Candles are next to be banned

[flashl]

In his Examiner column today, Tim Carney — with a nod to Bastiat — takes the company founded by Thomas Edison to task for eschewing innovation in favor of political rent seeking:

Had Thomas Edison employed the same business strategy as his 21st-Century heirs at General Electric, he would have lobbied Congress to outlaw the candle in 1879 when he perfected and patented the light bulb.

He surely could have masked his self-interested lobbying in some public interest claim, such as fire prevention or the need for wax conservation. Today, the mask is environmentalism.

Earlier this month, Thomas Edison’s GE, together with Sylvania and Philips won a legislative victory when Congress passed an energy bill that would outlaw sale of the standard light bulb by 2012.

Sylvania is the leading light bulb maker worldwide, and GE is tops in America. These two companies, together with Dutch-based Royal Phillips Electronics, concede they basically wrote the new light bulb law. It goes without saying that they stand to profit from it — at consumer expense.

That is because the energy bill raises energy efficiency requirements to a level that most incandescent light bulbs in use today cannot meet, which would force most people to switch to the more expensive compact fluorescent bulbs.

Of course, this isn’t the only special interest pork barrel project in the energy bill, but in this specific instance, it’s worth asking — If fluorescent bulbs are so great, why does Congress need to essentially mandate their use?

Open Market - Read Full Text

[Bright Eyes]

1. I have no problem with this.

They last longer: Fluorescent bulbs typically have a life span of between 6,000 and 15,000 hours, whereas incandescent lamps are usually manufactured to have a life span of 750 hours or 1000 hours. *this may be wrong. I'll fix if it is*

They are more efficient: In round figures, typical incandescent lamps are around 2% efficient and domestic CFLs are currently 7%-8% efficient (life cycle comparisons are necessarily more complex).

While they're more expensive initally, they save money over time.

[Toots]

9. They don't work with dimmer switches though..

Some times the lights just need to be dimmed..

[qanda]

2. I have flourescent bulbs in a lot of places in my house

Those bulbs just aren't bright enough. I cannot imagine the old light bulbs being outlawed.

[Cronus Protagonist]

3. They start out dull and take minutes to light up fully

I don't mind it much, but it is annoying when you are in a hurry and need better light faster. I have about half of my lamps on the compact fluorescents and the main lighting is all strip fluorescent.

[TreasonousBastard]

4. Buncha bullshit--- These three companies are...

the leading makers of incandescent bulbs, so what's their point in banning some of their biggest products?

This little screed is from some libertarian free market bullshitter who is making some obscure point. I don't know why libertarian free market bullshitters have jumped on flourescent lighting to make their libertarian free market bullshit points, but there's a wierd movement out there that seems to be trying to keep the sacred incandescant light in our fixtures.

Maybe they afraid we'll take their dimmers away. I don't know, but I see screeds about the fear of flourexscents all over the place.

I don't understand.

[thunder rising]

5. The light bulb prohibition is a waste of energy

There is no way that this is legal or enforceable. This is intrusion.

Notice that nobody is mentioning LED lighting which is the most efficient.

[WinkyDink]

7. Why impossible? They did it with HDTV.

[Xenotime]

13. I was going to post that.

I love LED bulbs.

[MadHound]

6. What a load of happy horseshit this is

First, there are many people, like my wife, who for various reasons simply can't take the light frequency put out by CFLs. In addition, I happen to like older lamps, most of which won't work well with CFLs. Then there is the whole problem of disposing of mercury laden CFLs, they shouldn't go in the trash, though they probably will. They contain mercury and need to go in to hazard waste.

So much for the vaunted power of the free market. And this is simply another example of how our government is deep in the pockets of corporate America. I think that I'm going to start stocking up on incandescents.

[TZ]

8. So Al Gore is in the pocket of corporate america as well

He's a HUGE advocate of these bulbs. Guess GE got their money's worth with an Oscar and Nobel Peace Prize..:sarcasm:

Yes, I do understand these bulbs aren't perfect, but they are better for the AVERAGE American and MUCH BETTER for the environment in the long run. And I do know some people can't deal medically with their light..I have a sister like that. However I bet some smart person will come up with a bulb that is better than the old incadescent for them after they are phased out.

[MadHound]

10. Wow, that's a leap

How did you get from my criticism of a government policy to Al Gore?

How did you get from my comment on the free market to Al Gore?

I realize that Gore, along with many others, are huge advocates of these bulbs. That's nice, that's great, I would love to use them in my house except for the simple fact that my wife literally can't stand them. And yes, I would love to see somebody come up with something that wouldn't bother my wife, but in the meantime that isn't happening anytime soon. Instead incandescents are going to be banned, and my wife is going to be exposed more and more to light that adversely interferes with her eyesight and insures that her headaches from such light will continue to grow and get worse. You may be able to casually brush that aside, but I certainly won't.

