I don’t think that this is the last we will hear of this.
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.
Maybe Congress should have put a little more thought into the ban on Edison bulbs.
Another kick-in-the-teeth to consumers is the new mandate to phase-out incandescent lightbulbs in favor of compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs). The 100-watt incandescent light bulb will be the first to go in 2012. It’s bad enough that the federal government wants to dictate what sort of lighting we can have in our own homes, but it expects us to pay up for mercury-containing CFLs (up to $5 for a CFL vs. $0.75 for a standard incandescent bulb) which are inferior in quality (harsh institutional white light vs. soft yellow-white light) and function (their light-up is slow and inconsistent, and frequent on/off switching shortens their life), and which require special handling and disposal procedures (you’re not supposed to just throw them away in household trash or vacuum up CFL breakage).
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…I hadn’t heard about this. I worked, for many years for an electric utility in the very state-mandated department which attempted to compell consumers to purchase these horrible lightbulbs by offering rebates, among other things.
I notice the price is still high.
Perhaps the price will come down as more of them are sold.
So, will I need to purchase a hazmat suit in order to dispose them?
How many mandates does it take to change a lightbulb, anyway?
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