Sunday, August 21, 2011

Government Mandated Compact Fluorescent Lights

I don't mind using CFLs where dimmability doesn't matter; where instant brightness doesn't matter; where a balanced, continuous spectrum doesn't matter; where operating cost is important; where longevity is important. Hey, EPA, I am quite capable of making the appropriate illumination choices for myself, thank you very much. And if someone can convince me that using these devices will be beneficial for the environment, I'll support that too -- voluntarily. But government mandates are usually a clear indication that there is no other sufficiently compelling reason for people to do something.

6 comments :

  1. I had to get rid of the CFL in my reading lamp -something about it made me irritable, couldn't concentrate and made my eyes smart.The spectrum is lacking completeness, so I'm happily back with the time tested Edison invention. m

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  2. Not to mention that a broken florescent bulb (tube) creates a serious environmental (health) problem. And can you imagine the cost of gasoline to transport used tubes to an authorized recycle center. Also all the energy to melt all that glass as compared to one little old incandescent bulb. And consider the cost of relocating all those employees in the incandescent bulb factory to the florescent factory. Or what about the costs of unemployment checks, food stamps, medicaid, and on and on forever for once an entitlement is given thou shalt never take it back.

    The answer: Buy several cases of incandescent bulbs and put them in your freezer to prevent spoilage. Then cut off your middle finger and send it to the Environmental Protection Agency.

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  3. That's the thing about incandescent light. It is a nice, gaussian continuous spectrum -- what our eyes were designed for, or evolved for. CFLs will soon be replaced by light-emitting diode technology (LEDs), which are more efficient, instant on, and safer for the environment. But they're still not a continuous spectrum. Incandescent light will always have a warm place with human nature, the EPA be damned.

    The founders had a principle that I think we should rediscover: Governments that govern in conflict with natural law will fail; governments that govern in harmony with natural law will succeed.

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  4. I like to put CFL's in fixtures where I can't change them myself, like ceiling outlets. I'm a crip so I can't replace them on my own. I've only had one CFL go bad. Many of them have been in use for over five years. That being said, the gummint has no business telling us what kind of light bulbs we should use. This is what happens when people are more knowledgeable about what celebrity is boinking another celebrity than how the gummint is boinking us.

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  5. I think it's so interesting... look at the symbolism behind this. The world is mandating fluorescent light bulbs. But The nauseating bright lights of the world will quickly burn out and we will ultimately be left in darkness. God allows the darkness to fall so that we will then be able to detect a light that will never burn out, the light that pierces all darkness. It shines through the darkness of intense suffering and hurt, through the darkness of hoplessness, the darkness of disillusionment, the darkness of futility, the darkness of our own sin. The light that breaks through this darkness is Jesus Christ breaking apart all the reasons why we are incapable of deserving heaven on our own. Discern the light of Christ through the world's fluorescent bulbs. When satan tells you to follow a different light, God will cover it. In the darkness which He provides, the path ahead is illuminated for us. "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" ~ John 14:6 We can praise Him in the midst of suffering. His light is the hope of the world, a mark of death conquered and the promise of everlasting life. Praise Him. Praise Him.

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  6. I won't use CFLs because of (a) the government mandate; (b) the ugly light they emit; and (c) their toxic contents. The other day I was buying incandescent bulbs at the local pharmacy and one slipped out of its package and shattered on the floor. It was no big deal but if that had been a CFL an evacuation would have been required!

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