Then there is the fact that I like old lamps and collect them. Many aren't suitable for CFLs so I should just toss them? Gee thanks, here, let me trash your hobby. Oh, and what are they going to do about nightlights, vanity lights, the myriad of shapes and sizes that CFLs either can't or won't be applicable to? All those lights are going to instantly obsolete, so much trash to go to the dump forcing consumers to spend the big bucks on replacement. Gee, that's nice to look forward to, NOT!

And then there is the issue of waste. Yes, I realize that there will be some sort of public education program regarding the proper disposal of CFLs, but you know as well as I do that there will be a significant portion of the population who will simply toss their old CFLs in the trash, thus putting more mercury in our environment. You don't find that alarming?

Rather than trying to legislate mandatory use of CFLs(and circumventing the free market in the process), why doesn't our government start passing legislation that will implement greater usage of alternative energy sources like wind and solar? We have enough wind energy in this country to fill all of our electrical needs indefinitely, isn't it about time we started using them? Then it wouldn't matter what sort of bulbs we had in our lights now would it.

Sorry, but your casual dismissal of this topic isn't grounded in reality. It is an action that will adversely effect millions of people, it will harm our environment, and it is legislative energy that could be better spent making real substantial in our energy infrastructure rather than using the government mandate to benefit corporate America.

[Xithras]

17. There is no CFL replacement for a 25 watt bulb.

That's one that always pisses me off. I DO NOT LIKE bright rooms. The lighting in my house is always subdued and dim because bright lighting hurts my eyes. In the rooms where I've installed CFL's, I've had to replace the light covers with heavily frosted (and in one room, painted) to get the light back to normal levels. This is why most of the rooms in my home have dimmers and are incompatible with CFL's in the first place.

All of the so-called 25-watt replacement CFL's have lumen outputs comparable to that of a 40 or 60 watt incandescent. The light fixture in my dining room has five 25-watt bulbs running at about 75% output on a dimmer. There is simply no way for me to reproduce that level of light with a CFL. I'll end up with a garishly bright room that will simply hurt my eyes.

I'm already clearing out a corner of my attic for incandescents myself. I figure a few hundred 25 watters should last the rest of my life.

[Cirque du So-What]

11. I'm still expecting a breakthrough in the area of LED technology

Here's an article from October 2005 showing that LEDs could soon replace incandescent bulbs for lighting. Also, LEDs don't come with all the environmental baggage of fluorescent bulbs.

http://www.livescience.com/technology/051021_nano_light.html

[Ravy]

12. Thomas Edison said he wanted to make electricity so cheap..

that only the rich could afford candles.

[Igel]

15. Wouldn't that suggest we should wait for

GE to make compact fluorescents so cheap only the rich could afford incandescent bulbs?

Nah.

[Igel]

14. Half the fixtures in our apt. are incompatible with

CFLs, oddly enough. They'll have to be removed and replaced, but, of course, the energy needed to manufacture the replacements won't be included in the energy budget calculations.

Then there are colored incandescent bulbs. Haven't seen any colored compact fluorescents.

Let's not exclude the ones used, say, for heating reptile habitats. Of course, our "crabitat" is heated by a heating mat, so there's a replacement. Still, there's the expense, in energy and money, of replacing the old ones.

I also find the energy "wastage" of the incandescents useful at times. I actually put some old incandescents in the compact-fluorescent compatible fixtures when it got cold. They help heat the place. And for sure I've draped damp clothes over lamps to dry them :-)

I wonder what'll happen with my 'tensor' light. Will they be efficient enough that I'll be allowed to buy them, or will I have to settle for the brighter halogen lights or the less bright fluorescents? I have to assume there are some exceptions, that the law isn't as simple-headed as press accounts seem. Still, I don't think I'll retrofit my flashlights for compact fluorescents, not esp. the one that warns it's a fire and burn hazard because it puts out so much heat.

I've already--in just a few months seen CFLs die. Perhaps it's because my kid likes trying to make them into strobe lights, flipping them on and off? Incandescents are much more forgiving, it seems.

[Xithras]

16. I have the same issue

Numerous sealed fixtures that become a fire hazard when CFL's are installed. Half my lamps are 3-ways, and many of the rooms in my house are equipped with dimmers. About half the bulbs in my house are already CFL's, but most of the remaining sockets and circuits will need to be redone first. That's THOUSANDS of dollars in electricians fees.

And, in my experience, most CFL's only last a year or two anyway. If you look up the actual fine print on them, they only achieve those magical 5 year lifespans if you never turn them off.

[OzarkDem]

18. Really stupid on Congress' part

GE, et al wouldn't go to this trouble to pass a law for the environment. There must be some other way they stand to make a profit or corner a market.

Corporate lobbying has gotten way out of hand.

[Hippo_Tron]

19. They shouldn't ban them, just tax them to the point that flourescents are cheaper