for traditional incandescent bulbs now being phased out. This educational workshop will detail the phase-out and various lighting options as well as provide handy tips for installing specialty light bulbs, fixtures and dimmer switches.

This is just too good. Many of you know that in a few days the federal ban on conventional incandescent light bulbs will go into effect. And while House Republicans included a provision in a recent spending bill that will block funding for the ban's enforcement, it's said that it will have little effect; manufacturers have prepared for the new standards and will no doubt abide by the law. So does this mean we'll be forced to buy more expensive LED (light emitting diode) or CFL (compact fluorescent light) bulbs, the latter being those squiggly things said to be loaded...

Legislation that could let Michigan escape the federal phaseout and ban on traditional light bulbs is now in the Senate Regulatory Reform Committee. As widely expected, House Bill 4815 was passed on a 62-46 mostly party-line vote in the GOP-controlled House last week. Rep. Matthew Lori, R-Constantine, was the lone Republican to vote against the legislation, while Rep. Richard LeBlanc, D-Westland, was the lone Democrat to vote in favor of it. Rep. Kurt Damrow, R-Port Austin, was not present. Now that the measure has moved over to the Senate, its fate is uncertain. Not only is it unclear what the...

Sam Biddle — Today's superfluous political grappling comes via Texas, where Republican rep Joe Barton's incensed by legislation mandating efficient incandescent lightbulbs. Rather, he and his backers claim, Americans should be able to screw-in whatever they damn please. Is old tech really a liberty? ... But to Barton it's not about efficiency. It's not about technology at all. It's about Ye Olde Blood Stained Tree of Liberty: the bulb law (and the push to repeal it) "Is about more than just energy consumption. It is about personal freedom." Well, not so fast, Joe. Beyond anything but the most stringent enshrinement...

IN 5½ months, the sale of traditional 100-watt incandescent light bulbs will become illegal in the United States. Twelve months later, the same fate will befall most 75-watt incandescents, and one year after that, conventional 60- and 40-watt bulbs will be gone as well. Thomas Edison’s world-changing invention is one of the most enduringly popular products ever created - something so useful, so dependable, and so cheap that over the course of more than a century, consumers bought them by the billions. Yet thanks to a federal law that relatively few Americans knew anything about when it was passed by...

The House on Friday morning moved to block federal light bulb efficiency standards without even a roll call vote. An amendment from Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) defunding the Energy Department's standards for traditional incandescent light bulbs to be 30 percent more energy efficient starting next year was approved rather anticlimactically by voice vote. The success of the amendment appeared inevitable in the House, where the fate of the incandescent light bulb became a symbol in the fight against federal regulations. Democrats and the White House have opposed the move to block the standards, which were included in a 2007 energy...

The new squiggly fluorescent bulbs 51% The old incandescent bulbs I've used for years 48% Total votes: 427 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

House democrats blocked the repeal of the light bulb ban. A majority of Americans oppose the government’s unpopular and unnecessary ban on incandescent bulbs and infringement on choice. On January 1 2012, 100 watt incandescent bulbs will become illegal, with lower wattages to follow. The democrats just voted to give jobs to China.

One of the most personally intrusive, regulation-happy green bills that ever passed through Congress, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 made the sale of most incandescent light bulbs virtually illegal by January 1st, 2012. The bill imposed arbitrary efficiency standards that the producers of traditional lightbulbs couldn't hope to meet, making their more expensive, less reliable Compact Flourescent Lightbulb (CFL) cousins the new standard. So, goodbye consumer choice, hello government oversight. Thankfully, the House is finally making moves to repeal this - at best, ill-thought-out; at worst, you-will-go-green-and-you-will-like-it - law. On Monday, expect to see a vote on...

Lightbulb Rules Spark Political FightHowever, new legislation may not change what manufacturers are doing in creating more efficient bulbs that use halogen, LED or other new technology. By Rob Lever, Agence France-Presse June 27, 2011 With a January deadline looming on a U.S. law mandating energy efficiency standards for lightbulbs, some political forces don't want to turn out the lights. More than a dozen Republican lawmakers are backing efforts to repeal the 2007 law that requires bulbs to consume less energy. Meanwhile Texas has enacted a law that would exempt itself from the federal requirement, and other states are debating...

   If one enjoys having a well-lit home at a reasonable price, one best run to the nearest hardware store and stock up on traditional incandescent light bulbs as if they were going out of style. Because due a 2007 decision by President George W. Bush, the common incandescent light bulb will be officially so last year in 2012. What is the government approved substitute? A light bulb producing over 100 watts (the equivalent of a typical incandescent light bulb) which meets the new energy efficient standards proposed in Section 301 of the “Energy and Security Act of 2007.” The...

According to a recently released German study, the supposed "environmentally friendly" compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL's), are reported to have "cancer causing chemicals" that are sent out when the light is switched on, reports London's Daily Telegraph: Their report advises that the bulbs should not be left on for extended periods, particularly near someone’s head, as they emit poisonous materials when switched on. Peter Braun, who carried out the tests at the Berlin's Alab Laboratory, said: “For such carcinogenic substances it is important they are kept as far away as possible from the human environment.”

Energy saving light bulbs 'contain cancer causing chemicals' Fears have been reignited about the safety of energy saving light bulbs after a group of scientists warned that they contain cancer causing chemicals. By Victoria Ward 7:16AM BST 20 Apr 2011 Their report advises that the bulbs should not be left on for extended periods, particularly near someone’s head, as they emit poisonous materials when switched on. Peter Braun, who carried out the tests at the Berlin's Alab Laboratory, said: “For such carcinogenic substances it is important they are kept as far away as possible from the human environment.” The bulbs...