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Should traditional light bulbs be banned to cut down on global warming?
Yes 13 (72.2%)
No 5 (27.8%)
Total Votes: 18
Ban traditional light bulbs?; To cut down on global warming...
Topic Started: Jan 31 2007, 11:07 PM (541 Views)
JanaW
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Ban traditional light bulbs? California eyes idea
Compact fluorescents would rule in bid to save energy, cut warming gases

Updated: 1:35 p.m. CT Jan 31, 2007
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - How many people does it take to change a light bulb? In California, the answer could be a majority of the Legislature as part of the state's groundbreaking initiatives to reduce energy use and greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

The "How Many Legislators Does it Take to Change a Light Bulb Act" would ban incandescent light bulbs by 2012 in favor of energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs.

Assemblyman Lloyd Levine plans to introduce the bill this week, saying the spiral light sources are so efficient that consumers should be forced to use them. The compact bulbs use one-fourth the electricity spent in an equivalent incandescent, and that also means fewer carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants.

“Incandescent light bulbs were first developed almost 125 years ago, and since that time they have undergone no major modifications,” Levine, a Democrat from Los Angeles, said in a news release. "Meanwhile, they remain incredibly inefficient, converting only about 5 percent of the energy they receive into light."

If passed, the bill would be another pioneering environmental effort in California, the most populous state. It became the first state to mandate cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, targeting a 25 percent reduction in emissions by 2020.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs were introduced in 1980. By 2005, about 100 million CFLs were sold in the United States, or about 5 percent of the 2-billion-light bulb market, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

That number could more than double this year. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. alone wants to sell 100 million CFLs at its stores by the end of 2007, the world's biggest retailer said in November.

While it will not give opinion on the possible California law, the EPA recommends CFLs.

"They save money and energy," EPA spokeswoman Enesta Jones said. "They are more convenient than other alternatives and come in different sizes and shapes to fit almost any fixture."

Also, CFLs generate 70 percent less heat than incandescent lights, Jones said.

About a fifth of the average U.S. home's electricity costs pays for lighting, which means even if CFLs initially cost more than conventional light bulbs, consumers will save, Jones said.

A 20-watt CFL gives as much light as a 75-watt conventional bulb, and lasts 13 times longer, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit group studying energy issues.

Southern California Edison, one of the state's biggest utilities, runs a program that cuts the cost of a CFL by $1 to $2.50. In the past year, SCE has helped consumers buy 6 million CFLs, it said.

California Energy Commission member Arthur Rosenfeld said an average home in California will save $40 to $50 per year if CFLs replace all incandescent bulbs.

"This is clearly an idea whose time has come," he said.

Last year, the Legislature passed a Levine bill that requires large supermarkets to recycle plastic bags. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed that bill but has not taken a position on the light bulb proposal.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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Linda McCartney
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No one should be forced into compact flourescent fixtures. They can be prohibitively expensive to some. I should know, almost all of my fixtures use them.
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Bill
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I think a phase out has to occur. The technology has been around for years so I can understand a government trying to push progress along a little. Hopefully, within a couple of years, we will have viable LED lighting as well.

I wouldn't like to see a complete ban, mainly for the reason that there are certain times when there's just nothing like the glow of an incandescent. Yes, I know that's not a good reason, but maybe just for your favourite reading lamp, you know?

Flouros pay for themselves in reduced power bills, but perhaps a modest subsidy could help people convert?
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only four of my bulbs are not long life, so what are the rest of you doing.
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maccascruff
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I have switched to these bulbs in all of my fixtures and lamps that will take them. While they may be expensive, they last forever and more than cover their cost in lower bills and not having to be replaced.

Unfortunately, I live in an apartment and some of the fixtures won't take them.
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Old Brown Shoe
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Iluvpeter
Feb 1 2007, 06:33 AM
only four of my bulbs are not long life, so what are the rest of you doing.

I have 5 year bulbs everywhere in my house.They are worth it! :D
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JeffLynnesBeard
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Yes - I think it would be a great idea if inefficient and traditional light bulbs (globes for our Australian friends!) should be phased out and the long-life, energy efficient equivilents were to be heavily subsidised by Governments worldwide for a reasonable time period while people make the switch. Although they're expensive (typical price in ASDA for traditional light bulb £0.38 - price of energy-efficient bulb £3.78), what they save you in electricity and replacement bulbs mean that they probably pay for themselves in the long-term. However, people on low incomes aren't often interested in long-termism and need to be encouraged to make the initial switch, so a subsidy for a limited time period would be the best solution. :)
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maccascruff
Feb 1 2007, 01:51 PM
I have switched to these bulbs in all of my fixtures and lamps that will take them. While they may be expensive, they last forever and more than cover their cost in lower bills and not having to be replaced.

Unfortunately, I live in an apartment and some of the fixtures won't take them.


correction three bulbs and as it is rented i have no choice about the fixtures. no suvsidiy is needed the councils asked everyone onb benefits two years ago if you wanted some. i already had them. i cant remember if they asked last year.
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JanaW
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I use the flourescent bulbs everywhere in my house. I don't think I have ever had to replace one yet, and I have used them for years. I bought my first three when they first came out and they were terribly expensive then. The price has dropped dramatically since then...and I think the more they become mainstream the cheaper they will get. My first three have more than paid for themselves just in their long life. As I said, since then I have changed over all of my bulbs.
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Linda McCartney
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maccascruff
Feb 1 2007, 06:51 AM
I have switched to these bulbs in all of my fixtures and lamps that will take them. While they may be expensive, they last forever and more than cover their cost in lower bills and not having to be replaced.


