 The Lighted Way In December 2007, then-President George W. Bush signed into law an energy bill that required the phase-out of incandescent light bulbs by 2014. It begins with the elimination of the 100-watt bulb in January 2012 and ends with the 40-watt in 2014. At the time I was bothered by the bill but its effects were several years away. Now, however, they are nearly around the corner. And I am mad. I have been an avid, but not rabid, environmentalist since I was in my twenties. I try to use resources as efficiently as possible—utilizing my feet and a bicycle when I can, driving more slowly, using my water in a conscientious manner, having newer appliances that work more economically, turning off my electronics when they are not in use—but the one thing I will not, can not, give up is incandescent light bulbs. My eyes are a bit older now, and the warm glow makes reading easy, or at least easier. Several months ago I tried one of the compact fluorescent lamps, or CFLs, and found it horrifying. But I should not have been surprised. I hate the fluorescent lights in my office and never turn them on, preferring to make do with the window light even on dark days. I am certainly not going to put them in my home. The federal government is all hot (so to speak) about the savings in energy this will produce. As in several cases, they take action without having any knowledge of the long-term impact, nor, I suspect, do they even care. Why should they? It’s a quick, easy solution to the “what are they doing back there?” question. Like all the questions a government has to wrestle with, this one has no quick and easy solutions. Yet they choose one, apparently mindless of the danger that the CFLs offer, most notably the presence of the highly toxic mercuy in CFLs. A number of online reports have indicated that most consumers are likely unaware of this danger and of how to handle the disposal of such bulbs, or what to do in case of breakage. (And let’s face it; no matter how careful we are at some point we are going to drop a bulb.) And even disposing of unbroken bulbs presents problems; there are few disposal sites capable of handling the quantities of mercury that will be produced by these bulbs, most of which will surely get broken at some point as more and more garbage is dumped on top of them. Think it’s not your problem? Where do you get your water? What happens when rain carries soil downhill or into a place where more rain can move it from the site into housing areas? M E R C U R Y, people! Mercury and most of its compounds are extremely toxic and are generally handled with care; in cases of spills involving mercury (such as from certain thermometers or fluorescent light bulbs) specific cleaning procedures are used to avoid toxic exposure. Essentially, it is recommended to physically merge smaller droplets on hard surfaces, combining them into a single larger pool for easier removal by using an eyedropper, or by pushing it into a disposable container which must then be dealt with according to local regulations. Vacuum cleaners and brooms should not be used because they cause greater dispersal of the mercury. Afterwards, sulfur powder, zinc powder, or some other element that readily forms an amalgam (alloy) with mercury at ordinary temperatures is sprinkled over the area and subsequently collected and properly disposed of. Cleaning porous surfaces and clothing is not effective at removing all traces of mercury and it is therefore advised to discard these kinds of items should they be exposed to a mercury spill. Mercury can be inhaled and absorbed through the skin and mucous membranes, so containers of mercury are securely sealed to avoid spills and evaporation. Heating of mercury, or compounds of mercury that may decompose when heated, is always carried out with adequate ventilation in order to avoid exposure to mercury vapor. . . . Mercury can cause both chronic and acute poisoning. . . . In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency is charged with regulating and managing mercury contamination. Several laws give the EPA this authority, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act. Additionally, the Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery Management Act, passed in 1996, phases out the use of mercury in batteries, and provides for the efficient and cost-effective disposal of many types of used batteries. Source: Wikipedia Odd how they'll phase out with one hand and introduce with the other. And as World Net Daily reported in 2007, that mercury will soon be in our homes (if the government gets its way). No matter that the amount of mercury in each bulb is small because if everyone is using bulbs at homes and in offices there is going to be a lot of it. When a CFL breaks, the EPA cautions consumers to open a window and leave the room immediately for at least 15 minutes because of the mercury threat. The agency suggests removing all materials by scooping fragments and powder using cardboard or stiff paper. Sticky tape is suggested as a way to get smaller particles. The EPA says vacuum cleaners and bare hands should never be used in such cleanups. After final cleanup with a damp paper towel, the agency warns consumers to place all materials in a plastic bag. “Seal and dispose of properly,” says the EPA. “Wash hands.” But disposing of properly might be a tough thing to do, because CFLs should never be thrown in the trash like their old-fashioned incandescent predecessors. They need to be turned into recycling centers, which are few and far between. So tell me again how CFLs are going to help our environmental concerns. Then there’s the sheer unpleasantness of fluorescent lighting. If you work in an office with overheads you know how tired your eyes are at the end of the day. That’s not due solely to looking at your computer screen. I’ve decided that enough is enough! It’s been a while since I have felt sufficiently riled up to take a public stand on a political issue. The ones I felt this strong about previously were larger issues such as war. Still, this is not a small one. If the bill is allowed to stand, we are going to be poisoned in the name of energy savings because any non-mercury CFLs are nowhere near ready. Here’s my stand: I will not be bamboozled, threatened, or outlawed into using anything but incandescent light bulbs now. And there is no way I am using CFLs at home, not even if they develop non-mercury ones. Who hoards light bulbs? I will if I need to. Interestingly, I understand that businesses in South Carolina can or might be allowed to make them for their own residents. And Texas state lawmakers have sent a bill to the governor that lets any incandescent light bulb manufactured in Texas—and sold in that state—avoid the federal regulation. The Natural Resources Defense Council is asking the governor to veto the bill, but though I am in sympathy with conservation organizations in general on this particular issue I oppose them wholly. Unfortunately, I live in California, a state that is unlikely to ever do the same thing that South Carolina or Texas are doing. But I will not give up my incandescent bulbs until something at least equivalent is widely available. If I need to, I will get someone I know in South Carolina to buy and mail them to me. Or I'll buy them from wherever I need to, including any drug dealers who want to switch from cocaine to bulbs. They'll take my incandescent bulbs away when they can pry them from my cold, dead fingers. If you feel as I do, here’s what I suggest. It’s not too late to get lawmakers—if we can get their attention—to repeal the law or at least amend it. I have already sent e-mails and then handwritten follow-up letters to my Congressional representative, my state’s two senators, and the California governor’s office. I intend to send more. Even though a bill that would have repealed the upcoming ban on incandescent bulbs, the Better Use of Light Bulb (BULB) Act, was introduced by Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) in February, it received only a lukewarm reception. It needs help. Please take up your pen (and your fingers) this week. Write to Enzi, DeMint, and your federal congressional representatives and senators, and ask them to support the BULB Act and to allow the manufacture of incandescent bulbs until such time as there is a genuine replacement that offers the same bright easy light as incandescent bulbs. Why you? Because you are readers, and readers need light. As Patric noted in his comment on the article, “One of the oldest, simplest, and most significant activities known to civilized man is reading by the warm light of a fire or (more recently) warm incandescent bulb. Both I and the people with whom I work professionally—older patients with vision problems due to any number of eye conditions—prefer to read by the light of bright incandescents. And in this case the science is very clearly on our side, as clinical studies of patients with macular degeneration found that such patients overwhelmingly preferred incandescents to fluorescent lights. . . . Moreover, we do not just read with our eyes, but with our brains. There is something more than just energy output and watts that goes into the equation of humans reading books.” I agree. Do you? Upcoming Book Festivals and Fairs: The Pub House: ONCE UPON A TIME, (twenty-three years ago) two writers and an editor of a regional magazine had an idea. What if they could take just a small bit of their voluminous research found over their collective literary experience (50 years) and shape it into something enlightening, entertaining, beautiful, and, even useful? I love this, and even though I am not in Ohio, I think I (and you) might find something wonderful here. Like Out of Step, the memoir of the daughter of that famous ballroom dancing team (and their school) of Arthur and Kathryn Murray, which tells about her life growing up in a public family with private shames, then creating her own life before marrying someone who made a public name for himself. Or for Frank Lloyd Wright fans, Wright Panorama would be fabulous since it is a collection of more than 140 panoramic photographs covering eighty extant buildings; these images are made with a Hulcherama 360 Panoramic Camera mounted to an extended tripod and rotated 360 degrees. Appreciation was never so beautiful. On a more somber note, A Home of Their Own: The Story of Ohio’s Greatest Orphanage tells the story of the Ohio Soldiers and Sailors Home, begun during the 1870s as a moral response to the debt it was felt that was owed to Ohio families broken or destroyed by the Civil War. It continued for more than one hundred years, a fully self-contained “home” for thousands of displaced children, until cultural changes eroded its powerful support and formidable presence. It may be gone, but it is not forgotten as this book shows, and the author questions if orphanages should return to replace the current foster care system. Imaging Books & Reading: Of Interest: Until next week, read well, read often and read on!
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