How many Presidents of the United States does it take to change a light bulb?
Just one.
It's no joke. Millions of Americans have already changed their light bulbs to save energy and fight global warming. New lighting standards announced Monday will help all our homes and businesses make the switch, and as a result, save billions of dollars in utility bills and create thousands of new jobs.
The new lighting standards will save enough energy annually to power all U.S. homes for almost a year, while saving consumers $1 billion to $4 billion a year in utility bills. The long-delayed standards come just a few months after the president directed Energy Secretary Steven Chu to speed up the process of setting efficiency standards for a variety of home and commercial appliances, from refrigerators to soft-drink vending machines.
This is the kind of leadership that will build the clean energy economy of the future. As the President said in making the announcement, a light bulb seems like a small thing. But collectively, billions of more efficient light bulbs will make a big impact.
The Department of Energy calculates that the new lighting standards will save enough energy to eliminate the need for up to 14 large power plants. The standards will also cut carbon dioxide emissions by 593 million metric tons over 30 years, an act equivalent to removing roughly 110 million cars from the road for a year.
Consumers save, too. The new standards will save users up to $71 billion over thirty years. Over the life of a typical bulb meeting the new standards, the average buyer would save over $67 on a new fluorescent lamp and about $8 on a new incandescent reflector lamp. (To learn more about energy efficiency, visit www.earthjustice.org/energyefficiency/.)
DOE could have gone further, but this is a significant improvement from where the Bush administration was heading. In coming months and years, the administration will be rolling out new standards for more than two dozen appliances, including water heaters, washers and dryers and room air conditioners. It's a no-brainer: Some manufacturers argue that with a troubled economy, we can't afford to make our appliances more efficient. The truth is, we can't afford not to.
The light bulbs are expensive. They do not last anywhere near as long as the greenies claim and there are definite disposal concerns. One bulb in a pack of four I purchased did not work right out of the box. There was zero cost savings on that purchase.
This article really has nothing to do with the light bulb rather it is intended to kiss Obama's behind and show everyone how much Trip Van Noppin loves and worships Obama possibly with the hopes he will be appointed Obama's greenie light bulb Czar.
I am looking forward to trying out LED bulbs though. We must have a better alternative than mercury.
However, to ban light bulbs is wrong:
Ban consumers from buying what they want and applaud the savings: Edison's simple safe light bulb is bought 19 times out of 20 in the USA.
The popularity is the reason to ban it: After all, that's why the savings are supposed to be so great, no reason to ban what people don't want.
Think about it!
About saving energy =
Does society need to save energy? No, no shortage of electric energy sources, and energy savings aren't that great anyway, see http://www.ceolas.net/#li13x onwards
All lights have advantages,
that's why they exist for people to choose:
It's a pity that just complaints about "energy saving" saving lights are used against a ban,
those lights are useful too (However: Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s Lab was behind the compact fluorescent light: Conflict of interest?)
About "saving lots of emissions banning bulbs"
Does your light bulb give out any gases?
Since power stations might not give out any gases either,
bans are unfair on emission-free energy households being able to use what they want, now -and in the future - and emissions can be dealt with directly - as is planned anyway - by using new cleaner coal or renewable (or nuclear) energy.
Why a ban is wrong:
For a list with references see:
http://ceolas.net/#li1x onwards