The reason is to save energy.  Fluorescent light bulbs use less energy and last longer than incandescents.  Now I don't have a problem with that per se, I'm all for saving energy.  But the problem I do have with it is that fluorescent lights contain mercury, which is a toxic substance.  So, if the bulb lasts until it burns out, it must be disposed of as hazardous waste, not simply thrown in the garbage.  That's an inconvenience.  Hopefully they will set up some kind of easy drop off location for these bulbs by then so it will be as easy as going to the grocery store.

But worse than that is if the bulb breaks.  Apparently, you're supposed to call a hazmat crew to come and clean it up and I've heard stories that it can cost upwards of $2000.  Wow, that would pretty much wipe out the savings of buying a lifetime of fluorescent bulbs.

Here's the article on the ban

Here's the article on mercury in fluorescent lights

The top article says that Australia was the first country to ban the incandescent light, which takes effect in 2010.  Any Aussies out there reading this?  How's that going for you?

I am so glad the world is ending in 2012 so I don't have to deal with this dilemma.

 I think this is what you call low hanging fruit.

Actually for broken CFLs, the EPA recommends isolating the room (i.e. shutting interior doors, leaving room) and airing it to the outside for 15 minutes.  Then it recommends carefully, using gloves, scoop all of the glass into a box and pick up any small pieces with sticky tape.  It suggests using wet paper towels for final cleanup stepl.  It suggests disposing of any clothes or bedding directly impacted by falling shards (stuff that may have contacted the shards after breaking is fine post-wash).  Then it recommends disposing of the waste in a manner suggested by local government. 

Given the EPA is pretty much the most paranoid institution ever, your $2k cleanup is pretty bogus. 

Yes, that's probably the cleanup fee for a mercury thermometer, mercury-containing materials with visible amounts of the stuff, and other situations involving amounts of mercury 10s, 100s, or even 1000s of times greater than the amounts in a CFL. 

Not to worry, the ban will never happen.

After all, the world is gonna end in 2012.

Originally posted by olddaddy

Not to worry, the ban will never happen.

After all, the world is gonna end in 2012.

 

Beat me to saying the same thing...

Actually, the biggest problem I see with the fluorescent bulbs is that most "every-day" joe's and jane's don't realize they are a hazard when they break.  As to the recommend procedure for cleanup, how are you supposed to seal off a room that is central to the house?  I mean, think of new houses now days, kitchen and breakfast area open to a family room which is open to a central hallway and most likely either a formal dining or living room.  No doors except those into bathrooms, pantries, laundryrooms, and bedrooms.  What if the chandelier breaks?  All those bulbs breaking in a central open area to the house.  What if you have small children?  And what if this happens when the central air is on?

Anyhow, everything we have in our homes are dangerous to some degree or another.  The question is whether or not we are going to educate people before the dangers outweigh the benefits.  Just like we all know to test the water before puting an infant in for a bath, keeping electrical appliances away from the tub (having GFCI's), storing meds where kids can't get to them, locking guns in safes or using trigger locks, etc.

Screw the environment. I'm stocking up on incandescent bulbs. It's only $0.98 for a pack of 6 compared to the $13 tag for CFLs. It took 5 packs to redo my whole house. That was about $70 with tax. From the time I switched I monitored the savings. I have saved about $2.00/mo on my electric bill. At that rate it will take 3 years to recover my investment at which I would possibly have to replace them again.

They are not worth it.

This wont happen because some congres man will find out he has to replace all his dimmer switches to ;p

Honestly Some of this is getting Insane...wait it allready is..

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Originally posted by daeandor
As to the recommend procedure for cleanup, how are you supposed to seal off a room that is central to the house?  I mean, think of new houses now days, kitchen and breakfast area open to a family room which is open to a central hallway and most likely either a formal dining or living room.  No doors except those into bathrooms, pantries, laundryrooms, and bedrooms.  What if the chandelier breaks?  All those bulbs breaking in a central open area to the house.  What if you have small children?  And what if this happens when the central air is on?
 

---

From what I heard, (so it might be wrong), apparently if the room is sealed off and doesn't have windows, you close the door and just don't go in it for 2 days (it's not so great if it's your only bathroom though).

