Light Bulb Legislation

[Facetious]

Lawmakers take up battle against light bulb ban



"Most Americans, if you ask them, have no idea that the government has
already made a choice for them," Bachmann said in a televised MSNBC
interview. "The government has substituted its choice for the American
consumer's choice. Most Americans have no idea they won't be able to choose their own light bulbs."

Now, concerns about mercury in the bulbs and mercury vapor released
when a CFL is broken have led Bachmann and a group of legislators in
the House to second-guess the government's choice.

"Each light bulb contains between 3-6 milligrams of mercury," Bachmann
said. "There's a question about how that mercury will fill up our
landfills, and also if you break one in your home, you'll have mercury
that instantaneously vaporizes in your home. That poses a very real
threat to children, disabled people, pets, senior citizens. And I just
think it's very important that Americans have the choice to decide,
would they like an incandescent or a (CFL)?"

http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Alt/alt.politics.bush/2008-08/msg01388.html




"Land of the Fucked"

Got representation ?

 

[Legzman]

Oh dear...

 

[YMIHERE]

I am totally outraged. Who do these fuckers think they are some kind of duly elected authorities trying to do something constructive on the energy problem?

 

[86150]

The idiots who came up with this have endangered the lives of people, and that includes their CHILDREN and their PETS. IF these bulbs get broken you have MERCURY to deal with which is highly poisonous.

These people need to stop trying to help, they are helping us into the poorhouse and now endangering people with STUPID uneducated legislation.

It is time for common sense to become a major factor in the way decisions are made.

 

[Facetious]

Many light fixtures, for one reason or another, can't "fire up" these Chicom twisty bulbs. What do you do when they won't illuminate ? Answer: You remove it causing a greater likelihood that you'll drop the thing . . what happens when you drop a lightbulb ? !!
What happens when you drop these light bulbs ? !!
"!!" xxxH A Z M A T !xxxx"!!"
Evacuate At Once !! Notify the media !! Call The Fire Dept. !! :eek:

Personally, I a pro choice luminary.

Champion illumination diversity !!



Better stock up now ! The incandescent bulbs are getting short in supply ! :2 cents:

 

[D-rock]

I still, on rare occasions, use an regular light bulb in the winter on the very coldest nights to keep sections of the crawl space under my house warm enough so the water pipes don't freeze. I can't do that with a florescent bulb.

 

[Facetious]

I still, on rare occasions, use an regular light bulb in the winter on the very coldest nights to keep sections of the crawl space under my house warm enough so the water pipes don't freeze. I can't do that with a florescent bulb.

There you go ! Great example ! :thumbsup:

Get 'em before they're a special order and $20 each. :eek:

 

[Dixie Dash]

What if I WANT mercury in my house? huh, what am I going to do then? Nah, don't really want the mercury but I want to pick what I want. If I get sick off mercury thats my fault and if a parent somehow lets their kids eat some they should take a parenting class. Besides, this is the first I've really heard of a lightbulb being an issue. I hope my pants dont contain mercury

 

[calpoon]

what's the big deal?

so we'll have a few miligrams of mercury in the house? you know we used to have thermometers that had mercury in them, and guess what? they broke sometimes. kids would often break them for fun to get to the mercury inside because it was cool looking.

we also used to cover everything with paint made out of lead, and stuff our walls and roofs with cancer-causing asbestos, and somehow America survived through it. I don't think that a few fucking lightbulbs presents a national health crisis.

I do agree though that we need to be concerned with dumping all these bulbs in the land fill. So we'll just have to require proper disposal of them, like we do with other potential hazardous substances, and people will have to get used to the crazy idea of being responsible. If they can't do that, then fuck em. they deserve to be poisoned.

you know what's unsafe? never doing anything to reduce our energy consumption and carbon emissions. that's the real public safety hazard.

 

[Facial_King]

what's the big deal?

so we'll have a few miligrams of mercury in the house? you know we used to have thermometers that had mercury in them, and guess what? they broke sometimes. kids would often break them for fun to get to the mercury inside because it was cool looking.

we also used to cover everything with paint made out of lead, and stuff our walls and roofs with cancer-causing asbestos, and somehow America survived through it. I don't think that a few fucking lightbulbs presents a national health crisis.

I do agree though that we need to be concerned with dumping all these bulbs in the land fill. So we'll just have to require proper disposal of them, like we do with other potential hazardous substances, and people will have to get used to the crazy idea of being responsible. If they can't do that, then fuck em. they deserve to be poisoned.

you know what's unsafe? never doing anything to reduce our energy consumption and carbon emissions. that's the real public safety hazard.

