China has crimped the supply of rare earth metals causing CFL light bulbs to rise in price by 37% this year.
According to the New York Times report,
By closing or nationalizing dozens of the producers of rare earth metals — which are used in energy-efficient bulbs and many other green-energy products — China is temporarily shutting down most of the industry and crimping the global supply of the vital resources…
General Electric, facing complaints in the United States about rising prices for its compact fluorescent bulbs, recently noted in a statement that if the rate of inflation over the last 12 months on the rare earth element europium oxide had been applied to a $2 cup of coffee, that coffee would now cost $24.55…
China says it has largely shut down its rare earth industry for three months to address pollution problems. By invoking environmental concerns, China could potentially try to circumvent international trade rules that are supposed to prohibit export restrictions of vital materials.
If you haven’t already said your morning curses, don’t forget to condemn the 110th Congress for passing the incandescent bulb ban, George W. Bush for signing it, and the the 111th and 112th Congresses and Barack Obama for failing to reverse the ban.
Banning incandescent bulbs is step in right direction but the prices of cfl should have been taken care of by the govt. In present circumstances LED bulbs would be right choice, i feel.
CFLs have never been cost effective. They perform poorly and the light quality sucks, just like Bush.
Getting screwed again. Prices for CFL were reasonable and cost effective before the ban on incandesent lights. Now that the sob enviro’s stuck their “we know better” regulations down our throat, everyone will get screwed come Jan 1
Another flower in the garden of unintended consequences.
A special thank you goes out to the California Legislature and Governor that enacted a ban on the sale of incandescent light bulbs in the state. I can’t wait to leave here.
Mr Bush caught the ‘kinder gentler “Compassionate Republican”‘ pathogen from his Dad, kept on way too many of the Clinton Crime Family and other “Democrat” activists who in any case own operate and control DC — and then, in the end, found himself surrounded up close and personal and very poorly and in some cases corruptly advised by hoards of third-fourth-and-fifth-rate East-Coast theoreticians, pukes and crap-heads.
And still kept America and our allies safer in the last ten minutes even of his Presidency than we and they will be until President-Elect Palin moves into our house come January 20 2012!.
I feel so fortunate for landing on this article BEFORE saying my morning curses. Thanks ever so much. In a way, G.W. Bush hacks me off worse than the current Congress OR the current president. Bush claimed to be a Republican.