The New York Times has finally caught up to what Steve Milloy has been saying for the past two years about compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs), including with respect to the greens doing a U-turn on the bulbs.
In a front-page story entitled, “Do New Bulbs Save Energy If They Don’t Work,” the New York Times pretty much trashed current CFLs:
Some experts who study the issue blame the government for the quality problems, saying an intensive federal push to lower the price essentially backfired by encouraging manufacturers to use cheap components.
“In the pursuit of the holy grail, we stepped on the consumer,” said Michael Siminovitch, director of a lighting center at the University of California, Davis.
More…
In California, where bulbs have been heavily encouraged, utilities have concluded that they will not be able to persuade a majority of consumers to switch until compact fluorescents get better.That is prompting them to develop specifications for a better bulb.
The effort aims to address the most consumer complaints: poor dimming, slow warm-up times, shortened bulb life because of high temperatures inside enclosed fixtures, and dissatisfaction with the color of the light.
Finally,
Consumers are supposed to be able to protect themselves by buying bulbs certified under the government’s Energy Star program. But experts and some environmental groups complain that Energy Star standards are weak, permitting low-quality bulbs with too high a level of mercury, a toxic metal contained in all compact fluorescents. [Emphasis added]
Steve Milloy predicted the greens would do an about-face on the mercury in CFLs more than a year ago in this February 21, 2008 FoxNews.com column entitled, “Looming Lightbulb Liability.”
For more Steve Milloy predictions about our green future (and how to prevent it), get a copy of his new book, Green Hell: How Environmentalists Plan to Control Your Life and What You Can Do to Stop Them.
Unlike buying a CFL, you won’t regret it.
I bought a box to test them out. In general they suck. Won’t buy more.
The biggest problem is they effect my eyes. What or how, don’t really understand but as a reading light the won’t be my choice. They now reside in a closet and out on the dock.
Secondly the bulbs I bought all get dimmer over time. It’s been about 2 years now that I have had the original 4 in use, none have burned out, and I expect I will replace them with incandescents soon.
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They tend to hurt my eyes like crazy too. Might just be me though.
I’ve been buying CFL’s for at least a couple of years to replace incandescent bulbs as they fail, and I’ve never had any problems. I don’t think I’ve had to replace any of them yet, and now all my incandescents have been switched my solitary backup has been sitting in the cabinet collecting dust for at least six months.
Further, I have not heard anybody else complain of problems with CFLs, though I know many people who use them.
I didn’t monitor my electrical bills to see how much I’m saving there, but I’ve easily saved the cost of the CFLs in bulb replacement savings alone.
Storing batteries in GITMO would be unethical-a form of torture.
I’ve seen these bulbs in action, and I can understand why they need a a government boost to sell-they suck.
The cfl haste is just one more obvious flaw in the greenies long range plan to regulate all of us. When these bulbs first came out, I began using them with very mixed results. As they became more popular and less expensive (you know, buy a 4 pack at Loews for $12) I started putting them in areas that I leave the lights on for longer periods of time; using them in areas that you are flipping the lights on an off in makes no sense at all, and is quite a waste of energy, if that is a concern to you. They don’t seem to last any longer than regular incandescent bulbs. They also have this very negative feature: the ballast in them seems to burn out, melting something within the plastic housing from which the bulb emerges, and creating an offensive smell — one wonders if that has any lasting implications. And of course, there is the mercury issue, which the government, in its haste to mandate our subservience to the eco gods, must have forgotten about. God forbid the mercury wasn’t in something so sacred and pro angelic to the eco gods — can you imagine!!
I’ve gradually changed all the bulbs in my apartment to CFLs and have had not ONE SINGLE ONE burn out. I am, however, concerned about the mercury levels and also the amount of electromagnetic activity they emit, which I’ve read/heard in several studies can possibly be toxic. There needs to be an alternative to these bulbs that is also environmentally friendly and has gone through rigorous studies. “Inexpensive” and “quick-fix” often end up being expensive, unnecessary and time-consuming. Real changes in our energy efficiency are investments, and worth making.
I used to use CFL’s in an attempt to help environmentally in some small way, but mostly to save money on our utility bills. The CFL bulbs burn out fine all by themselves, they don’t need to be in an enclosed fixture.
DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT WE’RE GOING TO DO WITH ALL THOSE TOYOTA ELECTRIC CAR BATTERIES (THINK PRIUS), WHEN THEY DIE OUT?
WILL WE STORE THEM IN GITMO?
AS A FORMER NYC COMMISSIONER OF SANITATION ONCE SAID, “..YOU CAN’T PICK UP THE GARBAGE WITHOUT FIRST KNOWING WHERE YOU’RE GOING TO PUT IT.”
THAT ADVICE APPLIES NOT ONLY TO ELECTRIC CAR BATTERIES, BUT ALSO TO PRESENT GITMO DETAINEES.
When they first introduced these, and then were working on the bill to outlaw incandescents, I kept calling my legislators to warn them they were turning the US into one big “Love Canal.”
Not to mention they take up more space in landfills than regular bulbs (after all, who is going to make a special trip to Hazmat every time one breaks?)