BULLSEYE! People, read calpoon's post twice. He is displaying true wisdom here (no sarcasm whatsoever)....

:glugglug:

 

[Friday on my mind]

I want leaded gas back and the good stuff they used to use for air conditioning too!!!!:1orglaugh

But seriously these type of bulbs are nothing new and we have survived there usage.They use far less energy then incandescent bulbs so it is a wise choice to change to them.The congress woman that is proposing this is from MN where I have relatives.They say she is a well known right wing whack job and is called the "wicked witch of the midwest".This is necessary progress, and you would think with energy cost up everyone would see that conservation is a good thing.

 

[BlueBalls]

Is this really an issue to get pissed off about?

Light bulbs, who the fuck cares! If you are really that outrages by being told that you cannot use one type of lightbulb, then you really have your principles twisted.

If people are so pissed off about it then stock up on the old ones, and use them our only hope is that your kids dont suffocate and lets hope that global warming is just gods way of brining about the apocalypse, because then you can all laugh at us for being so worried about it, becasue giving global warming an easy answer like its gods will is much better than doing nothing about it. Isn it.

what's the big deal?

so we'll have a few miligrams of mercury in the house? you know we used to have thermometers that had mercury in them, and guess what? they broke sometimes. kids would often break them for fun to get to the mercury inside because it was cool looking.

we also used to cover everything with paint made out of lead, and stuff our walls and roofs with cancer-causing asbestos, and somehow America survived through it. I don't think that a few fucking lightbulbs presents a national health crisis.

I do agree though that we need to be concerned with dumping all these bulbs in the land fill. So we'll just have to require proper disposal of them, like we do with other potential hazardous substances, and people will have to get used to the crazy idea of being responsible. If they can't do that, then fuck em. they deserve to be poisoned.

you know what's unsafe? never doing anything to reduce our energy consumption and carbon emissions. that's the real public safety hazard.

Agreed.

 

[D-rock]

I do agree though that we need to be concerned with dumping all these bulbs in the land fill. So we'll just have to require proper disposal of them, like we do with other potential hazardous substances, and people will have to get used to the crazy idea of being responsible. If they can't do that, then fuck em. they deserve to be poisoned.

One of the biggest concerns with things like that is that in a lot of rural places it's so incredibly inconvenient to properly dispose of or recycle some items that it's incredibly unpractical to do it. People can't drive 50 miles every time they want to bring some items to a recycling center. Even at that point the damage in emissions and the amount of gas used would probably more than make up for it in environmental damage. If they want to go that route they have to make it reasonable.

 

[breaststroker]

Let's drop the big one on them goddamn Wallabys

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6378161.stm

:crash:

Energy efficiency is Communism!

 

[ZaphodB]

Well... Yes and no.

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cfl.asp

Really, snopes should replace google as the default starting page in peoples' browsers.

 

[ZaphodB]

... and I shouldn't post the same thing twice...

 

[neighborboy]

Great post Zaphod. The mercury in light bulbs isn't any different from the dangerous metals in all sorts of other things - laptop computers for instance - that are a problem for landfills. More fear mongering by the GOP. If Michelle Bachmann and the GOP actually cared about pollution they would start taking up real environmentalist positions and wouldn't be engaging in such obvious grandstanding bull$#%@.

 

[Facial_King]

Let's drop the big one on them goddamn Wallabys

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6378161.stm

:crash:

Energy efficiency is Communism!

So then, I guess profligate waste is Capitalism!

Great post Zaphod. The mercury in light bulbs isn't any different from the dangerous metals in all sorts of other things - laptop computers for instance - that are a problem for landfills. More fear mongering by the GOP. If Michelle Bachmann and the GOP actually cared about pollution they would start taking up real environmentalist positions and wouldn't be engaging in such obvious grandstanding bull$#%@.

Exactly. All of the backlash - rather, BROWNlash - over these bulbs is transparently bogus. The same people raising an outcry over these bulbs are more than happy to shrug their shoulders over myriad other environmental concerns of much greater significance. They're not worried about pollution and enviro hazards, they're worried about their God-given right to suck up energy as if literally there was no tomorrow. They're worried about losing their freedom to choose immediate gratification over living sustainably (as if the quality of life of their own kids and grandkids matters). And in some cases they're just being pointlessly stubborn. (That said, I would like to see this mercury issue addressed and, preferably, eliminated)

Q: How many right-wingers does it take to screw in a compact fluorescent bulb?

A: 1 to own the socket.
another to hire a maid to go buy the bulbs.
another to hire a handyman to screw in the bulb.
and a dozen others to sit around whining about "political correctness" and "liberal fascism" and other assorted b.s.

:hatsoff: