Traditional lightbulbs not going away ... yet

[dbt]

Source: CBS News/ Corbett B. Daly

Traditional light bulbs are not going away after all. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill struck a deal late Thursday to at least temporarily reverse earlier plans that would have effectively done away with the incandescent bulb that has been around since the 19th century.

President George W. Bush signed legislation in 2007 to raise efficiency standards on lightbulbs in 2012 to the point that the traditional bulb would have been rendered obsolete.

Speaker John Boehner vowed to overturn the higher efficiency standards when he took control of the House of Representatives in January and the deal struck Thursday follows through on that promise.

Republicans and Democrats added language to a must-pass annual spending bill that would essentially defund the Energy Department's ability to mandate the change, at least through the end of September, when the budget year ends.


Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57344295-503544/traditional-lightbulbs-not-going-away-..-yet/?tag=cbsnewsMainColumnArea

[Tesha]

1. Thank God the Republicans saved the dim bulbs (their natural constituency)!!! (NT)

[formercia]

4. But Dim Son was apparently good enough to keep as well.

Dim is as Dim does.

[Desertrose]

2. Good. I don't like the new ones.

...just sayin'.

[panzerfaust]

3. Nor do I. But I do like the environment, they are much more efficient so I already use them

everywhere except for the reading lamp by my bed.

Everyone needs a comfort object.

[arikara]

7. Me too DR

We stocked up on incandescent bulbs. The light is poor from the new ones and the mercury in them nullifies any environmental benefits.

[KoKo]

5. K&R! Do you know how hard it is for us with "Recessed Lighting" to find proper

replacements? It's awful. AND...that FUCKING GE closed down their last plant for incandescent bulbs figuring they would move it to Mexico? Now that the Bill allows bulbs to be made here in America...GE and the others have now "broken union contracts, declared they were moving and have GONE AND MOVED.

DISGUSTING...ALL AROUND!

[lbrtbell]

6. I use a lot of CFL's

I have seen no savings. None. If anything, they cost more to run because they don't last nearly as long as the hype claims, and they're more expensive to replace. They can't be used at all in rooms like bathrooms or closets, where average usage is well under 15 minutes. They're also dangerous to clean up when they break. And anyone who claims they emit less heat needs to look at the thermometer/clock I have in this room, right underneath a lamp with 2 CFL's. They get hot...VERY hot. They keep me warm in winter, but they're just as horrible as incandescents, in the summer.

I'm all for a new, safe, lower-cost and lower-energy alternative to incandescent bulbs.

But right here and now, CFL's aren't that alternative. Perhaps as technology improves, but it's not here yet. So we need this reprieve from forced CFL's, until technology catches up with our good intentions. :)