DISQUS

Gabe · 2 years ago

Yes, but fluorescent bulbs make your home feel like a hospital, or a Wal-Mart, which is why I prefer the energy-wasting variety.

Matt Marshall · 2 years ago

Can't they put a yellow wrapper around these things for folks like Gabe?

Helica · 2 years ago

I consider myself a 'green' person but I too very much dislike the greenish light and limited color spectrum of fluorescent bulbs. They make rooms feel uncozy and murky. So I opt for conservation instead; I try to use less lights (turn them off when not needed), and many small, low-wattage mood lights instead of lots of bright ceiling ones. Legislating lightbulbs, while I can see the argument, is not only a red herring amidst larger options and has not been thought through very well. I haven't done the calculations, but I would bet that legislating higher mileage efficiency standards for cars would save a LOT more energy than lightbulbs. But in that arena they're up against the carmakers and oil companies. In the bulb arena they're "only" up against consumers, which is what makes the proposal such "low hanging fruit" for a politician wanting to score on the environmental scorecard. If this law passes, I'm switching to candles. Never fluorescents, except in rare circumstances.

Brett · 2 years ago

I have tried and failed several times at convincing myself I could actually like fluorescent bulbs: too dim and lousy color. I wouldn't even buy them if they were half the price. Fix the brightness and the color and you'll have a winner.

Andrew · 2 years ago

I totally agree, I used to hate studying under fluroescent bulbs in the library - I always felt like they were flickering at a very high frequency.

Why don't they invest more time/money in the proceses of generating the electricity, like wind and solar? If every home was on solar, it would be a huge improvement (someone just needs to develop very cheap solar panels)...

MarWi · 2 years ago

I agree: Fluroescent bulbs way too dim and the color gives me a headache! Let's hope they get the LED Light Bulbs to work like regular ones. The brightness shouldn't be a problem but the color as well as the focus might be. Lifetime of up to 10 years and using about 1/30th of the power of a standard bulb.

Daniel · 2 years ago

I checked out FindPollution.org on Alaxa - no traffic at all.

Nay Sayer · 2 years ago

It's not true that these new fluroescent bulbs last longer than the regular incandescent ones. My experience with 65 watt indoor floods bought from Costco is that they fail regularly and seem to have about a tenth of the life span of regular ones.

BGentry · 2 years ago

Focus on the real issue: energy consumption not the TYPE of light bulb. Placing efficiency standards on light bulbs may be an option that would not outright ban any specific product and allows companies to produce more efficient products over time--even more efficient incandescents. Banning incandescents would kill the market.

This is like cities banning gasoline leaf blowers because they are too loud. The noise is the real issue, not the product type. Put standards on the decibel level not the product type.

Thumbster · 2 years ago

Because fluorescent bulbs use less energy does NOT make them kinder to the environment. Fluorescent tubes (including the little ones that replace incandesant bulbs) contain toxic metals such as mercury, cadmium and lead. When disposing of them they are treated as a hazardous material. In addition, fluorescent flicker can stimulate migraine headaches. Some people believe that they can also stimulate ADD and ADHD but I haven't seen studies on this.

Be very careful that you don't label everything that uses less energy than the common alternative to be better for the environment.

anonymous · 2 years ago

They give me a headache.