Pirate's Cove

I do thank Think Progress’ Brad Johnson for throwing a little traffic my way, though. Anyhow, he’s unhappy with the Washington Post story from the other day about the $50 LED bulbs, and moves on to say that hey, they really will save people a boatload of money in the long run. More on that later. First

(Climate Progress) Whoriskey’s attack on the innovative, money-saving light bulb was promoted by the Drudge Report and picked up by right-wing blogs as further evidence that American clean-tech innovation is an Obama boondoggle. At Michelle Malkin‘s blog, Doug Powers complains about the “$10 million in prize money taxpayers are on the hook for in order to pay a company to create light bulbs people either can’t afford or won’t want.” Gateway Pundit screams: “It’s an Obama World… Gas Reaches $5 a Gallon & “Green” Light Bulbs Cost You $50 Each.” “The same people who can afford to drive a Volt (and have the limo pick them up when it runs out of charge) will be the ones purchasing this idiocy,” Pirate’s Cove blathers. American Enterprise Institute scholar Kenneth Green blasted the “Ludicrous Prize” as one of “epic energy-failures.” At Ricochet, George W. Bush speechwriter Troy Senik asks, “What lost? A bulb powered by the hoofbeats of unicorns?”

Blathers. I like that. Anyhow, according to Brad, the LED bulb will cost $80, including the purchase, over 10 years, while Thomas Edison’s bulb would cost $210 over 10 years, including purchases. That assumes that the LED would even last 10 years. Will they? Who knows. They haven’t been tested in the real world.

For my part, I’ve said I support better bulbs that save money. And, I actually support government contests to promote innovation. I did when I was a warmist, and I do now. But, come on, this is a big company, Phillips, getting $10 million for creating a bulb that is not affordable. It may save money, supposedly, in the long run, but $50 is a deal breaker. Even $25 is over the top. Especially if a person doesn’t know what kind of light they will put out, which has been a big problem with CFLs.

But, Warmists should put their money where their mouths are, and start purchasing the expensive bulbs.