Good: making obsolete technology that is not energy efficient here in the US
Bad: said obsolete technology is not being made cheaper overseas, most likely by same company who made them here.

RoxtarRyan: Good: making obsolete technology that is not energy efficient here in the US
Bad: said obsolete technology is not being made cheaper overseas, most likely by same company who made them here.

RoxtarRyan is here! REJOICE MUTHAfarkAS!!!!

Rush Limbaugh was crying about this today. My brother who listens to him all the time was talking about it. But if I can say my opinion this is a good thing. We shouldn't be making these cheap things here. We should let China do that while we go and make really good stuff here.

We're losing our Edison base?

Hey, that gives me a idea!

One day, years from now, you're going to turn to your friend and say "remember incandescent light bulbs?" And annoy the fark out of any sixteen year old in the room.

I still use them for reptiles
/Guess I'll be switching over to infrared and sun-glo bulbs

What about the light in my oven?

Creating "green" jobs means losing 10x regular jobs? Brilliant!

/Liberal economics at its finest
//just plain dumb
///you should be ashamed for being so stupid
////yes I am talking to you Obama

Sad? Needs more Awesome tag, Wastemitter

dictyboy: What about the light in my oven?

Or chandeliers

Potentially misleading headlines, gotta love 'em.

The last General Electric factory in the U.S. to manufacture incandescent light bulbs

There could be other factories in the US than just GE, people.

Also, Mr. Pat Doyle, I'm sure the buggy-whip makers felt the same way. Times change.

Its not that we no longer are making these bulbs its that the US is losing industries to other countries almost without us realizing it.

Nooooo not my heat lamp!

"10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, while using about one-fourth the amount of energy."

Is that enough to balance out the pollution potential of the mercury vapor in CFL's?

I prefer the light that incandescent bulbs produce. I guess that I'm a bad person that hates the environment.

vegastar: Creating "green" jobs means losing 10x regular jobs? Brilliant!

/Liberal economics at its finest
//just plain dumb
///you should be ashamed for being so stupid
////yes I am talking to you Obama

So you support inefficiency? That's not very bootstrappy.

How long does it take you to get to the store in your covered wagon?

Cloudchaser Sakonige the Red Wolf: "10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, while using about one-fourth the amount of energy."

Is that enough to balance out the pollution potential of the mercury vapor in CFL's?

When compared to the pollutants in making coal-based energy plants? Yeah.

http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/promotions/change_light/downloads/Fact_She et_Mercury.pdf

How should I clean up a broken fluorescent bulb?

Because CFLs contain a small amount of mercury, EPA recommends the following clean-up and disposal
guidelines:

1. Before Clean-up: Air Out the Room

Have people and pets leave the room, and don't let anyone walk through the breakage area on their way out.
Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.

2. Clean-Up Steps for Hard Surfaces

Carefully scoop up glass fragments and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with
metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass pieces and powder.
Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place towels in the glass jar or plastic bag.
Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.

3. Clean-up Steps for Carpeting or Rug:

Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a
sealed plastic bag.
Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken.
Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic
bag.

4. Clean-up Steps for Clothing, Bedding, etc.:

If clothing or bedding materials come in direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from inside
the bulb that may stick to the fabric, the clothing or bedding should be thrown away. Do not wash such clothing or
bedding because mercury fragments in the clothing may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage.
You can, however, wash clothing or other materials that have been exposed to the mercury vapor from a broken
CFL, such as the clothing you are wearing when you cleaned up the broken CFL, as long as that clothing has not
come into direct contact with the materials from the broken bulb.
If shoes come into direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from the bulb, wipe them off
with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place the towels or wipes in a glass jar or plastic bag for
disposal.

5. Disposal of Clean-up Materials

Immediately place all clean-up materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area for the next normal trash
pickup.
Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.
Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states do not
allow such trash disposal. Instead, they require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing bulbs be taken to a
local recycling center.

6. Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rug: Air Out the Room During and After Vacuuming

The next several times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a
window before vacuuming.
Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after
vacuuming is completed.

Cloudchaser Sakonige the Red Wolf: "10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, while using about one-fourth the amount of energy."

Is that enough to balance out the pollution potential of the mercury vapor in CFL's?

Yes. By a lot. Especially in the eastern 2/3rds of the country, but still true in Natural Gas-rich areas.

Oh, fark no. I just spent Labor Day weekend in a miserably severe migraine haze due to being trapped in a couple of places that only had CFLs.

