I'd rather use Incandescent than Compact Fluorescent (CFL) Light Bulbs - The Bulb Act

I don't know about you but I think the new so called "green" compact fluorescent light bulbs (the CFL 's) are the ugliest I've ever seen and they change the color of furnishings, giving them a gray hue no matter that they now come in different light colors.  Imagine a row of twists instead of clear décor vanity bulbs.  Believe me I know exactly how awful they look, I have them and my make-up in my bathroom mirror lacks the rosy glow it had with the incandescent bulbs; it definitely looks pasty.  Even concealing them in white glass doesn't change how unattractive they are.  

Now, before you jump on me and tell me how much electricity I am saving by accepting and using these ugly twists, to be honest, on an individual level, I've noticed absolutely no difference at all.  With regard to environmental issues, I'd hardly call the tiny bit of mercury in each compact fluorescent light bulb insignificant particularly when the government has issued instructions on how to deal with them if a breakage occurs. I would rather have five ordinary light bulbs in the landfill for every one of these CFL's with mercury in them. 

The government's instructions on dealing with a breakage includes handling the mercury powder with gloves, a mask and putting everything into a bag that must be sealed tightly and discarded according to local rules.  Wow! Does everybody know this? Do people with young children know to protect their children if they knock over a lamp with one of these CFL's in it, not just from broken glass but from mercury?

If everyone has just 10 of these compact fluorescent light bulbs in their homes, which is very probable because the good old ordinary incandescent ones are already hard to find, imagine how much mercury is going to land up in landfills if people aren't made aware of how dangerous the new compact fluorescent light bulbs can be.

Honestly, when you look at the big picture it's hardly worth their tubular ashen ugliness but do we even have a choice anymore? No!  Incandescents have been banned.  They are being phased out and we will see the last of them in 2014.  That is why, at Target, for instance, you have rows and rows of the ugly, dangerous mercury filled compact fluorescent light bulbs and you have to really SEARCH to find the good old fashioned incandescent light bulb in a corner at the bottom of the shelf.

Update on Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 12:37PM by [Pamela McMonagle]

Are there any of our representatives addressing the problem of the dangerous compact fluorescent  light bulbs (CFL) and giving us back our choice of incandescent over CFL?  I have just read of how CFL's explode and catch fire.  They are a fire hazard and as of May 12th The Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled 16 models of CFL 's in various wattages because they can overheat. 

I say stop the madness.  We've had 100 years of gorgeous light at the flick of switch that caused no problems to boisterious kids or dogs or humans or the environment for that matter.  Reverse the ban on incandescent light bulbs and make America a safer place to live!

Update on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 8:32AM by [Pamela McMonagle]

The Better Use of the Light Bulb (Bulb) Act failed in congress.  A very sad day for the incandescent light bulb and the American people.  You know what though?  There was no real opposition to the CFL bulb per se and therefore no good reason for lifting the ban on the incandescent bulb.   No desire to make the people aware of its dangers so that they could want the ban lifted on the incandescent and thereby have a choice between a mercury filled CFL and the ordinary Edison incandescent.   Nothing.  Why?  Because, again,  they weren't opposed to the CFL, they just didn't want the incandescent banned.  There was no real passion for the cause and no real punch either.  What a wishy-washy lot we have in congress.

I have inquired of the cashier at the grocery store, my hairdresser, the nurse taking my husband's vitals before surgery, the teacher down the road.  None have any clue that the new Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb (CFL) being forced on us have mercury in them.  None.  They should know more but they don't and since congress is aware of how little people pay attention they should have broadcast it and made them aware so they could be engaged and get behind them!  It's no small thing that we no longer have a choice between burning a bulb that has mercury in it and a bulb that hasn't.