Same here. I live in California where this is being talked about. When they first started coming out, they all but gave them away. When that was over, yes the price was high and I was out of a job but I started using them anyway about 10 or so years ago. They do have a long life and are worth the one-time cost, which is what sold me in the first place as well as they are better for the environment. Not sure if a total ban would be a good idea, more of what Bill said, a phaseout than gone. Even offices and my Church uses them.
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JanaW
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I have found myself doing things like when I give a gift for a wedding, I try to give a lamp. And I also include a package of three flourescent light bulbs. I think it is an easy way to introduce people to the flourescent bulbs and encourage them to buy more. And I figure I have to give a gift anyway, why not one that will help the environment?
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Linda McCartney
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They need to work on the glow. Even though there are several different shades of light available, they are all sterile to me.
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BlueMolly2009
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They shouldn't be banned, but people should be encouraged to use them. I have some in my apartment and I haven't had to change them and I've lived here for about 8 years. I would love to get more of them, but they are expensive. I don't know why they are so expensive. If they expect people to use them, they should lower the price a little. People on low incomes like me can't spare $4.00 for them, even though it would save us money in the long run.
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beatlechick
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Molly, we are talking about the regular incandescent lightbulbs not the environmental ones.
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mozart8mytoe
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I have never bought a traditional light bulb in my life.

If the new bulbs cost 10 times as much as the old but last 13 times longer, which is really more expensive?
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Merry
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I have one long-life florescent bulb in here and a regular in a lamp. I'd much rather use regular bulbs, the light from florescent lights are harsh and hard on my eyes.

I work in a store which naturally uses florescent, and they bother my boss's and my eyes very much after a short time, and don't illuminate all that well...she agrees with me, too.

Unless they can improve on them, I'll stick with the "old" ones.

Oddly, years ago my dad sold florescent lighting for a brief time and they had a variety of hues, from "natural" to lightly tinted. I wonder why they don't do that now?


:) Merry


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BlueMolly2009
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Feb 2 2007, 08:15 PM
Molly, we are talking about the regular incandescent lightbulbs not the environmental ones.

They are regular ones. They are in my kitchen.
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beatlechick
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Merry, the ones we buy aren't all that harsh. The 100-watt version is a little bit duller than the 100 watt lightbulb. It also doesn't add as much heat so it does take as much power to light it up. That's where savings is and why they last so much longer than the regular lightbulbs do. We haven't changed a light fixture for over 3 years and counting.

Molly, it is the regular lighbulbs they want to do away with. Those take up a lot more power (at least 50% more) than the compact fluorescent ones do of the same size. For instance a 100 watt incandescent lightbulb takes over 100 watts of heat (power) to light up and last a thousand hours. The compact fluorescent lightbulb that is similar to that 100 watt regular lightbulb may only use less than 25 watts of heat (power) and last about a 8-10 thousand hours of usage. Big difference. They do cost a little bit more at first but in the long run the cost is far less than keeping with the old lightbulbs.
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Queenbee
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I enjoy the purple light bulbs or the pink ones. But we have converted over 30 lamps/light fixtures in the house over the past few months with the curly light bulbs. And I also have lots of Tiffany style lamps around the house, so the curly light bulbs still have a soft glow to them.

I would hate to see where we can't have nothing but the curly light bulbs or florescent lights. But I feel it is important to make sure a majority of the light bulbs used are environment friendly.

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Colin
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Only one of my bulbs are long life, only because it was given to me free. I don't see the point in buying a long life bulb when they cost about a tenner, while so called short life bulbs cost about 30p, I get through about 2 in each room a year so they probably work out cheaper then the long life bulbs.
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Bill
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Ah, but flouros use so much less power so what you spend on the bulb, you get back on your power bill. ;)
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JanaW
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Savings are fine, but I prefer to think about what using these bulbs does for the environment. Even if they didn't save me a thing...even if they cost more than they do...we all win in the long run. Saving some money is only a bonus for me
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Linda McCartney
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JeffLynnesBeard
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Colin
Feb 11 2007, 08:21 PM
Only one of my bulbs are long life, only because it was given to me free. I don't see the point in buying a long life bulb when they cost about a tenner, while so called short life bulbs cost about 30p, I get through about 2 in each room a year so they probably work out cheaper then the long life bulbs.

The long-life bulbs currently cost less than £4 and they are better for both your electricity bill and the environment. They really are good value in the long run. :yes:
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ogoble
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I prefer to make love with the lights off. It conserves energy.
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For Bev.
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PsychicEqualizer

If it helps against global warming, then I say sure.
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TrevorWD
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We're already phasing out light bulbs in Australia. My household has all energy-efficient lights. (most of them were given to us by an energy company)

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21258888-421,00.html

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anthroliz
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This is something that I plan to work on this summer. At least for the lamps in my apartment. I plan to convert all of my lighting when I move to a more permanent apartment so that it really will be a savings for me. The landlords get kind of mad when you take the lightbulbs from the permanent fixtures and I wouldn't just leave CFLs for the next people and I wouldn't buy new bulbs for them. (I'm kind of weird like that)
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