Those new "energy saving" bulbs

Overregulated? Hardly. Look what happened to the peanut butter, the spinach, the beef, etc. We need better enforecement for sure.

 

There is no doubt concerning simonella contamination. You get it and you get sick. And, could possibly die. But, with much regulation there is doubt as to the supposed threat. ie. "In California this has been determined to cause possible birth defects." Define "possible." Were massive doses fed to rats and some of their off spring were born with mutations?

 

The cure for the food poisoning problem is easy - IRRADIATION.

100% effective, 100% safe, no residual presence in the food. Extends shelf life and would reduce overall food costs.

But why can't they do it? You guessed it OVER REGULATION.

You can never "inspect in" quality or safety, you have to address the process itself, and no government agency can do that.

 

For some reason, I thought this song is appropriate for this thread..
http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/covington-bucky/a-different-world-21050.html

Man I miss the good ole days when the Government didn't regulate everything!

 

For those so afraid of mercury safely enclosed in an energy efficient lamp, I hope you don't eat fish or seafood.

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/sea-mehg.html

Cheers,

Jim

 

But that is exactly my point Jim. I am not afraid so much of breathing in the fumes of a single broken bulb. I will take care of mine. I am worried about the affect of thousands of broken bulbs in landfills and dump sites leaching into our ground water and polluting our wildlife. I know some people will not take care of theirs and the pollution affects us all.

How do you think that mercury got there? Do you think these new bulbs are going to help make that better?

Let me summarize in order of priority why I think these new bulbs are a really bad idea.

1. The pollute the environment with toxic waste.
2. When the energy requirement of manufacturing and disposal is accounted for they burn more energy, not less.
3. They cost more to make and are not economically viable without government intervention.

It is really a repeat of what they did to polystyrene. It is economically viable, 100% recyclable, and can keep your fast food burger warm. But environmental groups decided paper was better so what did all the fast food joints do? They went to paper. The technology to recycle the polystyrene stopped, the recycling plants were never built, and the paper, which is only recyclable before being contaminated with food, ends up in a landfill. Oh, and my burger is cold!

Throw real science out the window. It does not really matter if you waste energy or raw material or not. All that really matters to these groups is that it looks like your conserving. Talk about a white wash. These groups care more about their own power and forcing their lifestyle choices on others than they do about the real affect on the environment.

 

It's only "safely enclosed" until the bulb breaks.

 

Mercury already exists in the biosphere and in mines, earth and rock. It was not man-made. It is presently recycled and reused.

The problem is not the mercury but man and how he refuses to regard pollution by throwing garbage wherever he pleases.

Hence, we need government intervention. Same reason we need laws and a police force. If men behaved themselves, we wouldn't need the police.

read this: http://www.greenfacts.org/en/mercury/l-2/mercury-5.htm

Only takes a minute.

If used properly, the new bulbs are cost efficient, replacing a bulb only once in 5 years compared to replacing 5 or more each year in steady use. The new bulbs cut hydro costs keeping a hydro bill at the minimum.

We have had flurescent lights in shops for ages without incident. They have mercury. Mercury exists in our fuels: gas, oil and yet we have no panic, except for the costs.

Why all of a sudden the panic about a few light bulbs? Try crying about all those stupid race cars going 500 miles in a circle and all that rubber pollution they contribute to the lungs of the thousands watching a stupid race!

There are so many areas where mercury is in the food, yet it doesn't stop us from eatingout; Chinese cafes, fish food shops. We still go fishing for sport and think nothing of eating those mercury laden fish! Mercury is in coal, but America insists on using coal to provide energy for hydro. Unplug your hydro!

Cheers,

Jim

 

Yep - but if they didn't force us to use only mercury filled bulbs there would be less need to intervene in the disposal of them.

As in so many other areas the government creates the problem and then rides to the rescue to solve the problem by creating yet more rules.

That may be your experience but we replace no more than one or two bulbs in our house each year. Not much of an expense really.

No panic, I simply prefer not to bring the posion into my home - that's all.

I have never eaten fish for the very reason that you describe. Living in Michigan surrounded by the Great Lakes I have been aware of the warnings not to eat fish with any frequency for many years. I remember as a teenager I used to get a laugh out of the name of a local fish restaurant - Mercury Fish & Chips !!

For me to try to do something about electrical power generation would be tilting at windmills. On the other hand it is within my power to not bring a mercury hazard into my home. Well at least for now.

