Foreign Light Bulb Fiasco, New Products, Sale
I grew up in the heartland, but eventually moved to California because of working in the technology industry. Several years ago, I felt aghast as the state of California faced brownouts and even blackouts due to the inability to produce, or even import, sufficient electricity. The answer pushed by the state government and utilities was that we had to use less, a lot less, electricity as citizens.
Normally, I am all for using less imported energy, as goodness knows we need to buy less oil from those countries that hate us. Just to let you know, I do put my money where my mouth is and therefore drive a Ford Escape Hybrid. Additionally, using less energy is by and large easier on the environment. The backbone of the supposed plan to reduce electricity usage in California was an aggressive, early adoption of florescent bulbs shaped into the size of regular light bulbs. This plan was pushed into law a year ahead of the rest of the nation.
Conceptually, these bulbs must have looked good on paper as they are supposed to use a lot less electricity and last ten years. The facts are very different.
First of all, these new florescent bulbs contain the dangerous element mercury.
Secondly, it is my personal experience that they are in fact lasting much less than ten years. We replaced ten old bulbs with the new bulbs in our house one year ago to comply with the upcoming law. The fourth new bulb just burned out. Nearly half are gone in barely a year!
Thirdly, since they were supposed to last so long, there is no state or local plan in place to deal with disposal or recycling of these bulbs. Clearly many thousands have already made it to the landfill and that mercury they contain will eventually become exposed to our air and water.
Fourthly, my kids managed to break one, so how do we safely clean up the mercury? California’s official poison control center told me “It is somewhat like breaking an old style mercury thermometer” (except that those are no longer sold, but we have these bulbs all over the house) and to clean it up we should “Open a window while sweeping up the glass”. Somehow I don’t feel safer…
Fifthly, the energy savings are a joke because these bulbs are in fact dimmer. Most of the time, we end up turning more lights on. My electric bill shows our usage is actually up!
Finally, and certainly not the least important all of the new bulbs are made in China. Meanwhile, we are closing American factories that produced Edison’s version for so many decades to chase after this half-baked plan!
Personally, I do not care what the state says. We are going back to the old bulbs. Illegal or not in this house we will use Mr. Edison’s bulb.
New Products:
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Sale/Feature Product:
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Sincerely,
Todd
Todd Lipscomb
Founder
www.MadeinUSAForever.com
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