Recently in Mercury Light Bulbs Category

The Blaze

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Having to buy a squiggly fluorescent light bulb is an affront to personal freedom, some lawmakers are saying as the House decides whether to overturn a law setting new energy-efficiency standards for the bulbs.

House Republicans are pushing legislation that would overturn measures in a 2007 energy act requiring efficiency upgrades in the old-fashioned incandescent light bulb, little changed since it was invented by Thomas Edison in 1879.

Republicans say the new standards, signed into law by President George W. Bush, are a symbol of an overreaching federal government and people should have the right to buy the traditional, cheap and reliable incandescent bulbs. The Obama administration and environmentalists say new bulbs on the market will save American households billions of dollars in energy costs.

The legislation, promoted by Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, is being considered under a procedure requiring a two-thirds majority to pass. With Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee urging their colleagues to oppose it, that won't be easy to achieve, and the bill faces dim prospects in the Democratic-controlled Senate. A House vote could come Tuesday.

For some Republicans, the new standards are too glaring an example of big brother government to ignore. The legislation, Barton said, "is about more than just energy consumption. It is about personal freedom."

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texasinsider.org

Texas Insider Report: Washington, D.C. - Reps. Joe Barton, R-Texas, Michael Burgess, R-Texas, and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, joined 12 other Republicans to reintroduced the Better Use of Light Bulbs Act or BULB Act, H.R. 91.

The BULB Act repeals Subtitle B of Title III of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which is a de facto ban on the incandescent light bulb.

"This is about more than just energy consumption, it is about personal freedom. Voters sent us a message in November that it is time for politicians and activists in Washington to stop interfering in their lives and manipulating the free market. The light bulb ban is the perfect symbol of that frustration. People don't want congress dictating what light fixtures they can use," said Rep. Barton. "Traditional incandescent bulbs are cheap and reliable. Alternatives, including the most common replacement Compact Fluorescent Lights or CFL's, are more expensive and health hazards - so why force them on the American people? From the health insurance you're allowed to have, to the car you can drive, to the light bulbs you can buy, Washington is making too many decisions that are better left to you and your family."

"Thousands of American jobs have been shipped overseas as a direct consequence of this light bulb provision in the Democrats' 2007 energy bill," Burgess said. "I have stated all along that exposing our citizens to the harmful effects of the mercury contained in CFL light bulbs, which are being manufactured in China, is likely to pose a hazard for years to come. Not only would this bill be better for the environment, but it would be one step to bringing jobs back to America."

By captainfish, snappedshot.com

You know, when the hype started growing about compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL), people were all excited about the reduction in the production of carbon dioxide produced from the decreased energy needs. But, there are a few things that they refused to tell you.

It's like someone telling you that putting a snake in your home will do wonders by keeping the rodents away. It will save you hundreds of dollars by not having to purchase rat traps or using nasty poisons around your home. What they don't tell you is that you are buying and placing a dangerous and deadly snake in your home.

Natural News
Energy efficiency for the First World comes at a high cost for factory workers in China, with high rates of mercury poisoning being reported among employees in the plants that make compact fluorescent light bulbs.

In an effort to reign in global warming caused by excessive greenhouse gas emissions, the European Union has passed a law mandating the phasing out of incandescent light bulbs in favor of the more energy-efficient compact fluorescents by 2012. This has contributed to a huge surge in demand for the bulbs, and a corresponding upswing in manufacturing.

Unfortunately, fluorescent bulbs require mercury to start the chemical reaction that produces the light. This mercury can pose a significant health hazard; the British government advises that if a compact fluorescent bulb breaks, the room should be evacuated for 15 minutes until the mercury vapors can disperse.

By Elmer Beauregard

In 2012 the incandescent light bulb will be banned, and I for one will be lost.

Here in Minnesota we need the extra heat that incandescent light bulbs release. I put 150 watt heat lamps in the chicken coop to keep the chickens warm, I have a 75 watt bulb under the horse waterer to keep it from freezing. I use four 75 watt recessed spot lights in my dining room which acts like a poor man's in-floor heat for my bedroom which is right above. In fact any extra heat these things generate for 9 months out of the year is greatly appreciated.

And what about decorative bulbs? Picture your chandelier with little pigtail lights in it, its going to look like something out of a Tim Burton movie.

So for the next 4 years I plan on stocking up on incandescent light bulbs or ILBs. Every time I have a few extra bucks, which isn't very often in these tough economic times, I am going to buy ILBs. I figure I can stock up a 10 year supply pretty easily. I might get a few extra of the heat lamps to sell to fellow chicken farmers.

I think we should all do this, like a reverse Boston Tea Party. Just think if for the next four years Wal-Mart couldn't keep ILBs on the shelf, then in 2012 when the change happens, nobody buys the Mercury Laden Pigtails or MLPs for 10 years. This would send a strong signal to Washington, that in America the market can't be controlled by government and that we are still somewhat free.

I think the ban on ILBs has nothing to do with Global Warming anyway but rather is a test to see how much government intrusion the American people will put up with. So in defiance we should all hold a light bulb high in the air and quote the late great Charlton Heston and say "FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS!"

Steve Watson, PrisonPlanet.com

Full page adverts in weekend newspapers ask kids to rat on their friends and family in order to prevent "climate crimes"

A leading British energy company blitzed the newspapers with full page colour advertisements this weekend which encourage children to sign up as "climate cops" and keep "climate crime case files" on their families, friends and neighbours.

The ads, run by Npower, promote a website at www.climatecops.com where "trainees" must complete three missions before they can join the "elite cadets" and "train to become a climate cop".

These missions basically consist of a barrage of eco propaganda which the child must simply engage in in order to be accepted as a special agent of the green brigade.

The site offers a selection of downloads, including a pack of "climate crime cards", which instruct recruits to spy on families, friends and relatives, encouraging each of them to build up a written "climate crime case file".

WASHINGTON, Mar 26, 2008 (Star Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX)

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.

Energy-saving devices called so dangerous everyone must leave for at least 15 minutes.

Thomas Edison must be rolling over in his grave.

Less than a month after the U.S. Congress passed an energy bill banning the incandescent light bulb by 2014, the UK Environment Agency issued guidelines calling for evacuation of any room where an energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulb is broken, releasing toxic mercury.

Massive energy bill phases out Edison's invention by 2014

WorldNetDaily

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.