 

What's done is done Targus, I can't reverse time and have a do-over.

The Lord will watch over me and mine and since God didn't give me the spirit of fear, I refuse to allow it in my world.

Thanks for the concern... :thumbs:

 

From one who comes from one of the top coal producing states... (WV)

DON'T LISTEN TO JIM!!!..

Turn on every light!...

:laugh::tongue3::tonofbricks:

 

The Lord watches over you - but you still have to engage your mind and do your part.

 

Personally I like the new bulbs. I almost exclusively use them, they last a whole lot longer than the old ones.

 

LeBuick---------son------you need to get to the hospital quick---have 'um pump yo stomach out:BangHead::laugh::laugh:


They say that Logan Martin Lake here in Talladega County has fish that are contaminated by Mercury poison and some sort of chemical called PCP and the "officials" here in Alabama tell the folks not to eat the fish from that lake----------shoot-------this Cajun has seen poisoned lakes and he knows one when he sees one-----and this Cajun ain't no chicken-------bring on the Fish Fry, boys & girls!!!

 

Oh...............I don't know if I should tell you about my childhood or not:

This gets real scary .........................

When I was a child.... my brother got hold of a cooking glass thermometer........ the large glass kind with the mercury bubble at the bottom.... and when it broke, we stored it in a glass bottle and used to rub it on silver coins to make them bright and shiney. Little did we know we could be poisoning ourselves.....nor that we were breaking the law by defacing our currency.

Methiolate and mercurochrome..... all the time remedy for cuts, scrapes and bruises.... and sometimes as a throat spray for sore throat (a lot of spitting it out afterwards).

Then when I worked in the dental office, I would sometimes assist the dentist when his assistant was out sick. He ordered mercury in a 5 pound container.... just a small plastic jar of it. I helped pour it into the individual dispensers which supplied the operatories.... and would fill the little capsules which we used to load the 'wiggle bug' to make the amalgam mix for fillings. I can remember rolling the bead droplets off the counter into the palm of my hand and pouring them back into the bottle.

Asbestos anyone? They used to make gloves out of it for handling hot items and hot coals from the grill: Mom had a 'hot pad' of it which could be set ontop of a stove eye between the eye and the pot to reduce the direct heat so that it acted like a double boiler.... without another pot or the boiling...... Mom, pa, and 5 kids exposed!

Lead based paint? Probably in the houses during the first 8 years of my life...possibly in the basinets and cribs which were passed from baby to baby during that time, til Mother had her last baby in 1954 and that one out grew the crib about 1958. ......Oh....and we used to drink well water out of a galvinized ladle.... I think galvanize does contain lead ...doesn't it?

Oh ....... and we used DDT as an insecticide and for gardening...... and, if I'm not mistaken, roddent control.

And Daddy would drive the car like a racetrack driver.... getting the Olds mobile up to 70 or 80 mph when on long trips and no one had a seat belt or baby car seat.

Parents in their 80's and 5 children still living between the ages of 54 and 60..... With all the poisons we lived with back then..... isn't it a wonder we're not all dead or institutionalized?

We should do all we can to protect our bodies and our health....... but isn't it a wondrous design of our Creator that he made us in such a way that we lived through such ignorant times..... and our bodies adapted?

 

No need, I drank a glass of milk and a Pepsi. It should have neutralized the effects... And if not, I have duct tape. Nothing it can't fix... :thumbsup:

 

Faith... :thumbsup:

 

You know, this is a area that, IMHO, one can easily get into a situation of "TEMPTING GOD".

God gives us common sense to NOT cross the road when a Greyhound bus is bearing down on you at 60MPH & only 200 feet up the road. To attempt to do so, while "having faith that God will protect you", is nothing more than telling God: "I have faith, so You're obligated to protect me"! Very dangerous move!

If, on the other hand a toddler that is totally ignorant of the laws of physics that determine the actual danger in such a move, should wander into the street under the identical conditions, then God may, MAY, very well intervene and save the child, as the toddler was NOT tempting God.

IOW, common sense, in conjunction with faith, is a wonderful combination!

IMHO, faith is not a license to throw caution to the wind any more than grace is a license to throw restraint to the wind.

 

I believe these little twisted bulbs are the result of a twisted conspiracy to kill all of us by mercury poisoning.