Ed Morrissey
HotAir
1/4/2013
Legislate in haste … repent at leisure. In their haste to rid Americans of the unconscionable plague of perfectly safe if somewhat inefficient incandescent lighting, politicians in Washington have forced us to adopt more expensive technology in its place. Compact flourescent lighting (CFLs) are already known to be a considerable disposal risk, thanks to the mercury used in them. A new study reported earlier this week by Miami’s CBS affiliate warns of an operational risk as well — ultraviolet radiation that can cause skin cancers and even acute burns (via Katie Pavlich)…
…The EPA wants to argue that the release of mercury from CFLs in disposal is less than that released from the burning of the amount of coal one saves by using them. That may well be true overall, but not if one breaks in your house. At that point, you need to conduct an hours-long cleanup — and even if you want to dispose of an unbroken CFL, it takes special disposal in most jurisdictions due to the eco-unfriendly nature of CFLs. And now, it takes special instructions to use them, too…
The complete article, with video, is at HotAir.com
Related: Lights Out for the 75 Watt Light Bulb
…Under federal law, 75-watt incandescent bulbs can no longer be produced or imported…
Is The Light Bulb Ban A Bright Idea?
On January 1, 2012, new laws hit the books that will effectively ban 100-watt incandescent light bulbs. In the coming years, 75-, 60-, and 40-watt bulbs will be goners, too. In this investigation, PM takes you inside the years-long effort to build a better bulb. Plus, we put light bulbs—incandescents, CFLs, and LEDs—through our own brand of rigorous testing to sort fact from fiction with some hard data.
Update: H/T The Angel Clark Show on Facebook:
