Thursday, January 31, 2008

Light Bulbs, Mercury, and Mother-Government

In about 2 years, I plan on buying several cases of incandescent light bulbs. Why? Because our government has decided to make them illegal. That's right--illegal. The same incandescent light bulb invented by Edison and used in homes for some 120 years will be illegal in 2012. Why? Because it will save us, the consumer, energy costs.

For one, I'm very excited about this. I love it when the government tells me what I can and cannot do in the minutia of life. I love the soft flicker of the "replacement" fluorescent bulbs (CFLs). I love the mercury found in the new bulbs. [If they break, you get to evacuate the room for 15 minutes and then start your special clean-up process!] And I'd like to thank President Bush and Congress for enlightening me and helping me with this process.

[I first read about this in Forbes (Jan. 28, 2008, p. 17-18), but also found an article from U.S. News and World Report.]