If the room is an opened area in your house, and cannot be sealed off, open every window in the house and come back in 24 hours.

---

Originally posted by Dekron
Screw the environment. I'm stocking up on incandescent bulbs.

---

Is electricity bad for the environment?
If you favor hazardous-waste lightbulbs then "Yes"
If you favor electric cars slowly rolling down our roads then "No"

Environmentalist always fail to see the big picture, even when it comes to the environment, sure they do good things here and there, but they are too quick and blindly follow they leaders without thinking , also they are too quick to attack and defend, that's way they often accidentally fight on the wrong side. (Also why they sometimes damage property, failing to see the resources it'll cost the environment to rebuild)

All in all, they probably do make the world a better place, slowly but surely, in a 3 steps forward, 2 steps backward sort of way.

PS: I heard that people might start using these lightbulbs to trow in riots :)

PPS: I also heard that more people will need glasses (a special type), there's some eye problem where people can't see quite as well in florescent light, most of the time eye doctors see it in elementary-school students who are getting bad grades, or getting headaches in school. The problem is that florescent light is really flickering, just faster than normal eyes can detect.

Originally posted by Barrikor 

 

Is electricity bad for the environment?
If you favor hazardous-waste lightbulbs then "Yes"
If you favor electric cars slowly rolling down our roads then "No"

This makes me laugh a little. Especially on the point of electric cars. Electric cars are in no way safe for the environment. Sure, they have zero emissions, but when you must recharge them they are using just as much energy and developing just as much waste (dependent upon the type of power plant used) as a regular vehicle. The only environmentally safe car in existence is the FM-4 v1.0 HumanCar.

Originally posted by Barrikor

 

---

Originally posted by daeandor
As to the recommend procedure for cleanup, how are you supposed to seal off a room that is central to the house?  I mean, think of new houses now days, kitchen and breakfast area open to a family room which is open to a central hallway and most likely either a formal dining or living room.  No doors except those into bathrooms, pantries, laundryrooms, and bedrooms.  What if the chandelier breaks?  All those bulbs breaking in a central open area to the house.  What if you have small children?  And what if this happens when the central air is on?
 

---

 

From what I heard, (so it might be wrong), apparently if the room is sealed off and doesn't have windows, you close the door and just don't go in it for 2 days (it's not so great if it's your only bathroom though).

If the room is an opened area in your house, and cannot be sealed off, open every window in the house and come back in 24 hours.

 

---

Originally posted by Dekron
Screw the environment. I'm stocking up on incandescent bulbs.

---

Actually, you're helping the environment, incandescent are way, way better for the environment than Fluorescents. Fluorescents use a little less electricity of course, but that is far outweighed by the manufacturing and disposal of hazardous that is now being carried out on a massive scale to create lightbulbs that save a tiny amount of electricity...

 

Is electricity bad for the environment?
If you favor hazardous-waste lightbulbs then "Yes"
If you favor electric cars slowly rolling down our roads then "No"

Environmentalist always fail to see the big picture, even when it comes to the environment, sure they do good things here and there, but they are too quick and blindly follow they leaders without thinking , also they are too quick to attack and defend, that's way they often accidentally fight on the wrong side. (Also why they sometimes damage property, failing to see the resources it'll cost the environment to rebuild)

All in all, they probably do make the world a better place, slowly but surely, in a 3 steps forward, 2 steps backward sort of way.

PS: I heard that people might start using these lightbulbs to trow in riots :)

PPS: I also heard that more people will need glasses (a special type), there's some eye problem where people can't see quite as well in florescent light, most of the time eye doctors see it in elementary-school students who are getting bad grades, or getting headaches in school. The problem is that florescent light is really flickering, just faster than normal eyes can detect.

Basically put, everything in this post is false. 

Originally posted by Sharajat

Originally posted by Barrikor

 

---

Originally posted by daeandor
As to the recommend procedure for cleanup, how are you supposed to seal off a room that is central to the house?  I mean, think of new houses now days, kitchen and breakfast area open to a family room which is open to a central hallway and most likely either a formal dining or living room.  No doors except those into bathrooms, pantries, laundryrooms, and bedrooms.  What if the chandelier breaks?  All those bulbs breaking in a central open area to the house.  What if you have small children?  And what if this happens when the central air is on?
 

