Soapbox

Wow that last post got a lot of attention. Thanks to Connie G for the new background and the post. It seems Ali knows me well, However I am a bit of a closet cowboy, please no brokeback jokes, and p.s its Aloha Friday, hop on board.
Comrades!, recently those glimmering beacons of incompetence we call congress, passed, and the President signed, an energy bill that among other things, bans the use of incandescent light bulbs (ILB) over the coming years. All in the name of saving the planet from that evil (and fictitious) warlord, GLOBAL WARMING (the greatest hoax ever). So what? you say. Ponder this small point, your government just told you which light bulbs you can and can't use in your own home. Did somebody say socialism? Anyway in a completely unrelated story NBC has been hyping there green week promotions in an effort to, you guessed it, save the planet from that evil (and fictitious) warlord GLOBAL WARMING (the greatest hoax ever). Thank goodness for NBC, I also saw an ad for fluorescent light bulbs (FLB), you know the kind we'll be forced to use when they take away the ILB'S. In another completely unrelated story general electric, the company that makes FLB's, also owns NBC, huh that's neat.
Getting back to our Marxist light bulb ban, the defenders of this egregious violation of liberty will sing you a sweet little tune that goes something like this. Fluorescent light bulbs are 70% more efficient that incandescent light bulbs thus reducing the amount of coal we burn to create electricity and fewer polar bears that burst into flame every time you turn on your lights. sounds great! whats the down side, oh um these FLB's contain small amounts of mercury. Excuse me did you say mercury,isn't that toxic? yea but its a small amount and only dangerous if the bulb breaks. Whewwwww! that's a relief I don't think I know anyone who has had a light bulb break in there house. This fearless advocate of the nanny state will then say something like, mercury is found in coal and when we burn coal its released into the air so by using FLB's we burn less coal and the total amount of mercury placed in the environment is less than burning coal for ILB's. That's great except that now I have the actual toxic element in my home, yea but it's a very small amount. Perhaps by now your asking what happens when (not if) the FLB breaks in my house, well that's simple. Open the windows, sweep, don't vacuum, and place the pieces in a sealable plastic bag and dispose of at a household hazardous waste collection site. don't place it in your garbage, oh yea if it breaks on carpet you might want to cut out that piece of carpet. Wow that seems like allot of work for a stupid light bulb, say what happens if I inhale mercury? Neurological damage including tremors and memory loss, liver ,kidney and heart damage,........ but there's only a small amount in the bulbs.
Just peachy, what nobody seems to have addressed is how this mercury from coal affects Joe citizen. So we put less mercury into the air by burning less coal with FLB's. What is that mercury currently responsible for. Do we have data that tells us this mercury if causes illness or is it such a small amount that it's not really doing much anyway, except acting as an excuse to implement socialism.
The bottom line is capitalism works, you don't like ILB's, fine invent a better product. FLB's have been on the market but there not very popular because there much more expensive, they take forever to turn on, (have you ever used one of these things, set your alarm early to flip the light switch and by the time you get up the light will be on), and the light they emit make you feel like your in a warehouse, if you happen to work in a warehouse then maybe this isn't such a big deal. Oh yea the also contain MERCURY! ........but only in small amounts. Here's a pearl. The EPA says that public can contribute to reducing environmental mercury exposure by buying mercury FREE products thereby reducing demand. GET OUT!! As for me I will be buying truckloads of ILB's and storing them in my hidden underground lair, taking my chances with melting icecaps, rising oceans and spontaneous combustion so that when I flip my light switch the light turns on immediately and when it burns out I throw it in my garbage without the risk of any further brain damage, the amount I have is sufficient. If the bulb breaks I shall laugh in the face of the sharp shards. The good news is a congressman from the peoples' republic of California is introducing a bill to overturn this ban.
Final thought: How much coal do you think GE/NBC burns to light up their sets and broadcast around the world everyday, I'm going to guess more than the light bulbs in my house.
This post is provided as a public service reminding you every time you exhale you release toxic carbon into the atmosphere, killing polar bears, melting ice caps and decaying your own soul, so breath less you hatemonger.