The entire US must change to CFL bulbs by 2016! It's the law! Good or Bad?

by AK - Jeff 136 Replies latest social current

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  BurnTheShips

  Perhaps government should be involved in dictating how many square feet per person is allowed? We need to limit the use of resources don't we? About 200 seems right - so those with 3000 square foot houses, and just two people would be given the choice of allowing 13 additional people to move in, chosen of course by your government, or sell out and buy that 400 square foot eco-friendly version down the street.

  My old home was 1/3 the size (under AC) as my new one.

  However my electrical bills are half what they used to be.

  New homes are more efficient, even if larger.

  BTS
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  Solace1998

  i love CFLs -- but knowing what can happen if they break, wow...
  
  i have one thats lasted for like 3 years so far.
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  RubaDub

  But mandated conservation is just fulfilling an agenda, a political one, not an ecological one.

  AK - Jeff

  You must be a disciple of Rush Limbaugh.

  Taking a position that "I can afford it so I can do whatever I want" is arrogant and has helped to get us into the position we are today.

  Yes, others' actions DO effect me. When people use too much energy, I pay more. Right now here in South Florida, the electrical output is pretty much maxed out. A new powerplant (possibly nuclear) is going to be built and a significant surcharge is going to be added to our monthly bills starting in October. You don't get a quantity discount on energy: the more you use the more everyone pays.

  The fact that so many of my neighbors buy big SUVs for no other purpose than to commute to work doesn't just impact their wallets. It impacts what I pay at the pump also.

  If some people go to the same restaurant buffet and pig out on the more expensive items on a regular basis, guess what ? .... the restaurant will raise the price to everyone. You could argue that the person had the "right" to eat whatever he wants but his actions affect others.

  I think the government has not done nearly enough (especially when it comes to car mileage requirements) in respect to limiting the use of energy. Just personally having the money to "waste" enengy does noone any good.

  Rub a Dub
• 

  SixofNine

  Do we create too much greenhouse gas? Yes! Should we conserve where possible? Yes! But mandated conservation is just fulfilling an agenda, a political one, not an ecological one.

  LOL!

  Your agenda, when writing that sentence, was to get people to believe that bad-ole-politics means never having to deal with reality. After all, bad-ole politicians are trying to make you deal with reality...and politicians are bad, therefore, no matter what they say, it's just a "political agenda" and should be ignored, even if it is very important, like you just said it was.

  Confused yet? Let's break it down:

  Do we create too much greenhouse gas?

  Emphatic,

  Yes!

  Should we conserve where possible?

  Emphatic,

  Yes!

  Cool. Makes sense.

  But mandated conservation is just fulfilling an agenda, a political one, not an ecological one.

  Er...huh? So, I'm confused; when you said we should conserve "where possible", you were just speaking politically, yes? Not about reality?

  I only ask, because w/o mandating, the conserving part doesn't get done, now does it? Nope. Not once. In all of history. Not once.

  In 1902, only 23 buffalo remained alive in the American wild -- the hounded remnant of a herd that once numbered 30 million.
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  BurnTheShips

  In 1902, only 23 buffalo remained alive in the American wild -- the hounded remnant of a herd that once numbered 30 million.

  The bison died off because they were an unregulated common resource. It was a tragedy of the commons. Also a large part of the reason the bison were killed off was because US government policy promoted the destruction of bison as a way of starving the Native Americans into submission. Government policy.

  There are more than 250,000 bison today, mostly due to private efforts.

  http://www.perc.org/articles/article900.php
• 

  RubaDub

  US government policy promoted the destruction of bison as a way of starving the Native Americans into submission.

  I thought it was because all the buffalo poop was generating too much methane and affecting the environment.

  Rub a Dub
• 

  SacrificialLoon

  The latest CFL bulbs only have 1mg of mercury in them, probably less than in a can of albacore tuna.
  
  You could say the pollution of our atmosphere is a global tragedy of the commons.
• 

  oompa

  CFL bulbs can also really mess up your plasma or lcd tv reception if you have cable....figuring this out drove my bro in law nuts!...........oompa
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  AK - Jeff

  AK - Jeff

  You must be a disciple of Rush Limbaugh.

  Taking a position that "I can afford it so I can do whatever I want" is arrogant and has helped to get us into the position we are today.

  No - I don't care for Rush Limbaugh. And when the hell did you hear me say what you attribute here? I actually stated that I like the idea of conserving - are you so damned dense that you can't get that I am upset, not by conservation, but by our eroded freedoms?

  My God - I made that very clear I thought. Maybe you need to turn down your radio and actually read?

  Jeff
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  AK - Jeff

  I only ask, because w/o mandating, the conserving part doesn't get done, now does it? Nope. Not once. In all of history. Not once.

  Bullshit. In my personal history - just a few weeks ago it got done. I replaced many of my bulbs with CFL's - or didnt' you read that the first time? And it was entirely w/o any gov't mandate that I did so. Millions of others are doing the same. I recycle my cans, paper, oil, plastic. All without any gov't mandate. Millions of others are doing the same.

  I have not stated that it is a bad idea to conserve. I have stated that it is a bad idea to take away personal freedom and substitute it with orders from headquarters that assume no other idea is acceptable to the solution.

  As far as the destruction of the bison - that was directly a result of Gov't mandate, not personal irresponsibility. Read a book.

  No. We do not need Big Brother to hold our collective hands to get responsible people to act responsibly.

  Jeff