Have you heard about the law that President George W. Bush signed in 2007 that just began going into effect this month? My husband and I got a little agitated discussing it one evening at dinner (who doesn’t get agitated talking politics, right?), and I decided I should look into the issue for my next Green Your Way article. (photo source)
I learned a lot. And as usual, I shared it all.
Even if you don’t have time to read/skim the whole article on the new law about incandescent and CFL light bulbs, I encourage you to make sure you understand the risks and benefits of CFLs in the home and what the law actually says. (For example: Are incandescent bulbs banned? Are CFLs written into law? You might be surprised…)
Here’s an excerpt from the post:
I’m pretty sure we vacuumed when we broke a long, evil-looking fluorescent tube light in our basement about five years ago.
It was a massive shatter, flinging glass and toxins far and wide.
We had a toddler in the house, so naturally, I nearly had a heart attack when I realized what happened.
“[Husband], get out of that room. No, don’t come out here, take your socks off first! We can’t track that stuff through the house. We have to clean it up! No, don’t touch anything, I need to figure out how…”
I Googled how to properly clean up a fluorescent bulb breakage, but apparently I didn’t do a very good job, because everything I see about proper clean up of mercury-containing light bulbs nowadays clearly says, “Don’t vacuum.” Want to know why? It sends toxic mercury dust flying through the air. Lovely.
More importantly, why am I thinking of this scene this month?I admit, I’m worried about the new law going into effect that is phasing out the incandescent bulbs of our childhood and replacing them with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs).
The energy independence and security act of 2007 (the “energy bill”) intends to “make better use of our resources and help the United States become energy independent. The law provides important benefits to consumers, industry, our country, and our environment,” says the EPA.
To read more, click HERE.
I wish he hadn’t signed it, but it wouldn’t matter if he hadn’t. The democrats had a veto proof majority at that point, so it would have become law even if he’d refused to sign the legislation they’d drafted and passed.
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Funny you posted on this. I broke a CFL a few hours ago, and am NOT looking forward to the multi-step process to clean it up!
Perhaps if enough people protest the law will be revoked.
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Interestingly, our electrician explained that CFLs are great in institutional/office environments where lights stay on a long time. He said they aren’t great in homes because when you turn them on and off all day you’re wearing them out. Ever notice your expensive CFLS doesn’t last as long as the box said it would? So to make them last longer, we should leave them ON! That seems counterproductive to me and leaves me wondering, “What was the point?”
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I can’t use CFLs, because fluorescent lights make me see blue spots. But the new LED bulbs that are coming out seem to be pretty good. We like the light quality (not blue at all anymore), they are fully bright right away, and they don’t make me see spots, so we’re gradually switching over to those as the old incandescents burn out.
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I hate CFLs for a multitude of reasons.
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We can all rejoice! http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/dec/16/congress-overturns-incandescent-light-bulb-ban/
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You could always try LED light bulbs, but I heard that they are REALLY expensive. : (
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Aniko Whidden – looks like that Republican effort only blocked spending on enforcement, but way too little, too late. Manufacturers were already set up to comply with the law – the last incandescent bulb factory in the US already closed, for example. Nothing changed in the 2007 bill/law because of this.
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Nora Dugal Callahan – yep, I included that info in the post, and I always try to make sure my CFLs stay on for 15 minutes if I can…like if I’m leaving a room but will come back in 5 minutes, I know it’s better for them to stay on, which is counterintuitive to the old habit of always turning the light off when leaving a room.
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Oh, here’s a link explaining: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/1/incandescent-bulbs-dimming-despite-gop-efforts-on-/
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We have them in the kitchen (hate them by the way) and the bulb that was supposed to last 5 years lasted 3 months. The kids hate them because they take so long to be bright. We have them in halls and bathrooms. I am really considering stocking up on 60 watts by the case and just taking them all out. Yuck. At least I won’t need a hazmat suit if I break an incandescent. Sorry to sound crabby, but I tried and tried to like them and I just find very little to like.
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My kids all know that breaking a light bulb in the basement means you pick-up the babies and run up the stairs. We’ve never gotten around to doing fire drills, but we have done broken bulb drills and with pride I heard all the kids racing out the front door yelling “broken bulb, broken bulb!” this past summer.
You’re not alone in your concerns. 
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They are horrible outside you have to buy outdoor cfls and they still take a while to heat up in the cold. But yes ours die all the time and they tend to make weird noises in fixtures. With me and a kid with spd and my husband having add they just are not always worth using we go back and forth.
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I do like led when I can afford them. We started with my daughters night light (always was burning out and its lasted a yr now) It does have a nice light without the noise, heating time and its better for your eyes.
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I think I am going to puke. I have broken multiple of the cfls, and did NOT know it was so hazardous!! what the heck! They should put that in big letters on the outside of the packages.
I am thankful for you educating us:O) I think I need to go pray now.
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