Except, Doyle argues that they aren’t really “banned”- they’re better
Great way to start, Mike: insult people who don’t agree with you.
In 1879, Thomas Edison invented a way to create light by heating up a thin strip of material (called a filament) until it was hot enough to glow. This was the incandescent light bulb.
Since then, Americans and people all over the world have been using these same light bulbs that produce 90% heat and only 10% light. I think Thomas Edison, being a man ahead of his time, would agree this makes little sense today. I believe that one of our premier American innovators would be supportive of American innovation making his revolutionary invention just a bit more efficient.
Hey might have, but, we’ll never know, Mike: he’s dead. But, sure, he probably would support innovation and giving people a choice in purchasing his product.
It took us over a century, but a few years ago Congress realized that a simple efficiency standard could spur innovation to make incandescent light bulbs that create less heat and more light while using less energy. In 2007, members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, on which I serve, passed a bill to set an energy-efficiency standard for incandescent light bulbs. President George W. Bush later signed that bill into law. Neither President Bush nor any other Member of Congress banned the incandescent light bulb. Instead, we passed a law to promote energy efficiency. The incandescent light bulb isn’t banned – it’s just better.
Really? Not banned? Then, I suppose we can purchase 100 watt incandescent bulb in 2012, Mike? No? No one is allowed to sell them? And that same “not a ban” is phased in for lower wattage bulbs over the next few years? So, if they aren’t banned, what are they?
Mike goes on to say that passing this “not a ban” is actually about creating jobs, as CFLs are supposedly being built in several states. Perhaps that are: unfortunately, the majority that are being sold in the US are built, shockingly, in China. And are garbage. And, anyhow, why the hell is it your business to restrict my purchasing power for a product that is neither dangerous nor destructive?
This used to be something we all agreed on. Beginning with President Reagan in 1987, Congress and the White House have enacted federal energy efficiency standards five times – each time with bipartisan support. But now it’s being used to score cheap political points for those on the far right. This week, the House will be voting on the “BULB Act†a bill to repeal the bipartisan energy efficiency standards that have helped create jobs here in America and save energy and money for families. This is as common sense as it gets and it’s hard to believe that we’re fighting over it. I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing this bill.
Of course, Mike forgets to mention all the incandescent bulb manufacturing plants that closed in America, thanks to the legislation. And, as China geared up to build CFLs, they built many more coal-fired energy plants, so, any supposed globull warming benefits that come from restricting the sale of certain incandescent bulbs is lost from those plants, and, face it, that’s what the “not a ban” was all about.
But, hey, Mike, if I want to, from your point of view, waste money, that’s my business, and, quite frankly, the last person to be talking about saving money should be a member of the Democrat Party.
Oh, hey, BTW, if anyone is planning on being in Washington, DC, or lives there now, why don’t you take a walk over to Doyle’s office and see what kind of bulbs are used.
Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.
The saddest part of this whole miserable story is that our worthless, do-nothing, in-hiding Congress STILL has not been able to legalize the purchase of normal light bulbs again.
I’m pretty sure Edison didn’t say to himself one day, “I’m gonna build a light bulb today. I’ll use carbonized bamboo for the filament in a non-oxygen environment.” No, Edison worked months and used literally thousands of different filaments until he found one that worked. His first carbon filament bulbs lasted 40 hours, carbonized bamboo lasted for more than 1200 hours. Methinks Edison worked just a little too hard on this to want it banned.
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but, we’ll never know, Mike: he’s dead
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
Too rich Teach.
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that a simple efficiency standard could spur innovation
WHEN IN HELL did innovation, choice, production, and customer and market efficiency occur when Congress MANDATED a set arbitrary single standard?!!?!?
How does that produce innovation!??! When by law we are only allowed to use one kind of hazardous lightbulb, how does that fuel innovation?!!?
The old incandescent lightbulb is still around because it was produced through blood sweat tears and decades of tireless labor by the free market system to produce a product that lasts and the PUBLIC WANTED!!!!
It may produce more heat, but we seem to be ok with that as it also helps heat homes during the winter.
How many of us have used a lightbulb to keep pipes or pets from freezing during winter?
And then you have the DoE guy saying by limiting choice you actually expand choice. OMG. INSANITY RULES!!!
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the House will be voting on the “BULB Act†a bill to repeal the bipartisan energy efficiency standards that have helped create jobs here in America and save energy and money for families.
I’m sorry, buddy boy, but what business it of yours what kind of lightbulb I buy?!!? HUH?! And how does giving people an option of whole-milk, 2% milk, low-fat milk, or soy milk destroy our society?
If this ban on bulbs is logical, then ban all but soy milk!!! Ban all burgers but soy burgers!!!! Ban all cars but VOLTS. Ban all food but vegetables. Ban cigarettes. Ban fast food. Ban bikes to only one manufacturer (schwinn). Ban people to bubble cities so that you can control the individual trace gas amounts that we breathe.
$#*&%&$$^%#@