Until CFLS, LEDs, halogens or some alternative to incandescents are modified or found that will not render a significant number of people a useless, vomiting lumps when on, don't get rid of the only lighting that doesn't.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/05/ask_treehugger_14.php

Question: I have been in the process of converting to an all CFL household only to find out by trial and error (and some googling) that CFL's fail very quickly in track lighting and recessed fixtures. In my online searches I have stumbled upon some real horror stories about people who have broken the bulbs in their homes which has resulted in thousands of dollars worth of cleanup to remove the mercury.

I did read in the past the post about the quality of various manufacturers, but do you have any information on "best practices" for use and safety/disposal/mercury contamination topics? As far as the mercury information goes - I am not looking for a debate about how much mercury ends up in the environment from other sources.... I just want to know if my kids are going to get mercury poisoning if a bulb breaks in their rooms. Real scientific responses only please.

Response: There has recently been some concern over the possibility that broken CFLs can be an important source of exposures to mercury, a toxic metal and a key component of compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs). Although mercury is a toxic pollutant, mercury exposures from broken CFLs are not likely to harm you and your family.

(And much further on, they give you the complete EPA guidelines.)

Even according to the article, it's going to be three years before the government wants citizens to start using fluorescent lights. Start. Despite the best efforts of the source to slant the story. So the problem is not a ban on incandescent lights. The problem, it would appear, is that people are using CFL's and finding out that hey, these things work (I love not having to climb up on desks to replace burned-out lights) and therefore the market for incandescent bulbs is vanishing.

Sure, there are reptile owners (try the flat ceramic things), plant owners, and of course people with ovens, who will be using small numbers, but for mass use in lighting fixtures, CFL's are taking over. Business owners in particular are enjoying the longer life and less-frequent (read: less labor-intensive) changing, and anything that can save a buck is a good thing from a business standpoint. I actually needed an incandescent bulb a while ago and had to go buy one because I just don't keep them around anymore. Besides, I like the light.

I can see it now....Christmas lights being replaced by little tiny squiggly CFL bulbs. Wait they already have been.....LEDs.

Savoir-Faire: RoxtarRyan is here! REJOICE MUTHAfarkAS!!!!

Huh.. didn't expect the grand reception. Makes me wish I wore a tie, or at least some sort of fedora. Maybe one with a large feather...

I broke down and purchased a CFL lamp from Amazon, and it came, and the bulb in it was broken.

I asked Amazon what to do about it, and they refunded my money and practically screamed at me through the computer screen, throw it away and not to ever send it back to them.

So I'm not that impressed with CFL bulbs.

RoyBatty: http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/promotions/change_light/downloads/Fact_Sh e et_Mercury.pdf

How should I clean up a broken fluorescent bulb?

Because CFLs contain a small amount of mercury, EPA recommends the following clean-up and disposal
guidelines:

Those things are overly cautious. There's less mercury in a bulb than an old fashioned glass fever thermometer. Just don't stab yourself on the mess or lick the mess and throw it away with some airing out and you'll be fine.

/now putting thousands of them together in the same small landfill does raise some legit concerns

Dwight_Yeast: RoyBatty: How should I clean up a broken fluorescent bulb?

Because CFLs contain a small amount of mercury, EPA recommends the following clean-up and disposal
guidelines:

Your point?

hot, like the flame from a whale-oil lamp

That's fine, I guess I'll support the Chinese economy and continue to buy my cheap, Chinese made incandescent bulbs.

I have to move every 3 months (and have had to for the past 4 years), so there's no way I'm ever going to see the long term cost benefit of a CFL. I'm not forking over the cash when I can buy 10 incandescent bulbs for $2.

We wonder why there are no jobs in the US its not that the factory making an obsolete product closed its the part where the new one making the technically advanced product never opens here

/hosed we are

FTA: According to the U.S. Department of Energy, CL's last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, while using about one-fourth the amount of energy.

Then why is it that I've replaced two CFLs at my house for being burned out before replacing either an incandescent or halogen? And don't tell me it's usage. They're all three in the same fixtures. (I like good spectrum coverage provided by multiple bulb types.) I suppose this sample is too small to be of statistical use, but it's certainly large enough to be of economic use to me.
/CSB.

Wait a second they cost more and they only last about 3 months compared with 1 for the incandescents. Why are they not making them anymore I buy them by the case so unless they are being sold as a loss leader they should be profitable, and I can hardly find them in stock in most stores. I tried the CFL's for awhile but 7 rimes the cost just isn't worth it to me for only lasting 3x as long and the energy savings isn't that great. I think the difference cut maybe 2 bucks off the electric bill.