February 29, 2008, - 12:10 pm
USA Today: CFL Bulbs Are Like Gay Sex Toys
By Debbie Schlussel
Well, it didn’t say that exactly. But in the wake of the law Bush signed mandating the end of production of conventional, incandescent bulbs, a USA Today cover story shows that most Americans are resistent to CFLs. It is the lifestyle of a distinct, tiny minority shoved on the majority which doesn’t believe in it.
Only 11% of Americans own CFL bulbs, and that reminds me of the claimed figure by gay activists than 10% of Americans are gay. The number is phony and highly exaggerated. But for the sake of argument, let’s say it’s true. That’s the essentially the same percentage as those in America who believe in the expensive, hazardous CFL ownership, since only 11% own them. How would you feel about a law that made you start buying gay sex toys, chains, and leather whips or some other product that is, right now, the domain of a small minority in American society? The government is forcing you to adopt an extremist lifestyle of 11% of the people? CFL bulbs today, something else tomorrow.
The marketplace is supposed to decide which products–BetaMax and HD DVD players–die, and which–VCRs and ultimately Blu-Ray–succeed, NOT the government. Such industrial policy is the hallmark of Socialist and Communist societies, not a capitalist democracy, like ours is supposed to be.
And, according to USA Today, here are some of the many problems Americans have with CFLs:
* They don’t start out at full brightness. The bulbs can take up to a minute to reach full glow. That took a while for Kay Drey of St. Louis to get used to. “It was a little alarming at first,” she says, “but then they brightened up.”
* They’re temperature-sensitive. If it gets much below 30 degrees, “they won’t start up very quickly,” Samla says. Because the phosphor in CFL bulbs that emits light takes awhile to warm up, the bulbs “like to be a little warmer. But if you get them too hot, they don’t like that. They love 77 degrees: office temperature.”
CFL bulbs also burn out quicker if they’re in a hot environment such as inside a light fixture, says Noah Horowitz, a scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council: “If you put it in an enclosed fixture, maybe it will last 3,000 or 5,000 hours, not 10,000.” . . .
* One size does not fit all. The more light a CFL puts out, the bigger it must be. The CFL equivalent of a 60-watt bulb is tiny. The 120-watt equivalent is bigger and won’t fit in many lamps and fixtures.
That’s a problem for Drey, 74, whose house is about as old as she is. “I have old lamps, so (CFL bulbs) don’t fit everywhere. . . .”
* Many CFL bulbs don’t work well with dimmer switches and three-way light fixtures. A few will work, but they’re hard to find. “If you put a regular CFL on a dimmer, in some cases it will hum and snap; it won’t live as long, and it won’t dim,” Horowitz says.
When used with a dimmer switch, CFL bulbs typically will dim to about 20% of their full intensity and then cut out. They also must be turned on at a high setting and then dimmed, says Philip Scarbro, consumer division director at Energy Federation Incorporated, a group that promotes conservation.
When used in a three-way light fixture, many CFL bulbs will pop, hiss and buzz. There are a few three-way CFL bulbs, but they’re tough to find and so big they do not fit in many lamps. Such bulbs often come with adaptors to lengthen the lamp’s harp so the bulb will fit.
* They’re still not widely available. Most supermarkets carry a limited supply of CFL bulbs. For more variety, buyers must go to a hardware store or a larger retailer such as Home Depot or Wal-Mart. . . .
For many consumers, the reluctance to use CFLs comes down to the dingy light they can emit and questions about their safety. . . .
Amateur photographer Eric Chan of Belmont, Mass.:
“I don’t like the quality” of CFL bulbs, Chan says. “As a photographer who produces my own color prints, I am unusually picky about how these prints ought to look. They look fine under daylight, incandescent and halogen bulbs but appear mediocre in comparison when lit by CFL bulbs.”
And, of course, there are the problems connected with CFL bulbs’ hazardous quality. They contain mercury, and there’s no easy recycling system.
The law mandating the end of conventional bulbs won’t stop a huge black market for them. I’ll be the first in line.
And, no surprise, the legislation was orchestrated by lobbyists for companies like General Electric, which want to increase lightbulb profits. Remember their old ad, “GE: We Bring Good Things To Life.” Boy, is that a lie, considering the end to incandescent bulbs.
I don’t want to live the lifestyle of the minority gay community in America. Why does the government get to tell me to live the lifestyle of the minority Laurie David-Sheryl Crow-Ed Begley, Jr. community in America?
Whips and chains and CFL bulbs.
Read more about the buzzkill called CFL.
Tags: Amateur photographer, America, Belmont, Bush, consumer division director, David-Sheryl Crow-Ed Begley, Debbie Schlussel Well, Energy Federation Incorporated, Eric Chan, Gay Sex Toys By Debbie, General Electric, Home Depot, Jr., Kay Drey, larger retailer, Laurie David-Sheryl, Massachusetts, Natural Resources Defense Council, Noah Horowitz, Philip Scarbro, Photographer, scientist, St. Louis, USA Today, Wal-Mart
Growing up in downriver area of Detroit, I remember going with my Mom to the electric company to get replacement lightbulbs. All you had to do was turn in the dead ones for free replacements. This was back in the 1950s – the good ol’ days!
Aren’t these new ‘mandated’ bulbs made in China (along with everything else). Could that have something to do with the fascism attached to the new law?
Sioux on February 29, 2008 at 12:59 pm