---

 

From what I heard, (so it might be wrong), apparently if the room is sealed off and doesn't have windows, you close the door and just don't go in it for 2 days (it's not so great if it's your only bathroom though).

If the room is an opened area in your house, and cannot be sealed off, open every window in the house and come back in 24 hours.

 

---

Originally posted by Dekron
Screw the environment. I'm stocking up on incandescent bulbs.

---

Actually, you're helping the environment, incandescent are way, way better for the environment than Fluorescents. Fluorescents use a little less electricity of course, but that is far outweighed by the manufacturing and disposal of hazardous that is now being carried out on a massive scale to create lightbulbs that save a tiny amount of electricity...

 

Is electricity bad for the environment?
If you favor hazardous-waste lightbulbs then "Yes"
If you favor electric cars slowly rolling down our roads then "No"

Environmentalist always fail to see the big picture, even when it comes to the environment, sure they do good things here and there, but they are too quick and blindly follow they leaders without thinking , also they are too quick to attack and defend, that's way they often accidentally fight on the wrong side. (Also why they sometimes damage property, failing to see the resources it'll cost the environment to rebuild)

All in all, they probably do make the world a better place, slowly but surely, in a 3 steps forward, 2 steps backward sort of way.

PS: I heard that people might start using these lightbulbs to trow in riots :)

PPS: I also heard that more people will need glasses (a special type), there's some eye problem where people can't see quite as well in florescent light, most of the time eye doctors see it in elementary-school students who are getting bad grades, or getting headaches in school. The problem is that florescent light is really flickering, just faster than normal eyes can detect.

 

Basically put, everything in this post is false. 

Great argument on your part on why it is false. I didn't know "Basically" was a reason.

Originally posted by Dekron

Originally posted by Sharajat

Originally posted by Barrikor

 

---

Originally posted by daeandor
As to the recommend procedure for cleanup, how are you supposed to seal off a room that is central to the house?  I mean, think of new houses now days, kitchen and breakfast area open to a family room which is open to a central hallway and most likely either a formal dining or living room.  No doors except those into bathrooms, pantries, laundryrooms, and bedrooms.  What if the chandelier breaks?  All those bulbs breaking in a central open area to the house.  What if you have small children?  And what if this happens when the central air is on?
 

---

 

From what I heard, (so it might be wrong), apparently if the room is sealed off and doesn't have windows, you close the door and just don't go in it for 2 days (it's not so great if it's your only bathroom though).

If the room is an opened area in your house, and cannot be sealed off, open every window in the house and come back in 24 hours.

 

---

Originally posted by Dekron
Screw the environment. I'm stocking up on incandescent bulbs.

---

Actually, you're helping the environment, incandescent are way, way better for the environment than Fluorescents. Fluorescents use a little less electricity of course, but that is far outweighed by the manufacturing and disposal of hazardous that is now being carried out on a massive scale to create lightbulbs that save a tiny amount of electricity...

 

Is electricity bad for the environment?
If you favor hazardous-waste lightbulbs then "Yes"
If you favor electric cars slowly rolling down our roads then "No"

Environmentalist always fail to see the big picture, even when it comes to the environment, sure they do good things here and there, but they are too quick and blindly follow they leaders without thinking , also they are too quick to attack and defend, that's way they often accidentally fight on the wrong side. (Also why they sometimes damage property, failing to see the resources it'll cost the environment to rebuild)

All in all, they probably do make the world a better place, slowly but surely, in a 3 steps forward, 2 steps backward sort of way.

PS: I heard that people might start using these lightbulbs to trow in riots :)

PPS: I also heard that more people will need glasses (a special type), there's some eye problem where people can't see quite as well in florescent light, most of the time eye doctors see it in elementary-school students who are getting bad grades, or getting headaches in school. The problem is that florescent light is really flickering, just faster than normal eyes can detect.

 

Basically put, everything in this post is false. 

 

Great argument on your part on why it is false. I didn't know "Basically" was a reason.

*YAWN*

You want me to start on how the post failed?  

First, EPA procedure for cleanup is 15 minutes of airing out, not 24 hours.  So first falsehood, first paragraph.

http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htm#fluorescent

Second, lighting is currently at 19% of the world's energy usage.  CFLs cut energy usage by lighting by 75-80%.  So this 'small gain' is actually not so small.  It is also not outweighed by the 'waste' generated by making the bulbs.  Also, they add less mercury to the environment than Incandescents.

On the first PS, throwing glass shards into a riot is far more dangerous than the risk of mercury contamination in an outdoor environment.  Risk is absolutely minimal, risk of glass shards creating serious injury?  Pretty high.  So I guess it's an argument for... plastic light bulbs?  Beats me.  

On the second PS, the 60 Hz issue hasn't been an issue for more than a decade.  They added ballast that entirely solves the problem, flickering far faster than any human can perceive.

So yes, it's basically completely false.  And you supporting it?  Completely nuts. 

Do some basic research, really.

for someone advocating research, you sure didn't post any about the biggest point of your post, which is the energy savings created opposed to the cost of manufacturing flourescent bulbs.

Oh and ps. on the electric car thing...lol, electric cars are a joke, everyone knows that by now.

There is no way they can force people to use fluorescent bulbs.  My friend with Epilepsy had all flourescent bulbs removed from her home because they were causing seizures, though this is rare it still happens and there is no way they can force her to use them legally. I actually called her and discussed this and she said if they ever tried she would sue them!  It is listed under possible seizure trggers:

www.epilepsy.org.uk/info/photo_other.html

Originally posted by Draenor

for someone advocating research, you sure didn't post any about the biggest point of your post, which is the energy savings created opposed to the cost of manufacturing flourescent bulbs.

Oh and ps. on the electric car thing...lol, electric cars are a joke, everyone knows that by now.

http://energystar.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/energystar.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=5284&p_created=1216151825

Once again, easy peasy.  I wish you didn't post and support absurd claims, then ask me to do the research to refute them.  Wasn't even the biggest point of my post.

The point of my post is someone posted a bunch of unsubstantiated nonsense and you wanted it to be true, so you insisted someone else do the legwork to prove that the false claims were, in fact, false.  Bad thinking.

I note you didn't ask him to support his garbage claims.  Burden of proof much? 

And as for the electric car thing, I didn't say anything about electric cars, but since this seems to be your favorite tactic:

The sum total of your argument is "Lol, electric cars are a joke, everyone knows this?"

Nice argument. 

I work with lighting fixtures on a daily basis.  I've installed sockets for your standard bulbs as well as fluorescent bulbs and I'm indiferent to this whole thing.  At home I got a couple of LED bulbs.  They at least to me seem to produce a better light and last a hell of a lot longer then the CFL's and regular bulbs combined.

Speaking of the changing of dimmers that's good news to me.  Means that I'll have tons of work

All of a sudden being an Electrician is just that much better.  I guess you could say the future is quite BRIGHT...

I love LED's ! I would rather have them than either of the others. they have so many uses and last forever. the light from flourescents is just weird, no wonder people are having seizures from them. it is not easy on the eyes, haven't heard of any vision or seizure problems from LED's though, so hopefully they will go with them instead of those medically hazardous flourescents. They last forever, produce better light, and are more energy saving than any of the others.. it just makes sense.

Yep, that's what I'm saying.  Sure the bulbs might seem pricey at the start but they never burn out.  All you really need is a ONE TIME FEE ... I sound like a bad infomercial and you're set.  

The LED bulbs they have now even come mounted on standard bases for your regular light socket.  I'm sure in the next few years you'll see them making a more noticable presence in the industry.

Originally posted by Sharajat

So yes, it's basically completely false.  And you supporting it?  Completely nuts. 

Do some basic research, really.

I never said I supported it. I simply was asking you to elaborate. An argument without the facts is simply bullshit.

You supported your argument. That's all I asked.

Just to disagree with you on a point - even CFLs are bad for the eyes for those sensitive to it. I have a degenerative eye disease called Keratoconus. All flourescent lights extremely bother my eyes, even CFLs. Yet another reason why I am switching back to incandescent bulbs.